Rental Assistance

Program Information

Pierce County Human Services and the City of Tacoma have received funding for rental and utility assistance for tenants impacted by COVID-19 and are behind on rent.

Pierce County has an operational rental assistance program. We are currently receiving applications and expending funds for rental assistance. Our fund source is US Department of Treasury and WA State Dept. of Commerce T-RAP. The purpose of the Rental Assistance program is to prevent eviction for Pierce County residents (including those living in the City of Tacoma) impacted by COVID-19 who are behind on rent. Applicants must qualify as low-income at or below 80% Area Median Income (AMI), but priority will be given to those under 50% AMI. Below is a snapshot of 80% AMI income limits per household:

Renters who don't qualify for rental or utility assistance will be referred to the Housing Justice Project for free eviction resolution services. Additional services and resources are available here. Please read the FAQs below before applying. This project is being supported in part by federal award number ERA0377, awarded to Pierce County by the U.S. Dept. of Treasury. Pierce County’s rent assistance program is currently operational per Proclamation 21-09.

If you are not a Pierce County resident, click here to find out where you can apply for rental assistance.

Apply for Rental and/or Utility Assistance

Renters and landlords have two options to register:

1. Click here to apply online. For the best user experience, please use the Chrome or Safari web browsers.

2. No internet? Call 2-1-1 to apply over the phone.

Note: Applying online is the fastest way to apply. Please only call 2-1-1 to apply if you have no internet access. If you are stuck on question 3, please log out and close your internet browser windows and try again. Be sure to answer all required questions before moving to the next, and read through the FAQs below

IMPORTANT:
In accordance with federal and state mandates, we are prioritizing households that are:

Under 50% Area Median Income (see chart above)
Unemployed for at least the last 90 days
Working with the Dispute Resolution Center (DRC)
- cases are referred as requested by the DRC

Pierce County Rental Assistance performs an eligibility check twice a month, and eligible applications are added to the queue to be served. This first screening looks for income requirements, if you’re a renter in Pierce County, and how you’ve been impacted by Covid-19. During this process, applications are prioritized in Priority 1 (those listed above) and Priority 2 (all other applications submitted). Applications are referred to our non-profit providers based on their case manager capacity. Priority 1 applications are referred before Priority 2 applications. Example: Priority 1 applications from March and April are the first to be referred, followed by Priority 2 applications from March and April. Then, Priority 1 applications from May and June are referred, followed by Priority 2 from May and June.

Currently, the majority of applications being submitted are Priority 1. It takes an average of 77 days from application submittal to rental/utility payment. However, some households may have to wait longer than anticipated. We understand this is a stressful time and appreciate your patience while we process applications as quickly as possible.

Items You'll Need to Apply

Household information, including birthdays, for all household members
Income verification for all household members for each source of income (Note: Stimulus checks are NOT counted as income for this program)
- 2020 tax return or household W-2
- Unemployment statements
- Alimony, child support, disability, retirement or VA benefits
- Current or past pay stubs
COVID impact documentation
- Proof of employment
- Loss of job or wages
Landlord name, email and phone number
Copy of lease or rental agreement
Landlord statement with past due balance
Past utility bills (if you're apply for utility assistance)

Eviction Updates

New proclamation creates a 'bridge' between the eviction moratorium and the new housing stability measures passed by the legislature.

Tenants will not be homeless on July 1. Pierce County already has programs in place to support tenants and landlords - including the rental/utility assistance program and eviction resolution program.

Some important things to note:

Stay in your unit and don't move out. Support is available for landlords and tenants if renters are still living in the unit.
If you have received an eviction notice, immediately contact the Housing Justice Project team at 253-572-5134 ext. 102, by email at [email protected] or via their online intake form.
As of July 1, if you are low-income and facing eviction, you will be eligible for free attorney representation in your eviction case by the Housing Justice Project.
You still must pay rent eventually. If you can afford your rent now, pay it. If you can't afford it, scroll above to apply for rental assistance.
New laws protect tenants from becoming homeless by slowing down the eviction process.
Landlords and tenants in need of more information should contact the Center for Dispute Resolution at 253-572-3657 or by email at [email protected]..

About the Utility Disconnect Prohibition

On July 2, 2021, the Governor issued an extension of the utility moratorium proclamation, which will now expire on September 30, 2021. This will be the final extension of the proclamation and the extension will align with the end date of the tenancy preservation bridge (21-09) to give Washingtonians struggling with housing payments time to prepare and seek assistance before both proclamations expire.

Utilities are encouraged to:

Continue to make good faith efforts to reach customers with past-due accounts, including partnering with community organizations, and provide information about their various assistance options.
Help customers identify utility, local, state and federal financial assistance programs they may be eligible for.
Offer extended payment plans of 12 months or longer.
Waive disconnection, reconnection, site visit and late fees accrued during the disconnection moratorium, if customers sign up for payment assistance.
Refrain from reporting overdue accounts to credit bureaus or placing liens on customers with overdue accounts for at least 180 days.

In addition to outreach from utilities, customers should contact their utility to learn about programs and financial resources that can help with unpaid utility bills and prevent disconnections. Residents with past-due energy and water balances are encouraged to call their utility providers as soon as possible to set up a payment or assistant plan. Customers can look up their utility information here or call 2-1-1.

As a reminder, the proclamation has stated that all energy, telecommunications and water providers are prohibited from the following:

Disconnecting any residential customers from energy, telecommunications, or water service due to nonpayment on an active account, except at the request of the customer.
Refusing to reconnect any residential customer who has been disconnected due to nonpayment.
Charging fees for late payment or reconnection of energy, telecommunications, or water service.
Disconnecting service to any residential customer who has contacted the utility to request assistance from the utility’s COVID-19 Customer Support Program.

Rental Assistance

Pierce County Human Services and the City of Tacoma have received funding for rental and utility assistance for tenants impacted by COVID-19 and are behind on rent.

New proclamation creates a 'bridge' between the eviction moratorium and the new housing stability measures passed by the legislature.

FAQs

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