Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERA 1)

Overview

The City of St. Louis Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA-1) Program aimed at keeping families in their homes by helping income-eligible renters within the City of St. Louis who were past due in rent or utilities and suffered financial hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

If you applied before December 30, 2021 your documentation was submitted to the new provider selected to implement the Emergency Assistance Program (ERA-2). The new provider contacted applicants via email, phone or additional contact information.

For assistance please visit the Missouri's State Emergency Rental Assistance Program  or call 833-541-1599.

Assistance

The funding made available under this program were used to make direct payments to landlords/utility providers on behalf of qualifying tenants. These payments:

• Covered a tenant’s documented past-due rent only for the time period after March 13, 2020;
• Could not exceed 12 months of assistance based on the household’s need;
• Utilities addressed via this program included: water and sewer, power, gas.
• Other housing-related expenses addressed via this program included (on a case-by-case basis):
  • relocation expenses and rental fees of temporarily/permanently displaced households
  • some late fees
  • and other expenses deemed eligible by both the City of St. Louis and the U.S. Treasury.

The ERA 1 Program was intended only for residential tenants.  Landlords applying on behalf of their tenant, were directed to the Missouri Housing Development Commission's SAFHR application.

Eligibility

To qualify, the applicant needed to meet the following requirements:

• Be a resident of the City of St. Louis.
• Have a household income that does not exceed 80 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI).

50% and 80% of the St. Louis City Area Median Income (AMI)

Household Size	50% AMI	80% AMI
1	$29,750	$47,550
2	$34,000	$54,350
3	$38,250	$61,150
4	$42,450	$67,900
5	$45,850	$73,350
6	$49,250	$78,800
7	$52,650	$84,200
8	$56,050	$89,650

Note: As per federal regulation, this program prioritizes assistance to households with incomes less than 50% area median income and to households with one or more members that have been unemployed for at least 90 days. The City is also prioritizing those applicants that have received an eviction notice.

• Due to COVID-19, the applicant or an adult member of their household must have qualified for unemployment, had a reduction in household income, or experienced a financial hardship.
• Due to COVID-19, the applicant or an adult member of their household must have experienced housing instability.
• Submitted all the required documentation requested as part of the application or approval process:
  • Proof of St. Louis City residence
  • Head of Household picture ID
  • Written documentation from landlord
  • The household needed to demonstrate financial hardship due to COVID-19 and were asked to provide proof of income and a statement explaining how COVID-19 impacted household income.