Rental Assistance Program Coming Soon

Latest Update: February 26, 2021 

The United States Department of the Treasury recently allocated $8.6 million in federal funds to help City of Orlando residents who are in need of rental assistance. City of Orlando staff is currently working on establishing the qualifying criteria, program guidelines and creating the application portal for residents to apply. 

The qualifying criteria and program guidelines will be considered and approved by the Orlando City Council. The Orlando City Council’s next regularly scheduled meeting is Monday, March 22, 2021, and staff hopes to have the program considered at that meeting. 

Per the Treasury’s requirements for this program, to be eligible, a household must include: 

  • one or more individuals within the household qualified for unemployment benefits or experienced a reduction in household income, incurred significant costs, or experienced other financial hardship due, directly or indirectly, to the COVID-19 outbreak; 

  • one or more individuals within the household demonstrate a risk of experiencing homelessness or housing instability; and 

  • the household has a household income at or below 80% of area median income which for a family of four is $58,160 in Orlando. 

In addition, to be eligible, your residence (where you pay rent) must be located within the City of Orlando limits. Even if your residence has an Orlando mailing address, it might not be located within the Orlando city limits, so we encourage you to verify your address below. 

Online

Step 1.Verify Your Residence is in the City Limits

Use the Information Locator

Step 2.If You Live Outside the Orlando City Limits

If your residence is not located within the city limits but you reside in Orange County, you may be eligible for Orange County's rental assistance program.

Get more info on Orange County Rental Assistance

Step 3.Provide Your Contact Info for Updates

Sign up to receive updates

The CDC has released an Order that may stop landlords from evicting some tenants. However, the order does not automatically protect residents who are delinquent on their rent. Residents must:

  • Meet the eligibility criteria
  • Deliver a signed CDC declaration form to their landlord to be protected

For more information, visit Orange County’s Frequently Asked Questions related to Eviction Protections and Housing Assistance PDF.

Unlike previous rounds of COVID-19 federal stimulus funds which were only allocated to counties or cities with a population of 500,000 or more, the current round allocated funds directly to cities with a population of 200,000 or more including to the City of Orlando. Due to the city receiving its own allocation of funds to support residents, city residents will not be eligible to apply for Orange County’s March 2021 rental assistance program.  

City of Orlando staff is currently working on establishing the qualifying criteria and program guidelines. The qualifying criteria and program guidelines will be considered and approved by the Orlando City Council. The Orlando City Council’s next regularly scheduled meeting is Monday, March 22, 2021, and staff hopes to have the program considered at that meeting. 

Please sign up above to receive email updates on the program and when the application period will open.

Contact Us

Email

covidassistance@orlando.gov

Main Office

Orlando, FL

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