Weld County Receives $9.8M in Emergency Rental Assistance for Residents Struggling with Rent and Utilities

Weld County Government has received a total of $9,765,398 to help eligible county residents who are struggling to pay their rent and utilities during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Emergency Rental Assistance program makes $25 billion available to assist households that cannot pay rent and utilities due to the pandemic. Funds are provided directly to states, U.S. Territories, local governments, and Indian tribes that utilize the funds to assist eligible households through either existing or newly created rental assistance programs.

“We’re excited to announce we received four times the amount of funding we were expecting when we submitted our application,” said Don Warden, Weld County Director of Finance and Administration. “This should go a long way in helping Weld County residents with delinquent rent and utility bills,” Don said.

The Emergency Rental and Utility Assistance program in Weld County will be administered through the Department of Human Services (DHS) to eligible households who apply for assistance. Priority will be given to eligible households with income at or below 50 percent of the area median in addition to eligible households that include an individual who has been unemployed for 90 days before applying for assistance.

Criteria that eligible households with one or more individuals have to meet are as follows:

• Qualifies for unemployment or has experienced a reduction in household income, incurred high costs, or experienced a financial hardship due to COVID-19
• Demonstrates a risk of experiencing homelessness or housing instability
• Has a household income at or below 80 percent of the area median

For more information regarding applying for emergency rental assistance, visit https://www.weldgov.com/departments/human_services/emergency_rental_and_utility_assistance___e_r_a_.