The Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) announced today that it is closing the Virginia Rent Relief Program (RRP) application portal at 11:59 p.m., May 15, 2022, to new applications.

Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) requires a prioritization of assistance for households with incomes less than 50 percent of area median income or households with one or more individuals that have not been employed for the 90-day period preceding the date of application. Any application submitted after April 21, 2022, will be prioritized based on these criteria, then processed on a first-come, first-served basis.  

Through March 31, the Virginia Rent Relief Program (RRP) has processed and disbursed more than $713 million in 141,330 rent relief payments for more than 104,990 unique households throughout Virginia. 

In June 2020, Virginia was one of the first states in the nation to create a statewide rent and mortgage relief program with federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act funds, and received additional state support as a bridge between the CARES and Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) funding streams. In total, the program has received more than $1 billion in funding through federal aid and the Virginia Housing Trust Fund. Chesterfield County and Fairfax County have operated their own ERA-funded rent relief programs for residents with ERA funding.

DHCD will continue to work with partners and stakeholders across the state to create comprehensive strategies to increase the supply of affordable housing, address and prevent evictions and reduce barriers in housing throughout the Commonwealth. Additional information on RRP are available at dhcd.virginia.gov/RRP. FAQs on the portal closure are available here.

About DHCD

The Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) partners with state, federal, local and nonprofit housing and community and economic development initiatives. DHCD programs strive to maintain the vibrancy of communities throughout the Commonwealth and include providing universal broadband access, investing in economic development initiatives, promulgating the statewide building and fire regulations, preserving the affordability and efficiency of Virginia’s homes and buildings, addressing homelessness, reducing eviction rates across the state and fostering innovative solutions to create affordable housing. DHCD invests over $350 million annually, in addition to $2 billion in federal recovery programs, as a partner to Virginia communities to create safe, affordable and prosperous communities to live, work and do business in Virginia.