BROWARD COUNTY, FL - There is good news for Broward County renters still in need of relief from past due and unpaid rent and utilities from the lingering economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Nearly 5,000 households have already received $53 million from the first round of U.S Treasury emergency assistance funding in Broward. At a time when other city and state emergency rental assistance programs are coming to a close, Broward County has received an additional $22 million in funding to continue this important family lifeline. Broward County Human Services Department's Family Success Division, which administers ERAP, says there have been adjustments to make qualifying and applying for the funding even easier. The changes include:

• Broward County has now expanded the program to cover three months of rent increases, with a notice of a rent increase. 
• Program will provide eligible households with up to 18 months of rent and utility assistance (measured from March 13, 2020), if qualifying criteria are met.
• Financial hardship can be experienced "during" the pandemic instead of "due to" the pandemic.
  
• Applicant income can now be verified by self-attestation.
• Payments can be made to the tenant, if the landlord or property manager does not wish to participate in the application process.
  

Broward County Family Success teams will be reviewing all previously denied applications to see if applicants meet requirements of the new program. Applicants that have previously been denied are advised that a new application is not required for reconsideration, unless individual/family circumstances have substantially changed since the first application was submitted. 

For detailed information about the requirements of the ERAP and a link to apply, or to check the status of an existing application, first visit Broward.org/RentAssistance. The status of previously declined applications will be updated on the website as reviews for eligibility under the new criteria are completed. If you have additional questions, you can call 954-831-ERAP (3727). 

As a reminder, highlights of eligibility include: 

• Household must be renting a unit, apartment or house in Broward County and include at least one individual who meets these five criteria: 1) Broward County resident; 2) Unable to pay full rent during or as a result of a COVID-19 caused financial hardship; 3) Received valid notice of a rent increase you are unable to pay; 4) At risk of experiencing homelessness or housing instability (including eviction notice, utility shutoff notice, past due rent or utility notice, or any other evidence of unsafe or unhealth living conditions or housing instability); and 5) Household income at or below 80 percent of the Area Median Income
• Funds must be used to reduce the household's rent and/or utility arrears before future payments can be made. Once arrears are reduced, future payments for up to three months at a time can be considered.
• The program will not provide assistance that duplicates any other federally funded rental assistance provided for the same time period.

Broward County's Family Success Division has been working tirelessly over the past 24 months to get rental assistance funding to families who are in desperate need of assistance to keep them in their homes. One recipient, a single mother of two and nursing student who works full-time at a hospital, shared her thoughts about the program: "ERAP literally saved my life when I fell behind on rent and was at risk of being evicted. My case worker went to the extreme for me and worked day in and day out to make sure I didn't get evicted. She even went with an escort to hand deliver the check, once I was approved, to my landlord."