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COVID Rental Assistance

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If you’re a Georgia renter who has fallen behind on rent payments due to the COVID-19 pandemic, you may qualify for assistance. The Georgia Rental Assistance Program can provide up to 15 months of rental assistance and utility assistance, paid directly to landlords and service providers on behalf of tenants.

The State of Georgia received $552 million from the U.S. Treasury’s Federal Emergency Rental Assistance Program to provide relief to individuals, families, and landlords whose finances have been negatively impacted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This program is being administered by the Department of Community Affairs, and the portal is now open for applications from Landlords and Tenants. You can find the website at: https://georgiarentalassistance.ga.gov/.

Counties that have a population that exceeds 200,000 received a direct allocation of these funds, and households located in one of those jurisdictions are not eligible under the State’s program at this time. Information on coverage and information on local programs that are operational can be found on the Frequently Asked questions (FAQ) page at: https://georgiarentalassistance.ga.gov/faq.

For a household to be eligible for assistance under the State’s program, it must be a renter household living in Georgia and meet the following conditions:

  • Earning no more than 80 percent of the current Area Median Income (AMI) for the county or Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) of residence as determined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
  • Has either “qualified for unemployment benefits” or “experienced a loss or reduction in household income, incurred significant costs, or experienced other financial hardship due, directly or indirectly, to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, which the applicant must attest in writing and
  • Can demonstrate a risk of experiencing homelessness or housing instability by providing:
  • (I)An eviction notice;
  • (II)A past rent or utility notice

At this time, eligible households with past due rent or an eviction notice will be prioritized for assistance. Eligible households requesting assistance for past due rent (rental arrears) may also request assistance for up to 3 months future rent and past due utilities.

Eligible households that include an individual who has been unemployed for the 90 days immediately prior to the date of application for assistance and households with income at or below 50 percent of the Area Median Income will also be given priority for assistance.

For more information, please visit the Georgia Rental Assistance program web page.