Atlanta Rental Assistance: Where to Get Help With Rent Now

Atlanta rental assistance programs that closed

During the pandemic, the U.S. Treasury sent Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) money to states, large cities, and counties. In metro Atlanta, the money flowed through several channels at once: the City of Atlanta, Fulton and DeKalb counties, and the statewide Georgia Rental Assistance Program run by the Georgia Department of Community Affairs. Those programs paid back rent and utilities for thousands of households, then closed to new applicants as their money ran out. The statewide program stopped taking applications in late 2022.

The federal program itself is now finished. According to the U.S. Treasury ERA page, the second round's spending period ended September 30, 2025. No new federal rent money of that kind is coming.

After the pandemic programs ended, the City of Atlanta funded an eviction diversion program run by the nonprofit Star-C. Star-C's eviction relief page says that program has reached its maximum capacity for the current funding cycle and is closed to new intakes. It says it will post updates if new money becomes available.

So if a website or social media post says you can "apply now" for Atlanta rent relief, be careful. Many of those pages are out of date, and some are scams. Real programs never charge a fee to apply. For the wider picture across the state, see our Georgia rent relief program guide.

Where rent help comes from now

Rent help in Atlanta today is local, limited, and usually a one-time payment toward a past-due balance. Funding comes and goes, so it pays to ask several places in the same week.

211

Dial 2-1-1 or search on 211.org. In metro Atlanta, 211 is run by United Way of Greater Atlanta. A specialist can tell you which rent, utility, and shelter programs have money this month in your county. It is free and confidential. Ask specifically about "rent arrears" or "eviction prevention" funds.

Fulton Atlanta Community Action Authority

The Fulton Atlanta Community Action Authority (FACAA) is the community action agency for Fulton County and the City of Atlanta. It lists an Emergency Assistance program and energy bill help (LIHEAP). Its site says all services are by appointment and that it sees every applicant face to face. Call 404-320-0166, Monday to Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., and ask whether emergency funds can go toward rent right now. The agency warns people not to share personal information over the phone with anyone claiming to represent it.

Charities and churches

The Salvation Army, St. Vincent de Paul, and many Atlanta congregations sometimes pay part of a month's rent, especially when you can show the rest is covered. Use the Salvation Army location finder to find the nearest office, or call the Metro Atlanta Area Command at (404) 486-2900 and ask what help is open. Funding often runs out early in the month, so call on the first business days. Our guide to Salvation Army rental assistance explains how that help usually works.

Catholic Charities Atlanta runs a HUD-approved housing counseling program. Its counselors help with rent budgeting, renter rights, the eviction process, and finding new housing. Request an appointment by email at housingcounseling@ccatlanta.org.

Annual and partner programs

The Atlanta BeltLine's FreeRentATL program describes an annual grant that can cover up to a year of rent plus support services, and a year-round partner referral program. Its page said the 2025 cycle had closed and that it expected to reopen in October 2025 for support starting in 2026. We could not confirm the current cycle, so check the page before you apply.

Homelessness prevention and coordinated entry

If you are about to lose your home, ask to be screened through Atlanta's coordinated entry system. Partners for HOME, the city's homelessness agency, tells people to call 311 or 211 for help. Prevention and rapid rehousing money is limited, but a screening puts you in line for what exists.

Who usually qualifies

Every program sets its own rules, but most Atlanta rent help looks for the same things:

• You live in the area served. FACAA serves Fulton County and the City of Atlanta. Parts of Atlanta sit in DeKalb County, which has its own agencies, so tell 211 your exact address.
• Your income is low. Community action agencies often use a percentage of the federal poverty level. Other programs use a share of area median income. Ask for the current chart.
• You had a real hardship. A job loss, cut hours, medical bills, or a death in the family are common examples.
• The payment solves the problem. Many charities only pay if their money, plus what you can pay, brings the account current or stops the eviction.
• Your name is on the lease. Most programs pay the landlord directly and need a lease or rent receipt.

For a sense of what "low income" means, the 2026 federal poverty guideline is $15,960 a year for one person, plus $5,680 for each extra person. A household of four is at the poverty line at $33,000 a year.

