Tenants struggling to pay rent in Montgomery County, Maryland, are running out of time to apply for help, with applications for the county’s federally funded COVID Rent Relief program closing Dec. 31 at 5 p.m.

The jurisdiction has distributed around 84% of the federal relief it received during the pandemic, officials say, and the rest is expected to be tapped before New Year’s Eve.

But more relief is coming, according to the county. Another $34 million of federal rent assistance is expected to be released sometime in early 2022, though it’s too early to say exactly when applications for the funds will open, according to a spokesperson for Montgomery County Health and Human Services. There are also other pots of money that remain available, including utility assistance, a local rent relief program, and eviction prevention services.

In a statement, County Executive Marc Elrich encouraged residents in need to continue seeking assistance.

“For residents going through eviction, utility cutoffs, and the loss of other resources, we will continue to serve and assist them. I want to encourage anyone who is needing assistance during these challenging times to call 311 so we can help,” Elrich said.

The county has received nearly 11,000 unique applications for rent relief since the federally funded program opened in April, government data show. More than half of those applications have been processed, though 34% are still awaiting processing. Fourteen percent of applications have been denied, mainly from applicants who did not demonstrate a COVID-related financial hardship, exceeded income requirements, failed to show they lived in the county, or were seeking mortgage support. Most people seeking help identify themselves as extremely low-income, earning less than $28,000 a year for a one-person household. The program has assisted mainly Black and Latino residents, with 83% of recipients identifying as Black (53%) or Hispanic (30%).

DHHS says people on the brink of eviction get priority for rent relief, though advocates say that policy has forced some tenants into the difficult position of having to wait for a legal notice before they can receive rent relief. Some households behind on their rent have vacated their homes to avoid receiving a notice — effectively self-evicting, says Matt Losak, executive director of the Montgomery County Renters Alliance.

“Our concern is on how to improve the system so that no one falls through the cracks,” Losak says. “We are working assertively and diligently with DHHS to discuss what can be improved.”

But eviction filings in Montgomery County are still lower than they were in 2019, court data show. County officials attribute the drop to a combination of pandemic-era eviction restrictions, court closures, new preventive efforts from the county government and tenant advocates, and federal relief dollars unleashed during the health crisis. At the end of the 2021 fiscal year, evictions in the county had dropped 73% over 2019 levels, according to the sheriff’s department, though numbers have begun to creep back up. This month, there have been 81 new eviction filings in Montgomery County, according to DHHS.

Tenants will also have some protection against dramatic rent increases until May. Last month, county lawmakers voted to extend a pandemic-era rule that banned landlords from raising rent by more than 1.4% this year. The 2022 rent cap will be determined in the new year.