New Hampshire Emergency Rental Assistance Program

This page will be updated as details of the program are confirmed.

A new federally funded New Hampshire Emergency Rental Assistance Program (NHERAP) will launch March 15 to provide assistance to eligible residents of New Hampshire who cannot pay their rent and utilities due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The five regional Community Action Partnership (CAP) agencies will administer applications and payments for the program. Full program guidelines and the NHERAP application (online and a printable form) will be available by March 15, 2021 on each of the CAP websites. Click here to find that CAP agency that serves the community where you live.

• Community Action Partnership of Strafford
• County Community Action Program Belknap-Merrimack Counties, Inc.
• Southern New Hampshire Services, Inc.
• Southwestern Community Services, Inc.
• Tri-County Community Action Program, Inc.

To be eligible for rental or utility assistance, at least one person in the household must have qualified for unemployment benefits, had their income reduced, had significant costs, or had other financial hardship due to COVID-19. The household must be at risk for homelessness or housing instability, and meet certain income requirements.

NHERAP will:

• Pay current and past due rent, as well as utility and home energy costs for eligible households. This assistance is available retroactive to April 1, 2020 through the date of application, and the applicant may also receive assistance for these same future expenses, for a total of 12-15 months.
• Pay for current and past due utility and home energy costs for eligible households, even you are not receiving rental assistance.
• Pay grants directly to the landlord or utility provider on behalf of the household.
• Work with a landlord, with the tenant’s permission, to apply for assistance on behalf of their tenant.

If you believe you will qualify for this assistance, start to gather the documents you will need when you apply. You may be asked for documentation of unemployment, job loss, hours being reduced, increased expenses, or other COVID-related income hardships. You do not need to be receiving unemployment benefits payments to get help from this program.

The NHERAP is a federally funded rental assistance program through the Governor’s Office for Emergency Relief and Recovery (GOFERR). It will be administered by New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority (NHHFA), in collaboration with GOFERR. NHHFA will work with the CAP agencies that will administer applications and payments for the program.

We know that many people are struggling. We are working as quickly as we can to get this program up and running. We need to make sure we are following the law AND that we are designing a program that will help people as much as possible. We encourage tenants and landlords to talk to one another about participating in the program because both will need to provide information on the application. If you need assistance with an eviction notice, contact NH Legal Advice & Referral Center (LARC).

Note: NHERAP is for renters and landlords, not homeowners.