Jacksonville Rental Assistance: The City's Emergency Help, the Eviction Diversion Program and Free Legal Aid in Duval County

If you’re behind on rent in Jacksonville, there’s no open application window to wait for. What exists right now is a city emergency fund you reach by phone, an eviction diversion program that your landlord starts, help for veterans, and free legal aid [1][2][3][4]. The city’s Emergency Rent Assistance Program (ERAP) is closed [5].

City of Jacksonville Emergency Financial Assistance Program

The city’s Social Services Division gives temporary help with rent, mortgage or utilities to households hit by an unexpected emergency, such as a job loss, cut hours, medical bills, a car repair, a death in the family or a fire [1]. The money goes straight to the landlord, lender or utility, and you attend a two-hour budgeting workshop [1].

Who qualifies [1]:

• You live in Duval County.
• Household income is at or below 200% of the federal poverty level [8].
• You have a documented crisis and a delinquency, eviction, foreclosure or shutoff notice, or your utility service is already off.
• You were able to cover basic needs before this hardship.
• You haven’t had help from the program in the past 24 months.

People with a court-ordered eviction notice get priority [1].

How to get an appointment. Call (904) 255-2469 when the line opens at 9:30 a.m., Monday through Friday. Appointments are first come, first served for the next business day and go quickly [1]. If you’re denied, you wait 90 days before you can book again [1]. The office is at Midtown Centre, 1809 Art Museum Drive, Suite 100; the main line is (904) 255-3333 [1].

Bring [1]: a Florida driver’s license or ID with a Duval County address (and photo ID for every adult; passports aren’t accepted), Social Security documents for everyone in the household, proof of all household income for the past 90 days, your lease, and any eviction or shutoff notice.

The same division also offers winter heating help for adults 64 and older and disabled adults, and help for people living with HIV/AIDS [1].

The Eviction Diversion Program

This city-funded program works with Jacksonville Area Legal Aid, Jewish Family & Community Services, United Way, the Fourth Judicial Circuit and the Clerk of Court [2]. It pays up to three months of back rent and can also clear past-due utility or home energy bills. Each person can get it once in a lifetime, and if you owe more than three months, you pay the rest first [2].

Your landlord has to start it. The landlord signs a consent form and emails it to evictioncoordinator@coj.net; tenants can’t submit the form for themselves [2]. A coordinator then contacts you, and if you appear to qualify you have 3 business days to send documents such as bank statements, proof of income, IDs, Social Security cards and children’s birth certificates [2]. Filing the consent form starts a 30-day extension of any eviction lawsuit [2].

Who qualifies [2]:

• You live in Duval County, including the Beaches and Baldwin, and you’re a U.S. citizen or legal resident.
• Your household includes a child under 18, someone over 60, a veteran or a disabled adult.
• You had a one-time hardship after a steady record of paying, and you have a notice for unpaid rent or an eviction lawsuit.
• Household income is at or below the ALICE threshold for your household size, and you can stay housed once the back rent is paid.

Veterans: emergency rent and utility help

The city’s Military Affairs and Veterans Department gives one-time help with past-due rent and utility bills to Duval County veterans facing homelessness, with household income up to 150% of the poverty level [3]. It’s donation-funded, with support from the Jacksonville Jaguars Foundation, and recipients are encouraged to pay it back so others can be helped. It doesn’t cover mortgages, and veterans with general, other than honorable or dishonorable discharges don’t qualify [3]. Call (904) 255-5550 for an appointment; the office is in City Hall, 117 W. Duval St., Suite 175 [3].

Free legal help: Jacksonville Area Legal Aid

Jacksonville Area Legal Aid (JALA) handles tenant cases for low-income residents of Duval and 16 other Florida counties [4]. Call (904) 356-8371 or use the online intake form on its site [4]. JALA also helped design the free Eviction Court Form Builder at flevictionhelp.org, which walks you through an answer to an eviction complaint [7].

2-1-1 for anything new

United Way of Northeast Florida runs 2-1-1, free and available 24/7. Dial 2-1-1, call (904) 632-0600, or text “Hello” to 211904 [6]. Ask what rent, utility or eviction prevention help is open for your ZIP code.

What’s closed

United Way of Northeast Florida says the application for the City of Jacksonville’s Emergency Rent Assistance Program (ERAP) is closed [5].

If you’re behind on rent today

1. Read every notice and write down the dates.
2. Call (904) 255-2469 at 9:30 a.m. for a city emergency assistance appointment [1].
3. Ask your landlord to send the Eviction Diversion consent form [2].
4. Call JALA at (904) 356-8371 as soon as you get a notice or court papers [4].
5. Dial 2-1-1 for anything else that has opened [6].

This guide is general information, not legal advice for your situation.