TEXAS, USA — The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs will close the online rent relief application portal 12 days early after receiving a high amount of applications.
The online Texas Rent Relief portal re-opened Tuesday, March 14, 2023 and was initially set to remain open through Tuesday, March 28, 2023.
The portal will now close Thursday, March 16, 2023. Officials believe the new deadline will help ensure program staff can quickly review applications and distribute remaining funds.
More than 70,000 applications were submitted within the first 24 hours of re-opening. Officials said the requests for assistance "far exceeded available funding."
For comparison, the highest number of applications seen in a single day when the portal first opened in February 2021 was less than 20,000.
Those who have started but not yet finished an application must upload all documents and submit the application by Thursday at 11:59 a.m. CT to be considered for assistance. Applying does not guarantee payment.
As long as applications include a valid eviction docket number, applicants facing eviction will be prioritized.
Officials encourage anyone facing eviction to seek legal assistance, go to their eviction hearing and stay in communication with their landlord and the court.
Texans can visit https://texaslawhelp.org/eviction-referral or call 855-270-7655 for help understanding their options and seeking free or low-cost legal assistance.
Since the program launched in February 2021, Texas Rent Relief has provided more than $2.1 billion in emergency funds for rent and utility relief, served more than 316,000 households in 250 Texas counties, and prevented evictions for more than 21,000 households.
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