Durham ERAP to Pause Accepting New Applications on October 4

The Durham Department of Social Services (DDS) announced today that Durham residents seeking emergency rental assistance will have until October 4th to submit their application before the Durham Emergency Rental Assistance Program (Durham ERAP) is temporarily paused.

The program has received more than 6,600 applications since it was launched in May 2021. Approximately $7.5 million in ERA-1 funds, which was the first phase of emergency rental assistance funding, have been distributed to date to prevent evictions of residents affected by COVID-19. 

As of Friday, September 18th, the program has 3,000 applications pending with $953,000 remaining in ERA-1 funding. Once the current City and County funding has been exhausted, DDS will then use $8.1 million of State ERA-1 funds available to Durham County for emergency assistance.

City and County officials have agreed to pause accepting any new applications after October 4th so that DDS can focus on existing applications. The pause on receiving new ERAP applications will remain in place until DDS can determine that there are sufficient funds to process all existing applications. Once existing applications have been addressed, the City and County will determine whether there are any remaining ERA-1 funds to support re-opening the current program for new applications.

During the pause, DSS will continue to process existing applications, including any applications submitted before the new deadline of October 4th.

For more information on the program, and to apply for assistance, click here.