Housing ReliefIf so, this guide on rent help will tell you everything you need to know so you can get assistance making payments, find more affordable housing, or stay in your current place for cheaper.
Outline
- Where To Get Rent Help
- Where To Find Affordable Housing
- How To Pay Less Rent In Your Current Place
Where To Get Rent Help
The following list reveals rent help resources that could solve your housing dilemma. Try them all until you find one that offers the free housing assistance that you need. Some may even offer utilities assistance to help you keep the lights on and your home cooled or heated.
Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) Program
We begin our list of places that help with rent by discussing this program linked to the pandemic. The Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) Program was launched after the eviction moratorium ended. Why? Because the eviction moratorium protected tenants from being evicted for nonpayment of rent since many could not pay their landlords due to coronavirus shutdowns, job loss, reduced income, and other hardships.
Once the eviction moratorium was lifted, landlords could evict tenants, meaning many would end up on the streets. With the ERA program, billions in funding were distributed to states from coast to coast. And with that funding, this federal rental assistance program gave states the ability to help struggling tenants with past-due, current, and even future rent and utilities assistance.
As you might imagine, applications for the ERA program were sent out in record numbers. And as of December 2022, many states stopped accepting ERA applications. While you probably missed out on this much-needed rent relief program as you read this, there is still a slim chance that you could get free housing assistance by visiting this link from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. It can help you find rent assistance programs in your area if funding is still available. Use the dropdown menu to select your state or territory, and you will see a list of rent relief programs that may serve your area. Visit the website of the program nearest you and contact their office.
U.S. Department Of Housing And Urban Development Website
If emergency rental assistance funds are finished where you live, don’t fret, as HUD.gov has plenty of free housing assistance to help you. Why is this such a good resource for rent help? Because it is an official government website that is free of scams. And because it is jam-packed with links to help you learn more about rent assistance, both short-term and long-term.
While you could spend hours scouring HUD.gov looking for federal rental assistance, we will help you skip all that work by discussing the site’s top two rent help pages.
First up is the Rent Relief Resources page. Use it if you can’t pay your rent, utilities, or other housing expenses and are on the verge of eviction. The page can link you to a housing counselor or even legal aid to keep you in your home or connect you with places that help with rent.
The second HUD.gov page worth visiting is the Rental Assistance page. It can help you find low income apartments, utilities assistance, public housing, and much more.
Rent Assistance From Your State
Federal rental assistance is one option to get help with finding affordable housing. And as we mentioned, you can find that via multiple pages of HUD.gov listed above. What about rent assistance from your state, though? Does that exist? The answer is that it might, depending on your location, and this Local Information page can help you find it.
Yes, HUD.gov can help you pinpoint rent help from your state through the link above. Click on it, and you will see a list of states. Each could connect you with not only rent assistance from your state, but also help with buying a home, avoiding foreclosure, etc. And while your state may have renters assistance of its own, that link could help you find local rent relief programs, too, if any exist.
Let’s use the state of Florida as an example. Click on its HUD.gov link that can be found on the Local Information page, and you will be taken to Florida’s page that features the following helpful resources:
- HUD Customer Service offices in Florida
- Homeownership information
- How to avoid foreclosure
- Talk to a housing counselor
- Get rental help
- HUD homes for sale (typically at a deep discount)
- And much more
Select your state from the HUD Local Information page, and you can find something similar to address your affordable housing needs, whether you rent or are a homeowner.
211 Renters Assistance
When some people run into financial troubles, they prefer to call 211 first. Why? Because 211 acts like a one-stop-shop for your financial needs if you are struggling. And since it connects you to a local operator and puts a human on the other line, many prefer this method to finding rent help, especially when they are stressed and don’t know who to turn to.
What type of housing help can a call to 211 provide? If you need help paying rent ASAP because you haven’t made a payment in months and your landlord is threatening to evict you, the 211 operator could connect you to emergency rental assistance. Even though the ERA Program is mostly finished, your 211 operator may know of local charities that help pay past-due rent so you can stay in your home and patch things up with your landlord. Or they could also connect you with a housing counselor or other rent assistance programs so you can fix your issue fast.
Calling 211 can also help if you are homeless and do not know where to go. Since 211 operators tend to know of homeless shelters in their assigned areas, you can find a warm bed to sleep in at night, so your family stays off the streets.
