Delaware County Emergency Rental Assistance
DELCO Emergency Rental Assistance (DELCO ERA) helps renters who suffered disruption and loss of income during or due to the COVID-19 pandemic with rent and utility assistance.
Since April 2021, DELCO ERA has expended 100% of the initial $37.275 million allocation of Emergency Rental Assistance funds which helped 5,150 low-income renters stay in their homes.
The U.S. Treasury and Commonwealth of Pennsylvania have provided Delaware County with $36.315 million in additional funding, which is helping DELCO ERA continue to serve the COVID recovery needs of thousands more tenants and landlords in Delaware County.
Delaware County wishes to thank our community partners, our Program Manager, Capital Access and applicants and landlords who contribute to the remarkable success of DELCO ERA.
This is a Team Effort. Onward!
How To Apply
See the Application Process section below for an overview of the steps in the process.
Apply In-Person (by appointment only):
In-person events are available if you...
- Need technological help
- Need language services
- Need access to a computer
- Do not have an email address
- Need help scanning and uploading documents
- Would prefer in-person assistance
Status updates and appeals are not available at in person events.
We offer in-person appointments at multiple locations on different days. Please take note of the day and location and click the corresponding link to schedule:
- When: Wednesdays
- Where: Chester City Municipal Building
- 1 E 4th St
- Chester, PA 19013
- Schedule at Chester City Hall*
- When: Saturdays
- Where: Upper Darby Office (Fourth Floor)
- 20 South 69th St.
- Upper Darby, PA 19082
- Schedule at Upper Darby*
- When: Tuesdays or Thursdays
- Where: Media Fellowship House
- 302 S. Jackson St
- Media, PA 19063
- Schedule at Media Fellowship House*
*An email is needed to register. If you do not have an email, please call us at 484-729-4200 to schedule your appointment.
Application Process
1 REGISTRATION
REGISTRATION (1 of 2)
- Click Tenant Registration link.
- Provide your name, email, address, and preferred language.
- Go to the link provided in the Step 1 confirmation email.
- Provide additional information to help expedite your registration submission.
- Provide your landlord and utility information.
2 FULL APPLICATION
- Go to your personal Applicant Portal link to access the Full Application
- Complete and submit your Full Application.
3 DOCUMENT UPLOADS
Go to your Applicant Portal to upload verification documents such as Identification, Income sources, Lease, Utility Statement, etc.
4 VERIFICATION REVIEW
- Respond to your Case Manager as soon as possible when you receive a call, text, or email to request clarification.
- Continue to review the status of your application through your Applicant Portal.
5 GRANT GENERATION
- Look for your ERA grant approval notice by email.
- Read your grant agreement for accuracy.
- Sign the grant agreement online.
6 PAYMENT
Check your Applicant Portal to confirm your landlord and utility has been paid.
Register at Delaware County ERA Registration . The Application Process has multiple parts:
- Registration. This is a two-step process. Step 1 is registering your information at the link above. You will then receive an email to complete Step 2. This step asks you to answer a few questions about your financial status to determine eligibility for the Program. You must complete both steps to proceed.
-
Once you have completed both Step 1 and Step 2 in the registration process a case manager will review your
information.
- If you fail the Threshold Criteria, you will be notified by email with the reason.
- If it is determined that you pass the Threshold Criteria, you will get an email from us inviting you to submit the Full Application.
-
Once you are invited to apply, you will receive an email to submit your Full Application and all required
documentation through your Portal.
Verification documentation could include:- Photo Identification
- Evidence of Income Loss
- Evidence of Past Due rent and/or utilities
- Lease
- When you have submitted your Full Application and complete set of verification documents, any grant for which you may be eligible will be calculated and paid quickly.
Threshold Criteria
- Rental property address is located in the County.
- Applicant household has suffered income loss and/or disruption during or due to Covid-19.
- Applicant household income is no more than 80% AMI for household size.
- Applicant household is at risk of homelessness or housing instability as documented with a past-due rent or utility notice, or an eviction notice.
Prioritization of Applications
- Household Income is 50% or less of Area Median Income (AMI) for household of that size.
- Household with at least 1 person unemployed who has an active claim with a state Office of Unemployment for at least the 90 days prior to date of Registration with this Program.
- Household facing eviction in the Delaware County court system for the reason of non-payment of rent.
Priority 2 is assigned to any application that meets the Delco ERA’s Threshold Criteria, and does not meet any Priority 1 criteria.
Priority 1 applications begin processing before Priority 2 applications.
Landlords
If any of your tenants are behind on rent payments, encourage them to apply for the DELCO ERA. Register yourself and/or your company as a landlord to make their application process as smooth as possible.
