Looking for rental assistance?

Renters and landlords can find out what emergency rental assistance covers, how it works, and who’s eligible on the interagency housing portal hosted by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).

Making the Application Process Simple and User Friendly

Many jurisdictions have increased the reach and accessibility of programs by making the application process more user-friendly for both households and landlords. This can include efforts to simplify the application process itself, to make the application itself easily accessible online, or provide other ways to make the applications more generally accessible to tenants and landlords.

To avoid eviction tenants must present a completed CDC Eviction Protection Declaration, or an eviction protection form provided by their State, to their landlord. Make sure that applicants to your program know this and submit the appropriate form.

Examples

The State of Alaska, the Municipality of Anchorage, and 15 agencies representing 148 federally recognized tribes

The State of Alaska, the Municipality of Anchorage and 15 agencies representing 148 federally recognized tribes collaboratively developed a standardized mobile-friendly application system using five nonprofit providers from across the state. The application was broken into several stages that each required 3-5 minutes, and the program implemented text messaging functionalities to speed the process. The collaborative planning and implementation approach led to one third of renters within Alaska applying to the program, with Alaska Native/American Indian applicants representing 28% of responses.

The State of Virginia

The State of Virginia has implemented efforts to address incomplete applications with outreach phone calls. Combined with translation services, this targeted and direct phone outreach helps to push many applicants in high need areas to complete their application. Program administrators have noted that many applicants had not realized that their applications were incomplete, and these outbound efforts have a direct correlation with improvements in application completion.

  • Example self-attestation forms

    View example self-attestation forms currently used by ERA grantees.