Emergency Rental Assistance in Florida: SHIP, LIHEAP, Section 8

Emergency rental assistance in Florida no longer runs through a single statewide program. The federal Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) program ended on September 30, 2025, and OUR Florida — the state’s pandemic-era rental aid portal — is permanently closed, along with nearly every local ERA program in the state.¹ If you need help paying rent today, you’ll be working through a patchwork of county housing offices, utility assistance programs, nonprofits, and legal aid groups. None match the scope of what ERA offered, but several can still cover rent, back rent, deposits, or utility bills in a crisis.

Where To Start Today

There is no replacement portal for OUR Florida. The fastest ways in:

Dial 2-1-1. Florida’s 211 system routes you to your county’s lead social-services agencies, including those handling rent, utilities, and food aid.
Contact your county SHIP administrator. The Florida Housing Finance Corporation maintains a directory of local administrators for every county.²
Call HUD’s housing counselor line at 800-569-4287 to be connected with a HUD-approved counselor who can identify local programs.³
For utility bills, apply for LIHEAP at floridaliheap.com.⁴
To search affordable units, use the state locator at FloridaHousingSearch.org, which shows real-time vacancies, rents, and deposit amounts.⁵

The Treasury now points former ERA users to an interagency housing portal hosted by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for alternative resources.⁶ Miami-Dade County, for example, confirms its ERA program is closed and refers residents to its Office of Housing Advocacy hotline at 786-469-4545.⁷

SHIP: Florida’s Main State-Funded Rent Help

The State Housing Initiatives Partnership (SHIP) program is Florida’s primary ongoing housing program and the closest thing to a statewide safety net for rent. Created by the 1992 William E. Sadowski Affordable Housing Act, SHIP distributes money by formula to all 67 counties and dozens of cities, with each county guaranteed at least $350,000.⁸ The legislature appropriated $163.8 million for SHIP in the 2024–2025 state fiscal year.⁹

SHIP funds can be used for tenant assistance (including rent and security deposits), emergency home repairs, down payment help, and new construction. At least 30 percent of SHIP money must go to very low-income households (up to 50 percent of area median income), and another 30 percent to low-income households (up to 80 percent of AMI).⁸

How much of your county’s SHIP allocation is actually set aside for renters depends on local priorities. Martin County, for example, uses SHIP to cover up to three months of rental arrears, or first-and-last-month rent plus a security deposit for a new lease.¹⁰ Call your local SHIP office directly to ask what’s available and whether applications are open.

County and City Crisis Programs

Some Florida counties run their own locally funded emergency assistance separate from ERA or SHIP.

Orange County’s Crisis Assistance Program offers one-time financial help for rent, mortgage, or utilities. You must have lived in Orange County for at least 90 days, have had an unforeseen loss of income or expense increase in the past 30 to 60 days, and be able to show you can sustain yourself going forward. Appointments are scheduled at 407-836-6500.¹¹

In Tampa, Community Development Block Grant funds support nonprofits that provide rental help. Catholic Charities received $100,000 for homeless prevention covering rental arrears and utility help, and Metropolitan Ministries received $125,000 for housing placement serving households at or below 80 percent of AMI.¹² St. Cloud, in Osceola County, runs an emergency rental assistance program funded through SHIP and CDBG dollars; the number is 407-957-7498.¹³

Community Action Agencies exist in every county and also provide emergency rent, utility, and case-management help. Brevard County’s agency, for instance, can be reached at 321-633-1951.¹⁴

Utility Help Through LIHEAP

LIHEAP, the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, doesn’t pay rent, but keeping the lights on can free up money that would otherwise go to the power bill. Florida administers LIHEAP at the county level. Income generally has to be at or below 150 percent of the federal poverty guidelines; for a family of four, that threshold is $61,837 in the current program year. Orange County’s crisis benefit can provide up to $1,000 per year to prevent disconnection.⁴ Most counties take applications through floridaliheap.com, in English, Spanish, or Creole.¹⁵

If someone in your household is 60 or older, ask about the Emergency Home Energy Assistance Program for the Elderly (EHEAP), which uses similar income thresholds.¹⁶

Nonprofit and Faith-Based Emergency Aid

Nonprofits often cover gaps the government programs miss, usually with one-time payments made directly to the landlord or utility.

