ARLINGTON, Va. — Governor Ralph Northam announced today that $524 million in new federal funding will assist Virginia families with keeping their homes amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
An extension of the recent federal stimulus package, the Virginia Rent Relief Program (RRP) is funded through the Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) program, and it assists households and landlords with rent payments to avoid eviction.
Virginia is immediately putting $160 million into the RRP to increase housing stability across the Commonwealth and will make additional funding available based upon need.
The new ERA funding does not include mortgage relief, so the RMRP that has been operating since June will become the RRP and will no longer accept applications for assistance with mortgage payments.
Chesterfield Countyand Fairfax County will operate their own ERA-funded rent relief programs for their residents. All other Virginia tenants struggling to pay rent are encouraged to reach out to their landlords for the quickest path to rental assistance.
To submit a landlord-initiated application, visit virginiahousing.com/rentrelief [r20.rs6.net]. Virginia law requires landlords to work with their tenant to apply for this assistance.
Tenants interested in applying should check their eligibility by completing the self-assessment at dhcd.virginia.gov/eligibility or by dialing 2-1-1 from their phones. Tenants may be eligible for rent arrears payments back to April 1, 2020 and up to three months of payments into the future. The total payments may not exceed 15 months of rental assistance per household.
Watch the video of this announcement here.
