The Best Way To Get Rent Help Fast

We’ll answer that question by discussing renters assistance programs and other resources that can help with housing.

It’s no surprise that housing is on many people’s minds, as they are wondering how they’ll pay the rent with the costs of everything else rising. This is why “how to get emergency housing assistance near me” is one of the most searched phrases on Google as of late.

If housing is on your mind and you need renters relief before you end up on the streets, don’t fret, as we are about to show you several ways to get assistance with rent.

Outline: Ways To Get Rent Help Quickly

• Get Renters Relief Through 211
• See If Emergency Rental Assistance Still Exists In Your Area
• Ask Your Public Housing Agency About Renters Assistance Programs
• Find Cheaper Rent By Contacting Affordable Housing Buildings  
• Get Rent Help Quickly Through HUD.gov
• Get Your Section 8 Voucher Faster

Ways To Get Rent Help Quickly

There are several renters assistance programs out there that can help you cut your housing costs. Some move faster than others, which is why we will discuss short-term and long-term renters relief so you can explore every option.

Get Renters Relief Through 211

211 is not a renters assistance program. Why do we list it first, then? Because if you need help paying rent right now, calling 211 may be your best bet at finding what you are looking for. And beyond assistance with rent, 211 can financially help you in other ways, allowing you to kill several birds with one stone.

When you dial 211 on your phone, you’ll be connected to a local operator. You can ask them for emergency rental assistance and see how they respond. They may connect you to a federal rental assistance program or something offered by your state. Most likely, the 211 operator will tell you if any local charities offer emergency rent assistance so you can contact them

immediately. And if your housing issues are so bad that you have already been evicted, ask the operator where the nearest shelter is so you can have a safe place to sleep at night.

That handles your emergency rent issues, but you shouldn’t hang up the phone just yet. Why? Because if you are having housing problems and need rent assistance, you probably need help in other areas too. While 211 helps with housing expenses, they can also assist you with:

• Finding food pantries and food banks, meal delivery options, and hot meal programs.
• Paying your bills, such as utilities.
• Medical bills, prescriptions, and other healthcare expenses.
• Mental health and substance abuse counseling.
• And more.

Call 211 first to see what your emergency rent help options are, and you may get all the information you need to solve your issues with housing and other aspects of your life.

See If Emergency Rental Assistance Still Exists In Your Area

Beyond calling 211, perhaps the best way to get rent help fast during the pandemic was via the Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) Program. It was explicitly designed to help struggling households that lost jobs or incomes due to the coronavirus pandemic and offered renters relief in significant ways. For instance, if you had past-due rent and were no longer protected by the eviction moratorium, the Emergency Rental Assistance Program could have handled those payments. That’s not all, though, as it could have also paid your current rent, three months of future payments, and utilities.

What happened to the ERA Program? Its billions in funding got used up quickly since so many households needed such assistance with rent. In short, the ERA Program has probably ended in your area due to depleted funding, as most states terminated this assistance in December 2022. However, there is a tiny chance that your state may have some emergency rent assistance funding left.  Go here to see if emergency rent help is available via your local ERA Program. If not, try all the other housing assistance resources on this list until you find the right fit.

Ask Your Public Housing Agency About Renters Assistance Programs

211 is not the only resource you call to get rent help fast, as your Public Housing Agency (PHA) can offer similar or even better assistance. Counselors at your local PHA are experts on federal rental assistance programs, plus they can tell you where nearby affordable housing is so you can move to a cheaper place.

Tell your PHA all the details of your rent problems. If you are near eviction, let them know that you need emergency renters relief versus a slower, long-term program like Section 8. They may be able to connect you with a program to pay past-due rent, so you get caught up with your landlord.   

Find Cheaper Rent By Contacting Affordable Housing Buildings  

While this method won’t help with past-due rent, it could help you fix the issue of “how to get emergency housing assistance near me” by getting you into a cheaper place. How? By hopefully finding a building with units that charge 30 percent of your income for rent.

According to statistics, most low-income families spend over half of what they make on rent. This makes them “rent-burdened” and leaves little cash for other expenses. If you can cut your rent expenses to just 30 percent of your income, you can live more comfortably and have enough room in your budget to pay other bills without living paycheck to paycheck.

You can find affordable housing buildings through the HUD Resource Locator. Click on its “Find Affordable Housing Opportunities Near Me” option, and it will show you a map of budget-friendly buildings you can call or email. You can also contact your PHA and ask for a list of affordable housing buildings or search Google to see what’s near you.