Atlanta rent help options compared

Georgia eviction rules every renter should know

Georgia law changed in 2024. The Safe at Home Act (House Bill 404) took effect July 1, 2024, and applies to leases signed or renewed on or after that date. A bench card for Georgia magistrate judges from Georgia Appleseed, which cites the text of the Act, summarizes the key changes:

• Three business days to pay. Before filing for nonpayment, the landlord must give you a written notice to pay or vacate that allows three business days. If you pay everything owed in that time, the landlord may not file.
• How the notice is delivered. It must be posted in a sealed envelope on your door and also sent any other way your lease names, such as email or text.
• Security deposits are capped at two months' rent.
• Habitability. Your home must be fit to live in, and that promise cannot be waived in the lease.
• No utility shutoffs by the landlord to force you out while an eviction case is pending.

Georgia landlords also cannot lock you out, remove your things, or threaten you to make you leave. The Fulton County Magistrate Court's tenant pamphlet calls these "self-help" evictions illegal, and a tenant can counterclaim for damages.

When a dispossessory case is filed

An eviction case in Georgia is called a dispossessory. In Atlanta it is usually filed in Fulton County or DeKalb County Magistrate Court, depending on where you live. The Fulton County Magistrate Court tenant pamphlet explains the steps:

1. You are served. Papers may be handed to you, left with an adult at your home, or taped to the door and mailed.
2. You have 7 days to answer. The answer is your written reply. The last day should be written on the papers. In Fulton County, answers are filed electronically, and the clerk's office has free public terminals.
3. If you do not answer, the landlord can ask to remove you on the eighth day.
4. You may be able to pay to stay. If this is the first time in 12 months you have been served, you can avoid eviction by paying everything owed plus the court costs within 7 days of being served. If the landlord refuses, say so in your answer.
5. Free mediation is offered on the day of the hearing.
6. If you lose, the judge issues a writ of possession in 7 days. You also have 7 days from the judgment to appeal, and staying during an appeal requires paying the judgment and future rent into court.

The pamphlet is clear that being unable to pay because of illness or a lost job is not, by itself, a legal defense. That is why rent help and a lawyer matter so much in the first week. If a charity has promised to pay, bring the letter or email to court.

Free legal help in Atlanta

A lawyer can spot problems with the notice, raise repair issues, or negotiate a payment plan. Free help is available for people who qualify:

Go as soon as you get a notice. Waiting until the court date leaves far fewer options.

Freeing up money for rent

Sometimes the fastest way to make rent is to get help with a different bill:

• Energy bills. LIHEAP heating help in Georgia usually opens in early December for people 65 and older and medically homebound households, and in January for everyone else. In Atlanta, apply through FACAA. Our guide to Atlanta Gas Light assistance has more options.
• Food. SNAP can pay up to $306 a month for a one-person household from October 2026, if eligible.
• Cash for families. Georgia's TANF program pays low-income families with children. It is small, with a maximum of $280 a month for a family of three, but it is steady.
• Lost a job? File for unemployment right away, since benefits generally do not cover weeks before you file.

Longer-term housing help

One-time help fixes one month. If your rent is simply more than you can afford, look at long-term options too:

• Housing Choice Vouchers (Section 8). Atlanta Housing runs vouchers and public housing in the city. Call 404-892-4700 to ask whether any waiting list is open. Our Housing Choice Voucher guide explains how the program works.
• Income-based apartments. Rent is usually set near 30 percent of income. Apply to several properties, since lists can be long.
• Deposits for a cheaper place. Some charities help with a deposit and first month's rent when a move would make housing affordable. Georgia now caps deposits at two months' rent for new and renewed leases.

What documents do I need to apply?

Expect to show photo ID, Social Security numbers for the people applying, proof of income for the last 30 days, and proof of where you live, plus any paper that shows the emergency itself. Our document checklist explains what counts for each item and what to do if something is missing. If you don't have everything yet, apply anyway and ask the office how long you have to bring the rest.

Getting rent help in Atlanta, step by step

1. Dial 211 and ask which rent or eviction prevention funds are open for your address this month.
2. Call FACAA at 404-320-0166 for an appointment, and call one or two charities the same day.
3. Gather your papers: ID, lease, proof of income, and any notice from your landlord.
4. Talk to your landlord in writing. Ask how much would stop the eviction, and say you have applied for help.
5. Watch the 7-day answer deadline if you are served, and get to legal aid or the courthouse clinic fast.
6. Go to every court date, even if you think help is on the way.

Related guides

• Georgia rent relief program
• Emergency Rental Assistance Program Georgia
• Churches that help with rent
• Charities that help with deposit for rent

Frequently asked questions

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Program funding and rules change often, and eviction deadlines depend on your county and lease. National Relief Program is an independent website and is not affiliated with the City of Atlanta, Fulton County, the State of Georgia, or any government agency.