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Emergency Grants and Rental Assistance: ERA Is Closed. What Pays Now.

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Most of what ranks for this phrase describes a program that ended. The federal Emergency Rental Assistance program, which paid tens of billions in rent and utilities during and after the pandemic, closed to spending on September 30, 2025. This page starts there, then lists what pays now, sorted by the kind of emergency, with the rule or dollar figure that governs each one and the page it comes from.

Emergency Rental Assistance: closed

Treasury's own page is the source: "The period of performance for the ERA2 award ended on September 30, 2025," and "ERA2 grantees may no longer provide financial assistance for eligible renters to cover rent, rental arrears, utilities and home energy costs." Final reports were due January 28, 2026. A city or county page still advertising ERA funds is out of date. Treasury sends renters to the interagency housing portal run by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and in practice to the programs below.

Rent and eviction

Emergency Solutions Grants. HUD funds states, cities and counties to run homelessness prevention and rapid rehousing, which is time-limited rental assistance plus stabilization services. You reach it through the local agency HUD funds, not HUD itself; every Continuum of Care has been required since 2018 to run a coordinated entry process that is "easily accessed" and "well-advertised." HUD's 2026 budget request proposed folding the Continuum of Care program into ESG at $4.024 billion; that was a proposal, and we could not confirm what Congress enacted.

TANF one-time payments. Federal rules let states pay a one-time benefit for "a specific crisis situation or episode of need" that does not extend beyond four months, without counting it as ongoing assistance. Many states use this for rent arrears or a deposit. Amounts and names vary by state; ask the TANF office for "diversion" or "emergency assistance."

Community Action Agencies. The Community Services Block Grant funds a network of local agencies for "employment, education, better use of available income, housing, nutrition, emergency services and/or health." They often hold the small emergency funds that a 211 call turns up.

Housing Choice Vouchers. Not an emergency tool. HUD's own guidance says waiting lists are long and you may need to apply to several agencies; at least 75% of admissions must go to extremely low-income families, and each agency sets its own preferences. Apply anyway, because the list only moves if you are on it.

Utilities

LIHEAP pays heating and cooling costs and runs crisis assistance for shut-offs. The federal income ceiling is the greater of 150% of the poverty guideline or 60% of state median income; states set their own rules within that. Apply through your state or tribal LIHEAP office. Funding for the current year is flowing: HHS's grant database shows FY2026 LIHEAP awards totaling about $3.87 billion across more than 5,500 award records at our last check, including supplements issued in April and August 2026. The water-bill counterpart, LIHWAP, spent its last funds in March 2024 and is closed. The Lifeline program takes $9.25 a month off a phone or internet bill, and the DOE Weatherization Assistance Program, open at or below 200% of poverty, cuts future bills by an average the department puts at $372 a year.

Food, within seven days

SNAP has a legal fast lane. Under 7 CFR 273.2(i), a household with less than $150 in monthly gross income and $100 or less in liquid resources, or whose combined income and resources are less than its monthly rent or mortgage plus utilities, must have benefits available no later than the seventh calendar day after applying. Say the words "expedited SNAP" at the office. The standard decision deadline is 30 days. Alongside it: WIC for pregnant and postpartum women and children under five, free school meals (automatic for SNAP, TANF and FDPIR households, and for homeless, migrant, runaway and foster children), and TEFAP, the federal commodity program behind most food banks. Our SNAP guide has the state-by-state path.

Cash: the SSI rules almost nobody uses

If you are applying for Supplemental Security Income and face "a threat to health or safety," Social Security can make an emergency advance payment of up to one month's federal benefit, recovered later from back pay or in up to six monthly installments. In some cases it can make an immediate payment of up to $2,000, recovered from your first regular check. Presumptive disability payments can start for up to six months before the medical decision for certain conditions. The 2026 federal SSI rate is $994 a month for an individual and $1,491 for a couple, after the 2.8% cost-of-living adjustment paid from December 31, 2025. One caveat: SSA's handbook still shows an older $999 cap for the immediate payment; we cite the program page, which is newer.