While 211 is great for rent help, it can also offer assistance in other areas if you are having money issues. You can call 211 to find out where local food banks or soup kitchens are if your family has gone hungry. If you have problems paying bills, 211 could connect you with a local charity or program that could help. Even if you need healthcare you cannot afford, 211 can assist there too. And if you are really down on your luck and need to speak to a professional fast, 211 can also offer counseling resources.
In short, if you are having trouble staying afloat, 211 may be your best bet since it offers help in so many areas.
Public Housing Agencies (PHAs)
A 211 operator can give you quick information to find rent and other financial help fast.
But what if you want someone to hold your hand through the process of finding cheaper rent? If that’s the case, a call to your local Public Housing Agency is in order, as they have counselors who are experts on federal rent assistance programs and finding affordable housing for low-income tenants.
A PHA is an excellent contact for anyone who has had rent troubles for some time now, as they can connect you with long-term rental assistance from the federal government to give you the housing stability you need for your family to prosper. One such form of long-term rental assistance is the Housing Choice Voucher Program or Section 8. You need a low income to qualify, and if eligible, this rent relief program could ensure that you do not pay over 30 percent of what you make to your landlord each month. This is likely welcome news if you are like 25 percent of the low-income households that spend over 50 percent of what they make on rent, as it would give you the opportunity to score significant savings.
While spending a small amount of your income on rent is the biggest benefit of Section 8, here is another: It could also give you a monthly utility allowance to cover that ever-growing expense. And if you are worried about having limited options about where you live, know that a Section 8 voucher can be used in various types of affordable housing, including single-family homes, apartments, and townhomes.
Section 8 is one way to secure long-term rent assistance through a PHA, and public housing is another. With public housing, you can get a highly affordable place owned by the government. Like Section 8, public housing can be found in single-family homes, apartments, and townhomes. When you contact your PHA, ask about all available options, including Section 8, public housing, and even local programs, if they know of any.
If you do not qualify for one program, you can hopefully be eligible for the other.
Rent Help From Search Engines
Search engines are a popular method for finding places that help with rent, as they can churn out results in seconds. Whether your preferred search engine is Google, Bing, etc., here is one issue you may run into when using this method: You will have to read through each result to find what you need, unlike using one of the resources we already vetted above. Even worse, you could run into scams that could steal your information or cash.
Are we suggesting that you avoid looking for rent assistance on search engines altogether? No, just be careful, especially if a site does not have .gov or .org on the end, as those suffixes are used on trusty websites from the government or legitimate organizations.
What can you type into search engines to find rent help or affordable housing? That depends on what you are looking for. You can type in phrases like “rent help” or “rent assistance” plus your location if you are having trouble making payments and your landlord is breathing down your neck. Or, if you simply want cheaper rent to add breathing room to your budget, you could search for “low income apartments” or “affordable housing” plus your location.
Use this method to find extra renters assistance resources, although, with all of the ones we have listed already, you should be good to go.
Where To Find Affordable Housing
Now that you know where to turn for rent help via federal and state rental assistance programs, housing counselors, and the like, let’s look at resources that can assist you with finding affordable housing to cut costs. With rents skyrocketing, these resources can show you that contrary to popular belief, affordable housing and low income apartments still exist.
Whether you have a Section 8 voucher that’s ready to be used or you need a place that won’t bust your budget, you may be able to find what you need here:
- Your Public Housing Agency – PHA counselors often know of affordable housing buildings in the area. Ask your counselor for a list so you can start calling these buildings directly. When you do, ask if they have any units that charge 30 percent of income. If they say yes, you could get savings similar to Section 8 without even having to apply for a voucher.
- HUD Resource Locator – This tool from the HUD will show you a map of affordable housing and low income apartments near you. Contact each and ask about units that charge 30 percent of income to see if you have any luck.
- Search engines – Once again, you can type in “low income apartments” or “affordable housing” plus your location to see what’s out there.
How To Pay Less Rent In Your Current Place
There’s another option to get rent help that many people overlook: Writing a “lower rent letter” to your landlord. In the letter, you ask for cheaper rent by telling your landlord the following:
- You would like to continue being a tenant in your current home.
- You are having financial issues that make it tough to pay your current rent.
- You would like to pay cheaper rent.
- Your landlord would benefit from your staying since they do not have to look for new tenants, process background checks, repair or repaint the unit, etc.
Use this option if you do not want to move but want your rent to become more affordable. And if you need help in writing this type of document, search Google for “lower rent letter template” and use that as a guide.
