The DC Department of Human Services (DHS) announced yesterday that the last day to submit new applications for the Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) is tomorrow, Mar. 10, at 11:59 p.m., according to a press release.

The District’s ERAP is designated for District residents with incomes at or below 40% of the Area Median Income (AMI) who are facing housing emergencies. The program provides funds for overdue rent for qualified households facing eviction — including late costs and court fees, according to their website. The program also supports the first month’s rent and security deposits.

Despite ERAP’s budget being the highest it’s been in recent years at $43 million (compared to its 2018 budget of $7.35 million), the application portal is closing because program funds are nearly exhausted for the fiscal year (October 2022-September 2023). Along with the increased budget, there has also been increased demand in rental assistance requests. This demand came specifically after federal funding for STAY DC was exhausted — a program created to help those in danger of losing their rental housing due to COVID-19. However, STAY DC expired last year, and since then evictions have been increasing in the D.C.-area.

Since October 2022, the DHS has approved ERAP applications for 3,734 District households and distributed nearly $18 million in housing assistance. So far this year, the DHS has received 7,720 applications and has approved 4,346 to date — however, 3,214 of those applications were submitted in the previous fiscal year (FY22). Before COVID-19, ERAP funding would typically run out between July and September. In the FY22, ERAP was able to accept applications through September 2022 due to additional funds in the summer.

At the federal level, the District has distributed over $366.4 million in Emergency Rental Assistance to cover rental and utility costs for over 37,000 District households through STAY DC, Rapid Re-housing, and other rental assistance programs.

DHS will process all ERAP applications received before the deadline, and DHS partner organizations will still be at Landlord Tenant Court to connect residents to services for eviction prevention.

Families experiencing housing instability or homelessness can receive housing resources and assistance by visiting the Virginia Williams Center that is located at 920 Rhode Island NE, or by calling (202) 726-0017. Individuals with no minor children in their care can access support from Project Reconnect and reach out to DHS staff at Project.Reconnect@dc.gov.

Residents who have submitted an ERAP application can check the status of their application on their website or email questions to erap.program@dc.gov.

This post has been updated to include a comparison of how long applications were accepted in previous fiscal years and how many applications have been approved this year.