If you have five (5) or more tenants behind on their rent, and they need assistance with the registration process, please let us know. We would be happy to schedule an in-person intake event with you and have a Delco ERA team member come to your offices to assist with the registration process. Please contact Katrina Sommer at ksommer@capitalaccessinc.com to schedule an in-person intake event today.
There is no cap on the amount of DELCO ERA rental assistance. The amount of the grant is calculated based on up to 12 months of past due rent and utility for renters who earn 80% of Area Median Income or below and experience disruption and/or income loss due to the COVID pandemic. In addition, many applicants will qualify for 3 months future rent based on their household income. We need your assistance to verify the lease terms and the amount of past due rent since April, 2020.
What to Expect:
Step 1: Registration. This enables our information system to link you with every applicant in your rental property and/or portfolio and set your own Landlord Portal. The Landlord Portal is where you can upload verification documents and payments forms so that we may expedite a direct payment to you on behalf of your tenants.
Step 2: Email with link to Landlord Portal. Once you are registered in the system, you will receive an email with a unique link to your personal Landlord/Property Management portal.
Step 3: Email with Request to Upload Landlord Affidavit and IRS Form W-9 for Payment. For each approved Tenant that completes their application, you will receive an email request to upload through your Portal the following documentation based on a specific Tenant.
- Landlord Affidavit where you can verify lease terms and provide an itemization of past due rent
- IRS W-9 Form
Please make sure to complete each step to receive payments. If you have more than one Tenant, you may receive multiple requests for documentation; however, you will only need to register once.
Applications for Subsequent Assistance
On December 15, 2021, DELCO ERA will open applications for Subsequent Assistance for tenants who received assistance, but still face housing instability. DELCO ERA will process first-time applicants and subsequent assistance applicants with highest needs. DELCO ERA will prioritize processing of applications as follows:
- New applicants with past due rent and/or utility assistance needs*
- Subsequent applicants with past due rent and/or utility assistance needs*
- New and subsequent applicants who have housing instability needs, but no past due rent or utilities and request only future rent and/or utility assistance *Includes applicants with eviction docket numbers or other immediate housing instability challenges.
Applicants interested in submitting a subsequent application are encouraged to complete an Expression of Interest form through their DELCO ERA Applicant Portal. You can find the link to your DELCO ERA Applicant Portal from the cover page of your grant agreement.
FAQs
Applicant
- One or more individuals within the household has qualified for unemployment benefits OR experienced a reduction in household income, incurred significant costs, or experienced other financial hardship during or due to the coronavirus pandemic; AND
- One or more individuals within the household can demonstrate a risk of experiencing homelessness or housing instability; AND
- The household is a low-income family.
HUD INCOME LIMITS 2021 for Delaware County, PA
|
Household Size |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
|
Very Low Income (50%)* |
$33,100 |
$37,800 |
$42,550 |
$47,250 |
$51,050 |
$54,850 |
$58,600 |
$62,400 |
|
Low Income (80%) |
$52,950 |
$60,500 |
$68,050 |
$75,600 |
$81,650 |
$87,700 |
$93,750 |
$99,800 |
- A 2020 IRS 1040 tax return is the most efficient document for income eligibility;
- 3rd Party Income Verification Certification from a government or non-profit agency who conducted an income verification for the applicant in 2020;
- Traditional sources of income verification such as pay stubs, w-2, 1099 and related income streams.
If after three attempts by DELCO ERA to obtain income verification documents, none of these documents are available, and if there does not appear a pattern of fraud, waste and/or abuse, we can accept an Attestation of Income from the Applicant.
We welcome and encourage property managers to help applicants obtain and upload income and related verification documents.
- PECO
- AQUA American
- Chester Water Auth.
- Action Fuel Oil
- Cardinal USA
- Cass Oil Co.
- DC Fuel Oil Co.
- DELCORA
- FC HAAB Energy
- Ferro Fuel Oil Inc.
- Meenan
- Oil Patch Fuel
- Petro
- Royal Petroleum
- Southwest Delaware County Municipal Authority
- Tioga Fuel Co.
You may also consider applying to the LIHEAP Program for your heating needs.
Cable, Internet, cell phone and other telecommunications are not eligible for assistance from this Program. For assistance with the cost of your Internet service, the Federal Communications Commission may be an option - www.fcc.gov/broadbandbenefit
For Priority 2 applicants, the program can cover up to the limit of 15 months of total assistance for past-due rent and utilities.
Past-due rent and utilities may go as far back as April 1, 2020.
It does not matter if a month of DELCO ERA assistance is for rent only, utility only, or rent and utility -- it counts as one month toward the total assistance limit.
