Texas Rent Relief: Is It Still Open? What to Apply For Instead

If someone told you Texas has a rent relief program that pays your back rent, they were right. Three years ago.

We would rather tell you that in the first paragraph than let you spend a week filling in forms on a site that no longer processes anything. So here is the current picture, and then the part that actually helps.

The Short Answer

Texas Rent Relief is closed. The state housing agency’s own notice is blunt about it: the program stopped accepting new applications or additional funding requests after 16 March 2023. It continued processing applications already filed, but it has not taken new ones since.

It was not a small program. Texas was allocated roughly $2.3 billion in federal emergency rental assistance and paid out more than $2.2 billion of it to over 323,000 households. That is why so many Texans remember it, and why so many websites still mention it.

There is no statewide replacement. The federal emergency rental assistance funding that paid for it has ended. The Texas Eviction Diversion Program, which worked alongside it, closed at the same time.

So if you need rent help in Texas today, you are looking for local programs. That is the whole shift, and the rest of this page is about doing it well.

What Texas Rent Relief Was

Worth understanding briefly, because it explains what to look for in a local program.

Texas Rent Relief launched in 2021, funded by federal pandemic money and run through the state housing agency. It covered past due rent, some future rent, and utility bills. And it paid landlords and utility companies directly, not tenants.

That direct-payment design is the important bit. It is why the program could end eviction cases: once the arrears were cleared, the reason for the case disappeared. Good local programs work the same way, so when you apply somewhere, ask whether they pay the landlord directly. Almost all do.

It also ran alongside the Texas Eviction Diversion Program, which paused eviction cases and sealed the records of diverted ones.

Why So Many Websites Still Say It Is Open

You will find plenty of pages inviting you to apply for Texas Rent Relief. Some of them rank well in search results. Here is why, and how to tell.

• Pages that were never updated. Written in 2021, still live, still collecting visitors.
• Court and county paperwork that mentioned the program and was never revised.
• Lead generation sites that keep the name because the search traffic is valuable, whether or not the program exists.
• Confusion with local programs, since city and county funds sometimes get described loosely as “Texas rent relief.”

How to check anything you find: does the page name a specific local agency, with a working phone number, and did it get updated recently? If it points you to a statewide application portal for Texas Rent Relief, it is out of date.

Where the Help Actually Is Now

Texas assistance is local. That means more phone calls, but the money is real. Work through these.

Texas 2-1-1

Dial 211 from anywhere in Texas. It is free, confidential, and staffed by people who know which local funds currently have money, which is the thing a website cannot tell you.

Say clearly if you have a notice to vacate or a court date. It changes what they can route you to.

Community Action Agencies

These cover all 254 Texas counties and are the backbone of local assistance. They handle rent and utility crises, and they are the agencies that deliver state and federal money on the ground.

Search for your county’s Community Action Agency, or ask 211 for the one covering you.

County and city emergency assistance

Most large Texas metros run their own housing assistance, often through a community services or housing department. Harris, Dallas, Bexar, Tarrant and Travis counties have all run rent assistance at various points. So have the cities of Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, Austin and Fort Worth.

Funding cycles vary, so these open and close through the year. Ask when the next intake is if you find one closed.

Local charities

Salvation Army, Catholic Charities, St Vincent de Paul, United Way partners, and church-based funds all help with rent. They are often faster than government programs and sometimes have money when public funds have run dry.

CEAP, for energy bills

CEAP, the Comprehensive Energy Assistance Program, is the live one. It runs through local agencies covering all 254 counties, and it pays your utility company directly. Income limit is 150% of federal poverty guidelines.

One warning while you are searching. Texas Utility Help closed to new applications in 2023, energy in September and water in November, and there is no funding left for water bill help. Its website is still live and still reads as though the program is running, which catches people out. Use CEAP and 211 instead.

CEAP, the Comprehensive Energy Assistance Program, does much the same through local agencies in every county. Details are on our CEAP Texas page.

Utility help does not pay rent. But clearing a $400 electricity bill frees up $400 for rent, and that is often the difference.

Longer-term housing help

If your problem is that the rent is permanently unaffordable rather than a one-off crisis, look at Section 8 in Texas and income-restricted apartments. Those are slow, so start them now while you deal with the immediate shortfall.

What TDHCA Does and Does Not Do

The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs, or TDHCA, is the state agency that ran Texas Rent Relief. A lot of people go looking for it, so it is worth being clear about what it is.

TDHCA states plainly that its assistance and funds go to local provider organisations, not to individuals directly. It does not take applications from you.

What it does do that is useful:

• Funds CEAP utility assistance through local subrecipients covering all 254 counties
• Funds the Weatherization Assistance Program, which pays for insulation and efficiency work so your bills stay lower
• Funds homeless assistance programs and some housing vouchers through local providers
• Runs single family programs including home repair and accessibility work
• Operates a search tool where you enter the type of help you need and your city or county, and get a list of organisations that may be able to assist

That search tool is the practical takeaway. Use it to find the local provider, then contact them directly.

Applying Well: What to Have Ready

Local programs move faster when your paperwork is in order. Gather this before you start calling:

• Photo ID for adults in the household
• Social Security numbers where asked
• Your lease
• Proof of income, or proof that income stopped
• A ledger or statement showing what you owe
• Your notice to vacate or court papers, if you have them
• Your landlord’s name, address, phone and email
• Recent utility bills if you are asking for utility help too

Three things that genuinely speed this up:

1. Apply to more than one program. Funds run out. There is no rule against multiple applications.
2. Tell your landlord you have applied, in writing, and give them the program’s contact details. Many will hold off once they know money is coming, and programs often need the landlord’s cooperation to pay them.
3. Lead with your deadline. If you have a court date, say so in the first sentence. It changes your priority.

If You Already Have an Eviction Notice

Then you have two jobs at once, and both are urgent.

On the money side, work the list above starting with 211 today.

On the legal side, Texas moves faster than most states. Your notice to vacate may be as short as one day depending on your lease. After that comes a court case with a hearing 10 to 21 days later, and only five days to appeal a judgment.

So call legal aid now. The Texas Legal Services Center hotline is 855-270-7655, and representation is free for low-income renters.

Then read how to stop eviction in Texas for your options by stage, and eviction notice Texas to work out how many days you really have.

Scams to Watch For

Texas Rent Relief FAQ