Emergency Rental Assistance Program

The Department of Local Affairs’ (DOLA) October round of rental assistance will open for pre-applications starting at 11:00 a.m. on Monday, October 28, 2024. Pre-applications will be open to the public until 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, October 30, 2024. The Department’s top priority is to serve as many Coloradans as possible equitably and efficiently. Emergency rental assistance funding is available for Coloradans who have fallen behind on their rent, meet income limits and other qualifying factors, and are at risk of eviction or displacement. Those facing eviction will continue to be prioritized.

The Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) is alerting the public about a text fraud scheme related to the State’s Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP).

After serving over 36,000 households, with over 70% of whom have 50% Area Median Income (AMI) or less, the Colorado Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) will no longer accept emergency rental assistance applications after 11:59 p.m. on November 15, 2022.

For the past 15 months, the State of Colorado has provided emergency rental assistance to more than 30,000 households. The goal of the program was to mitigate the economic impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on people who were at an increased risk of losing their housing due to challenges with paying rent, as many people found their jobs eliminated or paused.

“Keeping Coloradans housed is one of the ultimate goals of the Department of Local Affairs. The Emergency Rental Assistance program has been a direct, fundamental benefit to Colorado families by enabling them to afford stable housing. We recognize that the inability to afford housing is a key contributor to the increase in homelessness in today's society, which is why programs like these remain crucial,” said Rick Garcia, Executive Director.