We are continuing to help families stay in their homes by providing rental and utility assistance to residents that have lost income due to COVID-19 through PHLRentAssist.
Through Phases 1-3 of the COVID-19 Emergency Rental and Utility Assistance Program, the City has put over $65 million into the hands of landlords and tenants to help more than 14,000 Philadelphia households with rental assistance.
A new round of funding was authorized by the federal government, and Philadelphia will have about $97 million to distribute in rental and utility assistance, which we estimate will be able to help 10,000-15,000 households.
Applications for Phase 4 of the COVID-19 Emergency Rental Assistance Program are now open and unlike previous phases, we will now be able to offer assistance with overdue utility bills.
Who can apply?
- Landlords and tenants can apply. If a landlord applies, their tenant must be eligible, and they must get written consent from their tenant.
- Applicants who received funds in Phases 1-3 of PHLRentAssist are eligible to apply for Phase 4, however, applicants may not receive funds for any months for which they have previously been paid.
- Applicants also cannot receive payment for any rent or utility costs for which they received federal, state, or local rental assistance for the same costs.
Tenants are eligible if they meet all three of these criteria:
- Have a household income at or below 80 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI) (View Income Guidelines table here.)
- Qualify for unemployment benefits; or experienced a reduction in household income, incurred significant costs, or experienced some other financial hardship due to COVID-19.
- Demonstrate a risk of experiencing homelessness or housing instability. Tenants can meet this criteria if they have any past-due rent, past due utilities, received an eviction notice, or paying over one third of their household income on rent.
PHDC began accepting applications on Monday, April 5 at PHLRentAssist.org.
