Rent assistance in Georgia changed sharply on September 30, 2025, when the statewide Georgia Rental Assistance program stopped taking applications. If you’re behind on rent today, your remaining options are the federal Housing Choice Voucher Program (currently waitlisted), LIHEAP for utility bills, TANF cash assistance for families with children, and emergency help from local community action agencies and nonprofits that you can reach by dialing 211.
The Statewide Program Is Closed
The Georgia Rental Assistance (GRA) program, which distributed nearly $1 billion in federal Emergency Rental Assistance funds over four years, is no longer accepting applications. The federal ERA2 period of performance ended on September 30, 2025, and ERA2 grantees can no longer use those funds to assist renters.1U.S. Department of the Treasury. Emergency Rental Assistance Program Local ERA-funded programs run by places like Fulton County and the City of Atlanta drew from the same federal source and faced the same cutoff.2Share Fulton. Emergency Rental Assistance Reallocation
If you filed a complete GRA application before the deadline and haven’t heard back, contact the Georgia Department of Community Affairs to check your status.3Georgia Rental Assistance. Georgia Rental Assistance If you didn’t apply by September 30, 2025, the state program is not an option. Move on to what follows.
Start by Calling 211
With GRA gone and the voucher waitlist closed, local organizations are the most realistic source of immediate rent help. The fastest way to find them is to dial 211 or call 404-614-1000 Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The United Way of Greater Atlanta operates this resource database, which connects you with programs by county or ZIP code: rent payment assistance, utility help, and other emergency services.
What 211 typically turns up:
- Community action agencies that administer county-level rent and utility aid.
- Nonprofits, churches, and charities like the Salvation Army and St. Vincent de Paul that offer one-time emergency rent payments.
- Legal aid intake lines if an eviction has been filed.
These programs set their own income rules, pay in smaller amounts than GRA did, and run out of money regularly. Availability shifts by county and by month, which is why a central referral line beats cold-calling.
Housing Choice Vouchers (Section 8)
The Housing Choice Voucher Program is the main ongoing federal rental subsidy still operating in Georgia. It provides long-term monthly assistance that covers the gap between what you can afford and what your rent actually costs, and it serves low-income families, elderly individuals, veterans, and people with disabilities in the private rental market.4U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Housing Choice Voucher Tenants The Georgia Department of Community Affairs administers it statewide.5Georgia Department of Community Affairs. Housing Choice Voucher
Basic eligibility:
- Household income below 50% of the median income for your county.
- U.S. citizen or eligible immigrant.
- Applicant at least 18 years old.
- Georgia resident.
The statewide waitlist is currently closed. When it reopens, applications are submitted through the DCA Applicant Portal and selected by lottery rather than first-come, first-served. To watch for openings, monitor the DCA site or call (888) 858-6085.6Georgia.gov. Apply for Housing Choice Voucher Program Some individual housing authorities in larger cities keep separate waitlists on different schedules, so check with your local authority as well.
One thing to know before you count on a voucher: Georgia has no statewide law prohibiting landlords from refusing to rent to tenants who pay with housing vouchers. A landlord can legally decline your application solely because your income comes from a voucher program. Roughly half of states have adopted source-of-income protections; Georgia has not.
LIHEAP for Utility Bills
If your most urgent bill is heating or cooling rather than rent, Georgia’s Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program is still open and takes new applicants every year. LIHEAP pays energy companies directly on behalf of eligible households and can help in life-threatening heating or cooling emergencies.7Georgia Department of Human Services. Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)
You qualify if your total gross household income is at or below 60% of Georgia’s state median income, you’re a U.S. citizen or lawfully admitted immigrant, and you’re responsible for paying your own energy bills. One disqualifier catches people off guard: if your energy account already has a credit of $1,000 or more, you’re not eligible.7Georgia Department of Human Services. Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)
The schedule matters because money runs out:
- Heating assistance opens the first workday in December for residents 65 and older or medically homebound, and the first workday in January for everyone else.
- Cooling assistance opens the first workday in April for seniors and medically homebound residents, and the first workday in May for everyone else.
LIHEAP is first-come, first-served, and agencies often exhaust funding well before the season ends. Applications go through your local Community Action Agency, not through DCA. Applying on the first eligible day makes a real difference.
TANF Cash Assistance
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families isn’t rent assistance in the traditional sense, but the monthly cash can go toward housing. It’s limited to very low-income families with children, and the thresholds are strict. A family of three must have gross monthly income below $784 and countable assets under $1,000.8Georgia Department of Human Services. TANF Eligibility Requirements
Other rules:
- At least one child under 18 (or under 19 if a full-time student) in the household.
- Adult recipients must participate in work activities or training at least 30 hours per week.
- Lifetime cap of 48 months, with limited hardship extensions.
- Cooperation with the Office of Child Support Services.
- Application for any other benefits you may qualify for, such as unemployment or SSI.
Apply at your local Division of Family and Children Services office or online through Georgia Gateway. Social Security numbers are required for anyone seeking benefits; household members who don’t want to apply can decline to provide their SSN without disqualifying others.9Georgia.gov. Apply for a Cash Assistance Program
If an Eviction Has Already Been Filed
Georgia’s eviction process is faster than most tenants expect, so time matters more than it feels like it should. When you fall behind on rent, your landlord must first provide written notice demanding you pay or vacate within three business days, posted on your door in a sealed envelope.10Justia Law. Georgia Code 44-7-50 – Demand for Possession If you don’t pay or leave, the landlord can file a dispossessory warrant in magistrate court.
Once you’re served, you have seven days to file a written answer. Skip that step and the judge will likely rule against you by default. Respond, and the court will schedule a hearing. After a judgment, the landlord has 30 days to schedule the physical eviction through the sheriff’s office, or the order expires.
From a first missed payment to a default judgment, the whole thing can run two to three weeks. Filing an answer buys more time, and that is the window to call for assistance and legal help.
Free legal representation is available if you’ve received an eviction filing. A lawyer may negotiate with your landlord, spot procedural errors, or buy time to find aid or new housing:
- Atlanta Legal Aid Society, (404) 524-5811, serves metro Atlanta.
- Georgia Legal Services, (404) 206-5175 or toll-free 1-800-498-9469, serves rural and suburban areas outside metro Atlanta.
- Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation, (404) 521-0790, Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
These groups prioritize tenants at immediate risk of losing housing. If you’re unsure which one covers your county, 211 can route you. Call before a judgment is entered, not after.