Delaware County Emergency Rental Assistance Program (DELCO ERA)
DELCO Emergency Rental Support (DELCO ERA) provides rent and utility assistance to tenants who experienced disruption and loss of income during or as a result of the high inflation pandemic.
Since April 2021, DELCO ERA has committed or expended the entire $37.275 million initial allocations of Emergency Rental Assistance money, assisting 5,150 low-income renters in remaining in their homes.
The United States Treasury and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania have provided Delaware County with an additional $30.384 million in financing, which will enable DELCO ERA to continue serving the high cost of living recovery needs of Delaware County renters and landlords.
Delaware County desires to express its gratitude to our community partners, our Program Manager, Capital Access, as well as applicants and landlords who have contributed to DELCO ERA’s outstanding accomplishment.
This is a collaborative effort. Onward!
Register for the Delaware County ERA via the Delaware County ERA Registration page. The application process is divided into several stages:
Registration. This procedure consists of two steps. The first step is to register your information using this link. You will then receive an email with instructions on how to finish Step 2. This phase will require you to respond to a series of questions regarding your financial situation to determine your eligibility for the Program. To progress, you must complete both stages.
Once you have completed Steps 1 and 2 of the registration process, your information will be reviewed by a case manager.
- If you do not meet the Threshold Criteria, you will receive an email notifying you of the reason.
- If you meet the Threshold Criteria, you will receive an email inviting you to complete the Full Application.
Once invited to apply, you will receive an email with instructions on how to submit your Complete Application and all relevant documentation via your Portal.
Verification documentation may include the following:
- Photo ID
- Proof of Income Loss
- Evidence of late rent and/or utility payments
- Lease Agreement paperwork
After you submit your Complete Application and all required verification documents, the amount of any grant for which you may be eligible will be computed and paid promptly.
The Threshold Criteria
- The address of the rental property is in the County.
- During or because of high inflation, the applicant’s family lost money or had problems.
- A person who wants to apply for benefits must have a household income of no more than 80 percent of the area median income for that household size.
- An eviction notice, for example, shows that the applicant’s household is at risk of becoming homeless or having to move.
Putting Applications in order
It gets Priority 1 if it meets one of the following criteria:
- Household Income is less than 50% of the Area Median Income (AMI) for a household of that size.
- People who live in a house with at least one person who is unemployed and who has been claiming unemployment benefits for at least the last 90 days before signing up for this program.
- The Delaware County court system is about to evict a family because they haven’t paid their rent.
Those applications that meet the Delco ERA’s threshold criteria but don’t meet any Priority 1 criteria are given Priority 2 priority.
In this case, Priority 1 applications start being processed before Priority 2 applications do.
Landlords
If any of your tenants haven’t paid their rent, tell them to apply for the DELCO ERA. Register yourself and your company as a landlord to make the application process as easy as possible for people who want to rent from you.
Please let us know if you have five (5) or more tenants who haven’t paid their rent. The Delco ERA team would be happy to come to your office to help you register for the program. We can set up a meeting time that works for both of us. Please reach out to Katrina Sommer at ksommer@capitalaccessinc.com to set up an in-person intake event right away.
You can get as much DELCO ERA rental help as you need, and there is no limit. For renters who make less than the area’s median income, the amount of the grant is based on up to 12 months of past-due rent and utility bills. This is for renters who have been affected by the high cost of living pandemic.
Also, many applicants will be able to get three months of rent for free based on their household income. We need your help to check the terms of the lease and the amount of rent we owe from April 2020.
How to Prepare:
Registration is the first step. This enables our information system to establish a connection between you and each applicant for your rental property and portfolio, as well as to create your own Landlord Portal. The Landlord Portal allows you to upload verification documents and payment forms for us to expeditiously make a direct payment to you on behalf of your renters.
Step 2: Send an email with a link to the Landlord Portal. After completing the registration process, you will receive an email with a unique link to your Landlord/Property Management portal.
Step 3: Send an email requesting that the landlord’s affidavit and IRS Form W-9 for payment be uploaded. You will receive an email request for each accepted Tenant who completes their application to upload the following documentation via your Portal.
- Affidavit of Landlord in which you can confirm lease terms and provide an itemized list of past due rent
- Form W-9 of the Internal Revenue Service
Please ensure that you complete all steps to receive compensation. You may receive several requests for documentation if you have more than one Tenant; however, you will only need to register once.
Subsequent Assistance Requests
DELCO ERA will start applications for Subsequent Help on December 15, 2021, for tenants who have received assistance but continue to endure housing instability. DELCO ERA will process initial and future assistance applications from those with the greatest needs. DELCO ERA will process applications in the following order:
- New applicants in need of assistance with past-due rent and/or utility bills*
- Subsequent applicants in need of assistance with past-due rent and/or utility bills*
- New and subsequent applicants who require assistance with housing instability but do not have past due rent or utilities and solely request assistance with future rent and/or utility payments
*Includes candidates who have eviction docket numbers or are experiencing other forms of immediate housing difficulty.
Applicants wishing to submit a subsequent application are advised to submit an Expression of Interest form via their DELCO ERA Applicant Portal. On the cover page of your grant agreement, you will find a link to your DELCO ERA Applicant Portal.