Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP)
Help for those financially impacted during or due to COVID-19
The online application for this program will close Jan. 14, 2023. First time applicants are urged to request help soon.
If you have been (or currently are) unable to pay your rent due to a financial hardship experience during or due to the COVID-19 pandemic, you may be able to receive funds through the Emergency Rental Assistance Program if you are a Boulder County resident and meet certain criteria. Please note the following important points about the program as of January 2023:
- Federal Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) funds will run out in Boulder County in early 2023.
- Remaining ERAP funds will be prioritized for first-time applicants.
- The online ERAP application portal will close on January 14, 2023.
- Boulder County is working with partners to identify other options and funding sources for helping struggling renters avoid eviction, cover their rent, and recover financially.
- Over $14 million in emergency rental assistance has gone to nearly 2,000 households across the community to date.
Click the “Apply Online” button below to apply or check if you qualify, and see the fact sheet in English or Spanish.
Program Updates
The Boulder County Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) was created to provide emergency assistance during the COVID-19 pandemic. While we are still accepting applications, this program is entering its final phase.
As we begin to wind-down this one-time emergency program, Boulder County has developed the following guidance as ERAP transitions into a final phase:
- Going forward, new applications from households that have not yet received emergency rental assistance will be prioritized.
- Households on the eviction docket and/or working with mediation will continue to be prioritized.
- We will continue to accept applications through Neighborly’s online portal. We encourage households in need of rental assistance to continue to apply until January 14, 2023. This includes first-time applications as well as additional funds requests.
- We will continue to review additional funds requests and households will be notified of their eligibility.
- The Boulder County Housing Helpline staff will shift focus to assisting with reviewing ERAP applications. As part of this shift, we have eliminated MS Bookings appointments and we must also reduce staff response to voicemails and e-mail messages related to application status updates.
- Please understand that the Housing Helpline team continues to receive and work through a high volume of applications. Please ensure you work with your landlord to upload all required documents into the Neighborly portal and please check the status of your application in your portal account.
- Note that due to limited remaining funding we can’t guarantee all existing or additional rental assistance requests will be fulfilled.
Due to the high volume of applications as well as the anti-fraud measures required of a U.S. Treasury funded program, the current waitlist for ERAP assistance is 3 months. For the latest updates, please log into your Neighborly ERAP application using the Apply Now button below. If it has been more than 3 months since you applied, you can contact the Boulder County Housing Helpline for a status update using the web form at the bottom of this page.
Rental assistance is not guaranteed and may be denied depending on household eligibility, funding availability, or other requirements of the funding.
If you are approved for rent assistance, both you and your landlord will receive an email stating if your household is or is not eligible to apply again in the future. This approval email will also include the amount of approval and the expected payment date.
What does ERAP pay for?
Households are eligible for a maximum of 15 months of financial assistance. An additional 3 months of assistance could be provided in the case the household will face eviction because the household has no means to continue to pay rent. Assistance can be for the following:
- Past due rent (incurred after April 2020) and up to three months future rent to your current landlord.
- Housing Choice Voucher (HCV or Section 8 voucher) holders or those living in Project Based Voucher (PBV) units are only eligible for assistance with past due rent.
- Past due utilities (incurred after April 2020) that are charged by your landlord.
- Up to $100 per month of reasonable past due fees (incurred after April 2020) that are charged by your landlord. This does not include attorney’s fees.
- If you have been displaced due to the financial hardship experienced during or due to the COVID-19, ERAP may be able to assist with a deposit to help you lease at a new unit. If you are seeking deposit assistance, please clearly describe the financial hardship that caused you to leave your previous unit in Section E of the application.
- The unit must be in Boulder County, the rent must be under 150% of the Fair Market Rent, and the deposit cannot exceed two months of rent.
- You will have to find your own unit to lease and provide additional documentation prior to assistance being paid to the landlord.
- Households are eligible for up to one deposit per year.
- Below is the breakdown of ERAP assistance provided from March 2020 through October 2022:
| Community | Applications Received | Assistance Provided |
| Longmont | 1,338 | $5,030,204 |
| Boulder | 642 | $4,500,980 |
| Lafayette | 230 | $1,886,279 |
| Louisville | 72 | $637,850 |
| Superior | 40 | $477,878 |
| Nederland | 15 | $119,383 |
| Erie | 7 | $75,965 |
| Lyons | 5 | $31,604 |
Please note: Mortgage assistance cannot be provided using Emergency Rental Assistance funding. You can apply for mortgage assistance through the State’s Division of Housing Colorado Emergency Mortgage Assistance Program. For help with financial planning around mortgages or other budget-related needs, the Boulder County Personal Finance Programoffers phone and virtual appointments to discuss options and create plans.
*For questions about utilities, see “Utilities” tab
The Boulder County Housing Helpline (HHL) will be shifting gears to help process the influx of ERAP applications. As a result, staff will no longer respond to application status updates. Please e-mail HousingHelpline@bouldercounty.org if you have one of the following:
- Have received an Eviction Summons
- Have received a 10-day demand for payment notice
- If you’re responding to requested documents from your reviewer
- If it’s been three months or more from the submission date
If you need help communicating with your landlord, please consider contacting the local Mediation Program. This is a free service that can answer your questions, work with your landlord to prevent eviction, and appear in court with you if needed:
City of Longmont
Mediation Services
303-651-8444
mediation.services@longmontcolorado.gov
City of Boulder (includes; Lafayette, Louisville, Superior)
Community Mediation and Resolution Center
303-441-4364
mediation@bouldercolorado.gov
Please note: Due to high e-mail and call volumes, if you e-mail us inquiring about a status update on your application, we will not respond to your inquiry. We appreciate your patience while we work to support our community with its rental needs.