Eligible assistance includes:
- Security deposit OR last month rent, not to exceed on month rent
- Pro-rated rent for the move-in month
- For Priority 1 applicants, three months future rent
- Utility deposit if required by the utility to establish an account
Even though there is no specific cap on the amount of rental assistance, our staff is directed to do anti-fraud, waste and abuse analysis which includes:
- Require submission of a signed and current lease that is compared to a Landlord Affidavit for consistency.
- Rental Housing to Income ratio affordability analysis. If the rent far exceeds what a low-income tenant could reasonably afford, we reserve the option to conduct a deeper investigation into affordability and legitimacy of the rent charged.
- Reviewing public ownership records.
- Requesting additional documentation from the applicant and/or landlord.
If you still cannot locate the email, you may also call (484) 729-4200 to do an Assisted Intake over the phone.
- If you registered using an email address of a family member or friend and you want to change it, you must re-register.
- If you registered using the wrong address, please inform your Case Manager.
Once you submit your Full Application your Case Manager will reach out to you to ask if you have questions or need assistance with uploading your verification documents.
When we invite you to submit your Full Application, we also reach out directly to your landlord for payment processing and other required documents.
- You can work with the Landlord to sign a lease amendment to include only the individual(s) still responsible for paying the rent, and provide that amendment document to DELCO ERA.
-
We will pro-rate the rent and utilities amount.
For example, if you and two others are listed as lessees, and the two others have vacated, then DELCO ERA will pay for one-third (1/3) of the rent and utilities.
If you and two others are listed as lessees, and one of the others has vacated, and the other lessee is participating in the program, DELCO ERA will pay for two-thirds of the rent and utilities.
If you cannot locate the email please attempt to re-register using the same email address. The system will not allow you to apply twice but it will generate and automatic email message with the link to your Application Portal.
The form includes:
- Date of Appeal
- DELCO ERA Application ID#
- Email Address
- Name
- Mailing Address
- The DELCO ERA decision they are appealing
- Date of the DELCO ERA decision
- A complete and concise reason for the appeal
- Documentation to support their claim, if any.
Program guidance from the U.S. Department of Treasury or the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania may not be appealed. Landlords may not appeal a DELCO ERA decision.
For questions about the appeal form, please contact your Case Manager. After your appeal has been filed, your Case Manager has no additional information about your appeal.
Appeals may be submitted to:
- humanservices@delcohsa.org
- OR
- DELCO ERA Appeals
- Delaware County Human Services
- 20 South 69th Street
- Upper Darby, PA 19082
Delaware County will provide the applicant with a written decision within 60 days of receipt of the appeal.
If you have questions about your submitted appeal, you may contact Delaware County Human Services at 610-713-2323 or humanservices@delcohsa.org.
Second Appeal:
Decisions on appeals by the County may be further appealed to the Delaware County Court of Common Pleas under 2 Pa. C.S. § 752.
The Court of Common Pleas can be contacted through the Office of Judicial Support, (610) 891-4388 and Legal Aid of Southeastern PA can be reached at (877) 429-5994.
- The amount of past-due rent, less any rental benefit previously received for the months requested. plus
- The amount of past-due utilities, less any utility benefit previously received for the months requested.
For Priority 1 Applicants, there is a limit of 18 months of total assistance, including funding already received from DELCO ERA, which may include up to three months of future rent and utility.
For Priority 2 Applicants, there is a limit of 15 months of total assistance, including funding already received from DELCO ERA, for past-due rent and utilities only.
Landlord/Property Manager
Registration with the DELCO-ERA does not bind the landlords to the program. It does make filling out the Registration easier for your tenants who apply. If you choose not to participate then the tenant(s) will receive any approved rent assistance.
Even though there is no specific cap on the amount of rental assistance, our staff is directed to do anti-fraud, waste and abuse analysis which includes:
- Require submission of a signed and current lease that is compared to the required Landlord Affidavit for consistency.
- Rental Housing to Income ratio affordability analysis. If the rent far exceeds what a low-income tenant could reasonably afford, we reserve the option to conduct a deeper investigation into affordability and legitimacy of the rent charged.
- Reviewing public ownership records.
- Requesting additional documentation from the applicant and/or landlord.
- Landlord Affidavit
- W-9
- Confirm terms and conditions of the lease for the particular tenant.
- Disclose if Landlord and tenant participated in the PHFA Rent Relief Program in 2020.
- Specify month by month for past due rent.
- Specify which utilities, if any, are included in rent.
- Commit to cooperate with assisting the tenant to obtain and provide verification documents to expedite processing.
- Commit not proceed with any evictions for:
- First-time applications: two months after the last day for which the Applicant’s rent is paid by DELCO ERA.
- Subsequent applications: one month after the last day for which the Applicant’s rent is paid by DELCO ERA.
- Commit to apply the DELCO ERA grant funds received on behalf of the tenant towards specific months as stated in the Landlord Affidavit.
Community Partners