Medical bills

Every nonprofit hospital must, under section 501(r) of the tax code, publish a financial assistance policy that states who qualifies for free or discounted care and how to apply, post it on its website, and hand out paper copies free on request. It must make reasonable efforts to check whether you qualify before any extraordinary collection action, and must wait at least 120 days after the first post-discharge bill. HRSA-funded health centers must serve everyone regardless of ability to pay, on a sliding fee by income and family size. Medicaid can be made effective up to three months before the month you applied if you would have qualified then, which turns a past emergency bill into a covered one in most states. And the No Surprises Act, since January 1, 2022, limits out-of-network emergency bills; the federal help desk is 800-985-3059.

Disasters and deaths

FEMA's Individuals and Households Program pays for disasters declared from October 1, 2024 up to $43,600 for housing assistance and $43,600 for other needs, plus $770 in Serious Needs Assistance for immediate essentials. Those are the FY2025 figures published in the Federal Register; we found no FY2026 update at our last check. Apply at DisasterAssistance.gov or 800-621-3362. States can request Disaster SNAP for a declared area. FEMA's COVID-19 funeral assistance was scheduled to end September 30, 2025. After a death, Social Security pays a one-time $255 lump sum to an eligible spouse or child, claimed within two years, and the VA pays a $1,002 burial allowance plus $1,002 for a plot for non-service-connected deaths on or after October 1, 2025, and $2,000 for service-connected deaths.

Where to start: 211, and the scam filter

Dial 211. Calls are free, confidential and answered around the clock by people who know which of the programs above is open in your county this week; the network made more than 19 million connections in 2025. Then apply the FTC's four signs. Scammers pretend to be from an organization you know, say there is a problem or a prize, pressure you to act immediately, and tell you to pay in a specific way. HUD's version for housing: never pay anyone to fill out an assistance application, never pay to move up a waiting list, and get a receipt for anything you do pay. A government emergency grant that asks for a fee is not one. The hardship grants page ranks all of this by how fast it pays.

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Sources

Common questions

Is emergency rental assistance still available in 2026?

The federal pandemic program is not. Treasury's page states that the ERA2 period of performance ended September 30, 2025 and grantees may no longer pay rent, arrears or utilities with it. What remains is local: HUD Emergency Solutions Grants funding for homelessness prevention and rapid rehousing through local agencies, TANF one-time crisis payments in many states, and Community Action Agencies. Dial 211 to find which are open where you live.

What is the fastest government help for a bill I cannot pay?

It depends on the bill. Food: SNAP must issue benefits within seven days if your household has under $150 in monthly gross income and $100 or less in liquid resources, or if your income and resources are less than your rent plus utilities. Energy: LIHEAP crisis assistance through your state office. Cash: if you are applying for SSI in a financial emergency, SSA can make an emergency advance payment of up to one month's benefit, and an immediate payment of up to $2,000 in some cases. Medical: nonprofit hospitals must have a published financial assistance policy and cannot start extraordinary collection for 120 days.

Is there a government hardship grant for individuals?

No. Grants.gov says none of its opportunities provide personal financial assistance. The FTC lists 'emergency grant' offers among the scripts scammers use. Real emergency help is a benefit with a specific purpose, paid to you or to your landlord, utility or hospital, and it never requires a fee.

How much is SSI in 2026?

The federal benefit rate is $994 a month for an individual and $1,491 for a couple, after the 2.8% cost-of-living increase paid from December 31, 2025. Some states add a supplement.

What does FEMA pay after a disaster?

Under the Individuals and Households Program, for disasters declared from October 1, 2024, up to $43,600 for housing assistance and $43,600 for other needs, plus a $770 Serious Needs Assistance payment for immediate essentials. We found no Federal Register notice updating those caps for FY2026, so the FY2025 figures are the latest published. Apply at DisasterAssistance.gov or 800-621-3362. Disaster SNAP can be authorized separately in a declared area.

Gov-Grants.org is an independent guide, not a carrier and not a government agency. We never charge fees, and every fact above links to its source with the date we checked it. Program details change; confirm on the official site before applying.