Once you have a list of buildings in your area, call or email them and ask if they have units that charge 30 percent of income for rent. If so, ask how you can apply to be a tenant. This method helps you enjoy the savings of the Section 8 program without needing a voucher. And it can help you get rent help fast since Section 8 can have you wait years for a voucher, while contacting affordable housing buildings directly could get you into a cheaper place within months, weeks, or even days, depending on your luck.

Get Rent Help Quickly Through HUD.gov

Whether you’re on the verge of eviction, have past-due rent, want a cheaper rental, or simply need to speak to a counselor to get free housing assistance, you can get help via HUD.gov. It’s the official site of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and it is loaded with links representing resources on renters relief, both short-term and long-term.

This method to get rent help quickly is ideal if you want to start researching renters assistance and affordable housing on your own before picking up the phone or emailing someone like a 211 operator or a counselor at your PHA.

Since HUD.gov is so huge, you could spend hours or days scouring the site to find the renters relief you are looking for. We’ll help you cut to the chase by sharing HUD.gov’s top two pages for assistance with rent.

The first is Rent Relief Resources.  Visit this page if you are concerned about eviction. You can also visit it if you know you will not be able to pay your rent or utilities soon, as it can help you prepare by knowing your rights as a tenant, where to find emergency rental assistance, and so on. And if you feel like you have been discriminated against as a tenant, and that is why you are facing eviction, the Rent Relief Resources page can also direct you towards legal aid, so you get representation from an expert.  

Before leaving Rent Relief Resources, scroll down to the bottom of the page. You will find an Additional Resources section with even more ways to fix your finances.

Rental Assistance is the second page on HUD.gov that you can visit to get rent help fast.  Visit this page if you need help paying rent now or would like to find a cheaper rental to cut your costs in the future.

The Rental Assistance Page can help you search for a privately-owned unit with reduced rent. 

It can help you find public housing that is ideal for low-income families, people with disabilities, or the elderly. This page also has a link for added information on the Housing Choice Voucher Program (Section 8), so you can see how to get the government to pay a large portion of your rent. And so you can get started with your Section 8 application, the page has a link to find your local Public Housing Agency.

Resources on the Rental Assistance page on HUD.gov don’t stop there, as it has a Local Renting Information Section. Use it to find rent help in your state should you realize that federal rental assistance is too slow. And, as with the Rent Relief Resources page, the Rental Assistance page has a section on your rights as a tenant should you feel your landlord is slighting you.

Get Your Section 8 Voucher Faster

If you want long-term federal rental assistance, so you don’t have to worry about coming up short or late on payments in the future, Section 8 or the Housing Choice Voucher Program is your best bet. As mentioned, this renters assistance program can get the government to pay a large portion of your rent directly to your landlord. All you will be responsible for is your portion, which maxes out at 30 percent of your income. And while such rent help is great, the fact that Section 8 lets you pick where you live (provided it’s in the proper price range) in an apartment, townhome, or single-family home.

Unfortunately, Section 8 will not be the perfect answer to your issue of “how to get emergency housing assistance near me.” Why? Because a Section 8 voucher could take years to process due to the high demand for the program. On average, you are looking at a one to two-year wait for your voucher. But if you live in a large city with excessive demand for rent help, you could wait for up to ten years, as some Section 8 applicants reported.

We recommend using the methods listed above to find rent help fast. But in addition, you should contact your PHA to get the ball rolling on your Housing Choice Voucher application. This can increase your chances of getting long-term rental assistance, plus there’s a bit of good news: There are ways to get your Section 8 voucher faster, so you may not have to wait years to move into your cheaper rental.

Perhaps the best way to get your Housing Choice Voucher faster is to mention any preferences that apply to your situation. Tell your PHA counselor if these preferences are issues you are experiencing:

• Homelessness (living on the streets and not with friends and family)
• Domestic violence victim
• Paying over 30 percent of your income to your landlord each month for rent
• Living in substandard housing (you have no heating or cooling, no kitchen, electrical/plumbing problems, etc.)
• Displaced from your home by the government or natural disaster
• Disabled, unable to live on your own, or your health could be improved with more affordable housing

Those are the standard Section 8 preferences, but you can ask your PHA if they use any more. The more preferences apply to your situation, the faster you can get your voucher to enjoy cheaper rent.

Beyond mentioning any preferences, you can also get your Section 8 voucher faster by applying to multiple PHAs (your city could have as many as 50 if you live in a heavily populated area). You could also use the method mentioned above of contacting affordable housing buildings directly to see if they have units that charge 30 percent of income, which will get you Section 8 savings without waiting for a voucher.