Applications are prioritized by the following criteria, when this information is available:
- Households which have received eviction notices and these notices have been provided.
- Households whose income is at or below 50% Area Median Income (AMI).
- Households where one or more household members were unemployed for at least 90 days prior to the date of application and adequate documentation has been provided
|
Prioritized Households (50% of Area Median Income) |
||||||||
| People in household |
1 person |
2 people | 3 people | 4 people | 5 people | 6 people | 7 people |
8 people |
| Gross monthly income | $3,412.50 | $3,900.00 | $4,387.50 | $4,870.83 | $5,262.50 | $5,654.17 | $6,061.67 | $6,433.33 |
Please have all of the following documents ready for your rental assistance application process:
- Head of household photo ID (examples include driver’s license or identification card issued from any U.S. State or Territory, U.S. military identification card or a military dependent’s ID card, Native American tribal document, document issued by any instrumentality of government, or document issued by an educational institution); and
- Current lease agreement which lists the applicant as tenant/resident; and
- Household income document – examples include any of the following:
- Your 2020 tax return Form 1040, or
- verification your household is currently receiving food or financial assistance (SNAP or TANF), or
- one month of income information, including pay stubs or other wage statements, bank statements demonstrating regular income, Unemployment benefits information, or an income verification statement from your employer, or
- If you don’t have income documents, please use Section I of the application to self-attest income. Contact the Housing Helpline with questions.
Please Note: Other documents may be required depending on the type of assistance needed and your circumstances. Additional documents may be requested after your application is reviewed. The sooner all documents are submitted, the sooner payments can be made if you qualify. Once approved, funds are paid directly to landlords and utility service providers. It can take up to two weeks for payments to be processed following approval.
To complete the review of the tenant application, landlord must create a landlord application if they do not have one or add the tenant to Section B of their existing application.
If you already have a landlord application for your property, please do not start a new application. Please see instructions for adding new tenants to section B. If you experience any difficulties or need additional staff at your property added a user on the application, please contact the Housing Helpline.
If you do not have an application, please follow these instructions to complete a new landlord application:
Further instructions for completing the application may be found at https://cdola.colorado.gov/rental-mortgage-assistance under FAQs and Resources
Boulder County’s ERAP can assist with past due utilities (incurred after April 2020) that are charged by your landlord. This means that if your landlord charges you for utilities in addition to your rent, these can be covered with your application for rent assistance.
If you are a utility customer with City of Boulder (for water/sewer/stormwater) or City of Longmont (for electric/water/stormwater/trash/compost/recycle) please watch for communications from your utility provider about options for utility arrears relief.
If you are a utility customer with Xcel Energy, United Power, other utility provider, please visit the below links for utility assistance programs: https://bouldercounty.gov/families/housing/low-income-energy-assistance/
Other Supports Are Available
This is not the only source of rental assistance in the community, and other support for basic needs is also available. You can visit or contact these partner organizations for help:
-
- Lafayette/Louisville/Superior/Erie: Sister Carmen Community Center, 655 Aspen Ridge Drive, Lafayette (map); 303-665-4342, info@sistercarmen.org
- Longmont/northern mountains: OUR Center, 220 Collyer Street, Longmont (map); 303-772-5529, info@ourcenter.org
- Boulder/southern mountains: EFAA (Emergency Family Assistance Association), 1575 Yarmouth Avenue (map), Boulder; 303-442-3042, info@efaa.org
The Housing Helpline and the Housing Stabilization Program
In 2008, Boulder County Housing and Human Services created the Housing Stabilization Program (HSP) to help people struggling with covering their housing costs remain in their homes. Over the past decade, HSP has helped nearly 4,200 households across the community stabilize by providing $22 million in rental and utility assistance and connecting them with other important supports they need. The Housing Helpline, which is utilizing the structure of the HSP to disburse ERAP funding to those who need it, was created in April 2020 to help connect Boulder County residents impacted by COVID-19 with supports for renters and landlords, including rental assistance, mediation services, and legal assistance.
If you have questions, please reach out to the Housing Helpline at 303-441-1206 or HousingHelpline@bouldercounty.org.
Important Contact Info
| Boulder County Call Center (General services and COVID-19 info) 720-776-0822 |
Boulder County Housing Help Line 303-441-1206 |
| Boulder County Housing & Human Services 303-441-1000 |
HHS Locations, Hours, Services During COVID-19: www.boco.org/COVID-19ContactHHS |
Contact Us
Housing & Human Services
Phone: 303-441-1000
TTY: 1-800-659-3656
Fax: 303-441-1523
Submit a question
Mailing Address
P.O. Box 471
Boulder, CO 80306
Boulder Location
3460 Broadway
Map & Directions
Fax: 720-564-2283
Hours: 8:00 AM - 4:30 PM - Monday/Wednesday/Friday
Longmont Location
515 Coffman Street
Map & Directions
Hours: 8:00 AM - 4:30 PM - M-F
