Volusia County to reopen Emergency Rental Assistance portal

Volusia County’s Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) program has funds available to assist households that have experienced a financial hardship during the COVID-19 pandemic. Eligible households may receive up to nine months of rental and utility arrears and three months of forward assistance.

The funds are left over from a previous federal grant that was not entirely utilized.

Applications will be accepted continuously beginning at 9 a.m. Wednesday, May 4. The ERA application portal will remain open until the current funding has been depleted. During that time, county residents may submit an application online at www.volusia.org/era. Income limits and a list of the required documents are posted on the webpage. 

Households who are currently receiving or have previously applied for Emergency Rental Assistance should not reapply. Households who are currently receiving or have received assistance through the OUR Florida program will not be eligible to receive assistance through the County’s Emergency Rental Assistance program.

With finite funds available, the county will monitor the application portal diligently and process applications on a weekly basis. As the amount of committed dollars is calculated, the application portal may close at any time to ensure funding is not over committed. Therefore, Community Assistance staff encourages applicants to gather their required documents in advance.

For those needing assistance with the application, navigators will be available during normal business hours at the following locations:

• The regional libraries in Daytona Beach, DeLand, Deltona, New Smyrna Beach, Ormond Beach and Port Orange
• John H. Dickerson Heritage, Hope Place, DeBary and Edgewater public libraries
• Emergency Rental Assistance office, 121 W. Rich Ave., DeLand

Landlords may apply on behalf of their tenant. They are asked to send an email to era@volusia.org with their contact information. A staff member will reach out to help them complete the application.

An eligible household is a renter household in which at least one or more individuals meet and can document these criteria:

• Qualifies for unemployment or has experienced a reduction in household income, incurred significant costs, or experienced a financial hardship due to or during the COVID-19 pandemic;
• Demonstrates a risk of housing instability; and
• Has a household income at or below 80% of the area median income. 

Applications will be prioritized on a first-ready, first-served basis in this order: