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Emergency Rental Assistance Program

What is the Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP)?

We offer relief to landlords on behalf of renters and tenants experiencing financial difficulties due to the COVID-19 pandemic through the Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP). This project is being supported, in whole or in part, by federal award number ERA0202 awarded to Prince George’s County, MD Government by the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

Funds Distributed as of March 22, 2024: $112 Million
Households Assisted as of March 22, 2024: 11,238

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Begin a New Application

Begin a New Application

Check on the Status of an Existing Appliction

Check the Status of an Existing Application

DHCD has updated its Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) policies for tenants and landlords.  If you have submitted an ERAP application and are waiting for review, please call the ERAP Hotline to inquire about the status of your application. You must monitor your email for any messages from DHCD. Be sure to check your spam or junk mail inbox in case the email goes into one of those inboxes instead of your email inbox.    

If you have submitted an application, it will be reviewed for eligibility and funding.  Please check your email for correspondence from a DHCD Reviewer who may ask for additional updated information.  

**Please note that the submission of an application does not guarantee approval for ERAP assistance.  All applications are carefully reviewed and must meet eligibility requirements. Applications are also subject to the availability of funding at the time of processing.**

For assistance, call the ERAP Hotline at (301) 883-6504, then press 9.

What Can ERAP Cover?

  • Past due rent beginning April 1, 2020, up to 18 months
  • Past due utility and home energy bill payments, beginning April 1, 2020, up to 18 months

If the tenant applies directly for funding because their landlord will not apply on their behalf, eligible tenants can receive up to 18 months of rental assistance and/or utility payments.  

What Are the Eligibility Requirements?

To be eligible for assistance, a household must be obligated to pay rent on a residential unit and that:

  • One or more individuals within the household have qualified for unemployment benefits or experienced a reduction in household income, incurred significant costs, or experienced other financial hardship during or due, directly or indirectly, to the COVID-19 outbreak. 
  • One or more individuals within the household can demonstrate a risk of experiencing homelessness or housing instability; and
  • The household has a household income at or below 80% of the area median income (AMI).  Households with income at or below 50 percent of the AMI or those who are unemployed and have been unemployed for 90 days are prioritized for assistance.

Additionally:

  • Must reside in a rental property located in Prince George’s County.
     

Who Qualifies?

Facing Eviction?

If you are facing eviction due to delinquent rent and you have a court summons, court judgment, Warrant of Restitution, or Warrant for Possession, you may be eligible to apply for the Prince George’s County Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP).  All U.S. Treasury requirements for ERAP eligibility applies. 

If all ERAP eligibility requirements are met, ERAP may be able to pay up to 18 months of rental arrearages. Note that if a tenant, or a member of your household, has received prior ERAP assistance, whether through the County or other organization, provision of ERAP assistance cannot exceed a combined total of 18 months.

Evicted Already? If you and/or your household have been displaced through an eviction, you may be eligible to apply for ERAP assistance. If all ERAP eligibility requirements are met, ERAP may be able to provide funding to help you relocate to a new home with security deposit assistance and up to the first three months of rent. 

Please attend all court hearings in Landlord-Tenant Court. Submitting an application or court document to ERAP does not excuse you from attending your court hearing.
 

Income Eligibility

Any tenant having difficulty paying rent whose income is below 80% of the Area Median Income

At or Below 50% AMI

If your income is at or below 50% of the Area Median Income (AMI), you are not required to submit a court document. You may go directly to the ERAP Application Portal to apply. 

At or Between 51% to 80% AMI

If your income is at or between 51% - 80% of the AMI, you must submit an eviction court document.  To be eligible to apply for emergency assistance if your income is at or between 51% - 80% AMI: The renter must be scheduled by the Sheriff for eviction, or there must be an active Warrant for Possession that would allow the Sheriff to evict, or renter received a court summons or court judgement.

View the Area Median Income (AMI) Table.

Please note that DHCD will review and validate all household income information. Any attempts to withhold household income will delay the review of your ERAP tenant application.

If applicable, please only upload your most recent eviction document as any other document or blank pages will cause a delay in the review of your ERAP tenant application.

 

Applications

Who Can Apply?

  • Property owners, landlords, or property managers. The property must be occupied by tenants meeting the requirements for tenant eligibility.
  • Tenants whose landlords will not apply for funding on the tenants' behalf 
  • Tenants applying for utility assistance only

Tenants and Landlords

Get more information about the Tenant application process.

Get more information about the Landlord application process.

 

Can Someone Help Me with the Application?

Contact Us

By Phone: For assistance, call the ERAP Call Center at (301) 883-6504, then press 9, and a customer service representative will help you with your application.

By Email: Email ERAP@co.pg.md.us 
 

Partnerships

The Prince George's County Department of Housing and Community Development has partnered with several community non-profit organizations to assist county landlords and tenants with completing the application and uploading it into the proper online portal. 

Get Help with the Application

 

Submitting a Successful Application

In addition to the assistance from the community non-profit organizations above, you can also review this presentation entitled: How to Submit a Successful Application to learn about the forms and information DHCD needs to process your application for emergency rental assistance and utility assistance.

 

Prioritization Criteria and Methodology

DHCD will prioritize applications based on household incomes and on areas of greatest vulnerability within the County by considering the following factors:

  • Housing Stress - Rent burden: 50% of income, Overcrowded: 1.5 people per room
  • Social Factors - African-American and Latino population, population below poverty, number of single-parent households (HH)
  • Pandemic Effect - Confirmed COVID-19 cases, employment in fields with layoff risk

View County map of prioritization areas and priority census tract: ERAP Census Tract

 

Notice          

Sign Language for the hearing impaired and interpretive services can be made available. To request these services, contact Adedamola George, Compliance Officer at (301) 883-5576 or TTY (301) 883-5428. 

Prince George’s County affirmatively promotes equal opportunity and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, gender, religion, ethnic or national origin, disability, or familial status in admission or access to benefits in programs or activities.