Effective Monday, December 13, 2021, only new applicants will be accepted for the Linn County Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) due to limited remaining funds. Households who have already received assistance from this program will no longer be eligible, but can still work through the collaborative at Waypoint to identify other local resources available to access to meet their needs.
Since August 16, 2021, Linn County, with assistance from Waypoint and HACAP, has been administering rent and utility assistance through the federal Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) to residents of Linn County. Of the $5.3 million in funding from the federal Emergency Rental Assistance Program, Linn County has provided more than $3.5 million in funding to 1,056 households, a majority of which are considered to be “extremely low income.”
Eligible Linn County residents can apply for the remaining funding assistance on the Linn County website at LinnCountyIowa.gov/ERA. Tenants who are overdue on rent should not wait for an eviction notice to seek help and may already be eligible for financial assistance based on the criteria below.
Who is eligible for the remaining ERAP funds?
To be eligible for assistance from the ERAP, you must be a new applicant, a rental household and able to provide documentation or self-certify the following:
- Household income with no more than 80% of the Annual Median Income (AMI)
- Proof of financial hardship during the COVID-19 pandemic, which began in March of 2020
- Note: Those negatively impacted by the August 2020 derecho will meet this requirement
- Proof the household is experiencing housing instability such as:
- Threat of, pending, or current eviction
- Threat of or a current utility shut off
- Threat of homelessness
Rent payments will be made by HACAP directly to the landlords or property managers of successful applicants. These funds must be used to cover past rent payments back to March 13, 2020, first, before tenants can receive additional rental assistance to cover up to three months of future payments.
Visit LinnCountyIowa.gov/ERA for more information.