RENT (Relief of Emergency Needs for Tenants)

Program Benefits

The RENT Assistance Program can help renters financially impacted by the pandemic pay rent as far back as April 2020 and up to 3 months in the future, up until December 2021. This program helps pay for: 

• Up to 18 total months of rent incurred between April, 2020, through December 31, 2021. This includes rent that is due now, rent that is overdue (including late fees), and future rent during this time period.
   
• Other items described in your lease agreement, including internet services, utilities included with rent, and fees for garage use, storage, service animals, and pets. The funds may not be used to pay for tenant damages.
   
• Rent payments are made directly to the landlord/property manager/property owner who is owed the rent.
   
• Multiple months of past-due rent can be approved at once. Future rents are screened for eligibility every 3 months. 

Who is Eligible?

You may be eligible for the RENT Assistance Program if you:

• Have an income of no more than 80% of the Area Median Income (AMI) (Web). The table below shows the income limits by number of persons living in the home.

  

• One or more members of your household must have either: qualified for unemployment benefits OR provide proof that you have less income, have more costs or bills, or experienced other financial hardship during the pandemic
   
• One or more members of your household must demonstrate they: are at risk of experiencing homelessness or their housing situation is uncertain, which may include a past due utility/rent notice or eviction notice OR you live in unsafe or unhealthy housing conditions
   
• Live within Austin’s full-purpose jurisdiction (If you’re unsure, enter your address in the searchable City of Austin Jurisdictional Boundaries map (Web)). The address on your application must be your primary residence.
   
• There is no requirement for applicants to be a U.S. citizen or legal resident to apply.

Information Needed to Apply 

• Your email address and phone number
   
• The following information for each household member: Full name, date of birth, gender, race, ethnicity, relationship to the head of household, and one of the following if you have one: social security number, alien registration number, individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN)
   
  • There is no requirement for applicants to be a U.S. citizen or legal resident to apply.
     
• The household's current address and mailing address
   
• Each household member's current gross monthly income (before taxes or deductions are taken out) and types of income
   
• Your landlord's name, email address, and phone number
   
• A government-issued photo identification for the head of household

 

​Documents are not required to submit your application. However, if you claim that a member of your household qualified for unemployment benefits for at least the 90 consecutive dates prior to your application submission, you will need to submit a document to prove this immediately after you submit your application to be considered for the priority.     

You will be contacted with information on how to submit documentation if your application is selected for eligibility review; however, it may be helpful to start gathering your documents.

Ask your landlord if they have registered for a landlord account at austin.covidrenthelp.org and have a Referral Code. If they have not, encourage them to register. If they have, include the Referral Code in your application. A Referral Code will speed up eligibility processing but is not required to submit your application.

Eviction Info and Help

Information on Local Eviction Moratoriums

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Mayor Steve Adler issued Order No. 20211015-035 (PDF) that prohibits landlords from issuing notices to vacate except in certain circumstances. This order expires on December 31, 2021.  

Beginning September 1, 2021, a landlord may issue a tenant a notice to vacate if the tenant owes three or more months of rent and certain other conditions are met.  

• Housing Assistance Resources: COVID-19 Outbreak (Web)

• Resources for Renters: Help With Eviction or Displacement (Web)

 

If you are a landlord and wish to issue a notice to vacate to a tenant that is three (3) or more months in arrears of rent payment, complete and submit the Eviction Prevention Application (Web) to serve as documentation required by the mayoral order. Additionally, a landlord must complete the Verification of Compliance that is attached to the Mayor’s Order.  

 

For questions, please call (512) 488-1397, or email AustinRENT@cvrassociates.com.

The call center is available  8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Monday through Friday and is fluent in English and Spanish. If you speak Arabic, Chinese, Korean, Burmese, Urdu, or Vietnamese, you will be prompted to select your primary language and leave a voicemail. Your call will be returned within 24-48 hours with an interpreter on the line.  
 
Reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities are available. Please tell us if you require reasonable accommodation to apply for RENT. The RENT Assistance Program receives and accepts Video Relay Service (VRS) calls from people who are Deaf or hard-of-hearing.  
 

Application Process - what you can expect

Go to the RENT Application Portal (Web) for instructions, a how-to-apply video, frequently asked questions, and application assistance available in multiple languages.  Applications can be submitted 24 hours a day, seven days a week, from any smartphone, mobile device, or computer with Internet access until program funds are spent.
 

What you can expect:
 

 1. Apply

Renters complete and submit the online application. An email address is required.

 

 2. Weekly Random Selections

Applications are selected every Friday at noon, with highest priority groups drawn first.

Renter: If your application is selected, the RENT Program will request additional information.

Landlord: If your renter is selected, the RENT Program will ask you to register for an account and provide documentation. 

 

 3. Documentation/Eligibility Review

Renter: Provide requested documents. 

Landlords: Provide requested documents.

RENT program staff review documents and request additional documents, if needed.
 

