Emergency Rental and Mortgage Assistance

Tenants who have been unable to pay rent due to financial hardship caused by COVID-19 may be eligible for rental assistance from their county or the State. The Colorado Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) can help cover rent as far back as April 2020. Help can include past due, current, and two additional months of rent up to a maximum of 15 months of assistance.

The landlord or the tenant can start the application process, but receiving assistance requires documentation from both the tenant and the landlord.

We can’t process an incomplete application, so get everything ready and submit all the necessary documents on the first try.

What do tenants need to apply?

Most tenants will only need the following items:

• Landlord’s email address and phone number
• Government-issued ID for primary applicant and anyone over 18 who has zero income
• Lease or other document showing you live at the property
• Rent statement or ledger showing what you owe for rent
• Income documentation for all adult household members

Here is a full list of documents a tenant may need when applying for assistance.

What do landlords need to apply?

Most landlords will only need the following items:

• Tenant's name and contact information
• Tenant lease or other proof they live at your property
• Tenant rent statement or ledger showing what they owe
• Completed IRS Form W-9

Here is a full list of documents a landlord may need when applying for assistance.

What is the maximum allowable income to receive rental assistance?

Median income must be 80% or below the median income of your area. View a complete list of Colorado counties and the maximum allowable income in those areas.

How much rent will you pay?

The State program can pay back rent that you owe since April 2020, the current month rent and two months of future rent up to a maximum of 15 months total. The program cannot reimburse you for rent already paid. The program can only pay up to 150% of the fair market rent for your county and the size of apartment or house that you have. Fair Market Rent by county can be found here: Colorado 2021 150% Fair Market Rent table. Mobile home lot rent is also eligible.

Where can I get the Colorado W-9 Form?

Download the Colorado W-9 Form here.

How do I fill out the Colorado W-9 Form?

View the complete instructions on how to fill out the Colorado W-9 form.

What if my tenant moved out and didn't pay rent?

Rental assistance through this program is only available if the tenant is still living at the property.

What if my landlord won’t do their part of the application?

We encourage tenants to complete their portion of the application and enter in their landlord’s phone number and email address. We will contact them and ask them to apply. If they still won’t participate, you will have documentation that you did your part to receive assistance.

Have any other questions about the Colorado Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP)?

View additional frequently asked questions about the ERAP here.

Have any questions about what happens after you apply with ERAP?

View additional frequently asked questions about what happens after you apply here.

 

How will I get paid?

Starting on August 17th, applications approved by the State for rental assistance will be paid using a third party payment processing company, BIll.com. Bill.com is a payment software that uses bank-level security, firewalls, and encryption on any sensitive or personal data. For any other concerns you have dealing with bill.com, please reference https://www.bill.com/security. This payment processor specializes in sending ePayments and checks to the needed destination. It is important to note, that the state also partners with non-profit organizations to help with the rental assistance program. If your application is reviewed and processed by one of those partners, the payment will come from that organization. 

Neighborly, the application software used by the State, is the first step in beginning the payment process. Once the application is complete and the state has approved this application, you will receive an email detailing this approval. Soon after, you will also receive an invitation email from Bill.com set up your account for payment. Please do not go to Bill.com and create your own Bill.com account beforehand.  The invitation email from Bill.com will include a unique link to create your account and sign-up for ePayment. This email should not be forwarded or shared with others. 

Please note: If a Landlord has multiple properties or has created multiple applications, the Landlord will receive an email from Bill.com for each property or application. Landlords will need to follow the unique link each time to set up their account. If Landlords have only one property and one application, they will only receive one email from Bill.com and will need to only set up one account.

Details on how to create an account in Bill.com can be found here.

How do I set up my account in Bill.com

Once an application is complete and the state has approved this application, you will receive an email detailing the approval. Soon after, you will also receive an invitation email from Bill.com to set up your account for payment. Please do not go to Bill.com and create your own Bill.com account beforehand. The invitation email from Bill.com will include a unique link to create your account and sign-up for ePayment. This email should not be forwarded or shared with others.

 
1.       We HIGHLY recommend ePayments, as it reduces risk of check theft by paying vendors with digital payments that are sent by Bill.com on your behalf. This is faster, safer, and does not expose any sensitive information - which guarantees on-time payments with no penalties.

**(If you would like to receive a check for this funding, please call or text customer service support at 1-888-480-0066. When speaking with support, please advise them of your Landlord [or Tenant] name and ID and confirm the address you’d like to receive payments.)

2.       The email from Bill.com will contain a unique link that allows you to provide banking information for us to send funds to. Please note: this bank account must be a bank account from an accredited financial institution that can receive deposits. If not, please refer to step one on how to receive a check in the mail for approved payments.

3.       Please use the unique link and do not forward the link to anyone else or to a different email address. Step-by-step information on how to sign-up for ePayments can be found here:  (LINK TO SOP for Bill.com). If you are unsure of this process, please call our customer service support team at 1-888-480-0066 to receive real-time assistance when signing up.

4.       Once you have created your account and set up your banking information, there will be no more steps to take, and your payments will be sent for processing.

Please note: If a Landlord has multiple properties or has created multiple applications, the Landlord will receive an email from Bill.com for each property or application. Landlords will need to follow the unique link each time to set up their account. If Landlords have only one property and one application, they will only receive one email from Bill.com and will need to only set up one account.

Will all payments come from Bill.com?

The State also partners with non-profit organizations to help with the rental assistance program. If your application is reviewed and processed by one of those partners, the payment will come from that organization. 

The majority of checks after 8/17 will come from Bill.com. There will still be some checks that have already been processed by the State that will be delivered throughout August.

Application Prioritization

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

Preguntas frecuentes

Programa de Emergencia para la Renta en Colorado (ERAP) Preguntas frecuentes

Requisitos de los arrendadores para solicitar asistencia

Lista de verificación del Programa de Emergencia de Asistencia para la Renta en Colorado

Requisitos de los inquilinos para solicitar asistencia

Lista de control del Programa de Emergencia de Asistenciapara la Renta en Colorado

Preguntas Frecuentes: ¿Qué sucede después de aplicar para el ERAP?

Programa de Asistencia de Emergencia de Asistencia para la Renta en Colorado Preguntas Frecuentes: ¿Qué sucede después de aplicar para el ERAP?

W-9(SP)

W-9(SP) Solicitud y Certificación del Número de Identificación del Contribuyente

To connect with a representative CALL OR TEXT:  1-888-480-0066 / M - F 8:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. mountain time, Saturdays 8:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

If making a call or text is not possible, instead please fill out this form.

To report potential program fraud or concerns:  DOLA_POPFraud@state.co.us