The Salvation Army runs emergency financial assistance across Florida for overdue rent and utilities. The entry point is sahelp.org, where you enter your zip code and get matched with your local office. The process is confidential and online; if approved, you’re notified by email and the Salvation Army pays the landlord or utility directly.¹⁷ Rules differ by location. In Bradenton, for instance, rental help requires a three-day eviction notice and depends on funds being available.¹⁸

St. Vincent de Paul operates through local parish-based conferences. The South Florida Council covers 70 parishes in the Archdiocese of Miami at 954-395-6817.¹⁹ In St. Augustine, SVdP provides emergency rent help for St. Johns County residents who are employed or have a job offer, have had a crisis within the past 30 days, and hold a valid lease.²⁰ SVdP CARES, based in St. Petersburg, serves 22 Florida counties with a rapid rehousing program and other housing services.²¹

If You’re Facing Eviction

In Florida, you have only five business days to file a written response with the court after being served with an eviction complaint.²² Miss that deadline and the landlord can get a default judgment. Help is free:

Florida Legal Services Eviction Prevention Project: representation, advice, and referrals across 16 counties including Orange, Brevard, and Alachua. Call 1-888-780-0443.²³
Florida Eviction Answer Builder at flevictionhelp.org: a free online tool that walks you through drafting a legal response.²⁴
Florida Law Help at floridalawhelp.org: a directory of local legal aid providers.²⁴
Legal Aid Service of Broward County: free eviction help for Broward residents at 954-736-2497.²²

Florida law also bars landlords from “self-help” evictions. A landlord cannot change your locks, shut off your utilities, or remove your belongings without a court order. The landlord must obtain a writ of possession and have law enforcement serve it, with at least 24 hours’ notice before you can be physically removed.²²

If you’re already on the edge of homelessness, two federally funded program categories remain active. Emergency Solutions Grants (ESG) fund nonprofits that handle homeless prevention (emergency rent or utility payments to stop an eviction) and rapid rehousing (short-term rent plus services to move people out of shelter). In Palm Beach County, at least 40 percent of ESG funds go to those activities, including rent subsidies, utility deposits, moving costs, and legal services.²⁵ ESG money flows through nonprofits rather than directly to tenants, so you access it by contacting a local agency.

Every county also has a Continuum of Care lead agency designated by the Florida Department of Children and Families to coordinate shelter, prevention, and rapid rehousing. You can find yours through DCF’s homelessness page or by dialing 2-1-1. Larger CoC agencies include Changing Homelessness in Jacksonville (904-354-1100), the Homeless Services Network of Central Florida covering Orange, Osceola, and Seminole counties (407-893-0133), and the Miami-Dade County Homeless Trust (877-994-4357).²⁶

Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers

The federal Housing Choice Voucher program (Section 8) is still the largest ongoing rental subsidy, but it’s a long-term solution rather than emergency help. Eligibility depends on income, family status, and U.S. citizenship or eligible immigration status, and you apply through your local public housing authority.³²⁷²⁸ Watch your local PHA for waitlist openings, which fill quickly.

Income Limits Vary by County

Most of these programs tie eligibility to a percentage of the area median income, and AMI varies widely across Florida. A four-person household qualifies as “very low income” at $61,950 in the Miami area but at $35,600 in rural Levy County.²⁹ The Florida Housing Finance Corporation publishes county-specific income and rent limit schedules every year, which is worth checking before you apply so you know which programs you qualify for.³⁰

1
National Low Income Housing Coalition. ERA Dashboard
2
Florida Housing Finance Corporation. Local Housing Programs
3
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. HUD Florida Resources
4
Orange County, Florida. Energy Bill Assistance
5
Florida Housing Finance Corporation. Renters
6
U.S. Department of the Treasury. Emergency Rental Assistance Program
7
Miami-Dade County. Emergency Rental Assistance Program
8
Florida Housing Finance Corporation. SHIP Program
9
Florida Association of Counties. SFY2025 General Appropriations Act
10
Martin County. SHIP Program
11
Orange County, Florida. Crisis Assistance Program
12
City of Tampa. Community Development Block Grant Program
13
City of St. Cloud. Community Development Block Grant
14
Brevard County. Community Action Agency
15
Broward County. Low Income Home Energy Program
16
Hillsborough County. Apply for Energy Assistance
17
The Salvation Army. SAHelp
18
The Salvation Army Bradenton. Financial Assistance
19
St. Vincent de Paul South Florida. SVdP South Florida
20
St. Vincent de Paul St. Augustine. Neighbor Services
21
SVdP CARES. SVdP CARES
22
Legal Aid Service of Broward County. Facing an Eviction
23
Florida Legal Services. Eviction Prevention
24
Florida Law Help. Florida Law Help
25
Palm Beach County. Emergency Solutions Grant
26
Florida Department of Children and Families. Homelessness Resources
27
St. Petersburg Housing Authority. Apply for Housing
28
Volusia County. Housing Choice Voucher Waiting List
29
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. FY2025 Florida Income Limits
30
Florida Housing Finance Corporation. Income Limits