 4. Eligibility Determination

Program staff verify information and determine renter's eligibility. The eligibility decision is provided to the renter and the landlord. 

 

 5. Payment

Payments* made by ACH (electronic transfers to a provided bank account). Payments are made directly to the landlord unless they are unresponsive (if so, payment is made directly to the renter, who must pay the landlord).

*The program provides up to18 months of total rental assistance for rent due in arrears dating back to April 2020 and/or future payments every 3 months through December 2021, while funds remain available. 

 

 6. Recertification

RENT Program staff contact eligible renters every 3 months to determine the continued need for assistance. RENT Program staff request updated information, as applicable.

Landlords/Property Managers/Owners Benefits

Do you still have renters who owe you current or back rent due to a COVID-19 related income loss? The RENT assistance program may be able to help.

RENT Benefits for Landlords/Property Managers/Owners

By registering for a RENT landlord account (Web), you can do the following:

• Receive payments directly. Direct deposit is available if you choose.
• Access up-to-date information about renter application status.
• Easily sign or upload required program documents electronically.
• View payment information about program funds approved for your renters.
• Manage multiple renters, entities, and properties all in one sign-in account

To sign up and get more information, go to the application portal (Web) which has FAQs, including a video that provides more detailed information about the program as well as a step-by-step guide.
 

If you are a landlord and wish to issue a notice to vacate to a tenant that is 3 or more months in arrears of rent payment, complete and submit the Eviction Prevention Application (Web) to serve as documentation required by the mayoral order.

Share information to renters in need

Here’s what you can do to help your eligible tenants 

• Share the website AustinTexas.gov/RENT  It is available in English & Spanish.
   
• Post RENT materials in common areas, PPE events, on the grounds.
  Yard signs and Window Clings are available in English & Spanish.
  • Postcards, social media graphics & Program Info 1-sheeters are available in English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Korean, Chinese, French, and Urdu.  
  •  Send out an email, post on your social media, or include information about the program in your newsletters. Suggested content and graphics are available in the digital marketing kit http://bit.ly/RENTassistance.

• Order free RENT print materials flyers, postcards window clings, and/or yard signs.
  Go to  http://bit.ly/RENT_OrderPrints to select useful materials, and to schedule a pick-up.

RENT Data - Program Progress Dashboards

Austin RENT Program Dashboard

The RENT Program Progress Dashboard (Web) provides information about households assisted by the 2020-21 Relief of Emergency Needs for Tenants (RENT) Program. The dashboard provides aggregate data on the distribution of rent assistance to households served including the total amount and median amount of rent assistance, median family incomes, household size, number of children, geographic distribution of assisted households, and the race/ethnicity, sex, veteran status, occupations and disability status of the head of household.
 

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2021 RENT Council District Dashboard

The 2021 RENT Council District Dashboard (Web) summarizes the total number of households assisted and the amount of rent assistance provided for each Council District.

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The 2020 RENT Program Progress Dashboard (Web) and 2020 RENT Council District Dashboard (Web) are accessible for historical purposes only.

Previous Programs

The Relief of Emergency Needs for Tenants (RENT) program launched on May 1, 2020, as part of the City's response to the Coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19). The program distributed one-time rental subsidies for persons impacted financially by COVID-19 through a lottery system similar to HACA’s Housing Choice Voucher program. Funds were paid directly to the landlords/property owners. 
The RENT program served nearly 1,680 households, providing more than $1.2 million in emergency rental assistance.  

Of the households served, nearly two-thirds earned at or below 30% of the Median Family Income (MFI).

Program Summary

Total Amount	Duration	Funding Source	Persons Helped
Initial $1.2 million	May 1, 2020 to April 30, 2021	Housing Trust Funds	1,680 households

 

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The City of Austin, together with the Housing Authority of the City of Austin, launched an expansion for rental assistance on August 17, 2020. The program distributed up to $12.9 million in rental assistance to serve an estimated 4,300 households with an average of 2.64 months of assistance.

Of the households served, more than 60% were at 30% Median Family Income (MFI) and below. 

The program received a funding injection of $3.2 million to serve participants in the RENT application pipeline.

Among those most served were LatinX populations, at 38% of the total assisted households, who continue to be disproportionately impacted by COVID-19. The 2020 RENT Program Progress Dashboard (Web) provides additional aggregate data on the distribution of rent assistance by demographic, zip code, occupation type, and median family income (MFI).

Program Summary

Total Amount	Duration	Funding Source	Persons Helped
Initial $12.9 million	August 19, 2020 to December 31, 2020	CARES-CV, CDBG-CV, General Funds	4,322 households
Additional $3.2 million	January 11, 2021 to April 30, 2021	CDBG-CV, Housing Trust Funds	504 households
TOTALS
$15.4 million			4,826 households

 More housing resources, eviction information, help with paying utilities and related housing services are available at Housing and Planning Department Displacement Prevention (Web).