Louisiana Rent Relief: What Exists Now That LERAP Is Closed

Is Louisiana rent relief still available?

Not as a statewide program. LERAP was run by the Louisiana Housing Corporation for most parishes, while several large parishes and cities, including Orleans Parish, received their own federal allocations and ran separate programs. LHC’s LERAP materials described an income limit of 30% of area median income and a requirement to show COVID-related income loss, per its program FAQ.

Those programs are finished. The U.S. Treasury states on its Emergency Rental Assistance page that the ERA2 period of performance has ended, so grantees can no longer use that money to help renters. No state fund replaced it. If a website still shows a “LERAP application” or charges a fee to sign you up for Louisiana rent relief, it is out of date or a scam.

The need has not gone away. The National Low Income Housing Coalition’s Louisiana housing profile reports only 43 affordable and available rental homes for every 100 extremely low-income households, and a full-time worker must earn $21.88 an hour to afford the average two-bedroom fair market rent. That gap is why the local funds below run out quickly, and why it pays to apply to more than one at the same time.

Rent help in Louisiana now

Most help today is one-time money paid straight to the landlord, aimed at a household that can keep up with rent once the crisis passes. Here is where it comes from.

Federal rules for Emergency Solutions Grants list homelessness prevention and rapid re-housing as allowed uses, according to the program regulations. In practice that means a caseworker can sometimes pay arrears and a few months of rent if you would otherwise become homeless. You reach this help through coordinated entry, the single front door each region uses. Tell 211 plainly that you may lose your housing, and give the date on any notice.

For charity help, the Salvation Army location finder lists the nearest corps; our Salvation Army rental assistance guide explains how its intake usually works.

New Orleans and Jefferson Parish

New Orleans had the largest local rent program during the pandemic, and it ended with the federal money. City budget documents for 2026 show housing spending falling as Emergency Rental Assistance dollars ran out. What remains is a mix of nonprofit prevention funds, charity help, and legal services.

• Homeless prevention: UNITY of Greater New Orleans coordinates homeless services and coordinated entry for Orleans and Jefferson parishes. Ask 211 to connect you if you are close to losing your home.
• Eviction court: on the east bank of Orleans Parish, evictions are filed in First City Court; on the west bank (Algiers), in Second City Court. First City Court’s eviction guidelines say a hearing is usually set about two weeks after the landlord files.
• Legal help: the same court guide points tenants who can’t afford a lawyer to Southeast Louisiana Legal Services at (504) 529-1000. New Orleans also funds lawyers for some tenants facing eviction; funding is set year to year, so ask SLLS what is available.
• Vouchers: the Housing Authority of New Orleans (HANO) and the Jefferson Parish housing authority run separate voucher lists. Apply to both if you could live in either parish.

Baton Rouge, Acadiana, and north Louisiana

Outside New Orleans, the parish community action agency is usually the main door for one-time rent money. These agencies run LIHEAP for the Louisiana Housing Corporation, and many also hold small Community Services Block Grant funds that can cover a month of rent or a deposit. Funding is uneven: one parish may have money in November and none in March.

In East Baton Rouge, evictions go to Baton Rouge City Court, and Southeast Louisiana Legal Services has an office in the city. In Lafayette and much of Acadiana and central Louisiana, Acadiana Legal Service Corporation handles housing cases. In the northwest and northeast, local legal aid and the Legal Services Corporation’s find legal aid tool will point you to the right office. Rural parishes tend to have fewer charity funds, so ask churches and the local Catholic Charities office directly, and ask 211 about nearby parishes that accept residents from yours.

Freeing up rent money with FITAP, SNAP, and LIHEAP

When rent funds are empty, lowering other bills is often the fastest way to pay the landlord. Apply for these at the same time as you look for rent help.

• FITAP. Louisiana’s cash program for very-low-income families with children pays at most about $484 a month for a family of three, the level set by the January 2022 increase and still listed in the National Center for Children in Poverty’s 2025–26 profile. Apply through LA CAFE or a DCFS office. Our Louisiana hardship program guide explains the income test and time limit.
• SNAP. From Oct. 1, 2026 – Sept. 30, 2027, up to $306 a month for one person. Your rent counts toward the shelter deduction, so high rent can raise your benefit. Estimate with our SNAP calculator.
• LIHEAP. The Louisiana Housing Corporation runs it through local agencies in each parish. Its energy assistance page lists a heating season from December 15 to March 31, a cooling season from April 13 to September 30, and crisis help from October 1 to September 30. The 2026 limit is $30,618 a year for one person and $49,460 for three. Online applications are closed; crisis requests go to your parish agency.
• Medicaid. Louisiana expanded Medicaid, so most low-income adults can get coverage that keeps medical bills from eating the rent.

How a Louisiana eviction moves

Louisiana’s eviction process is one of the fastest in the country. The steps are set by the Code of Civil Procedure, articles 4701 to 4735, which First City Court reprints in its guide. The table below follows those articles. Local courts add their own scheduling, so read every paper you get.

Two points matter most. First, a waiver in the lease means the landlord can file right away, so you may get court papers with no warning. Second, the 24-hour windows after judgment are very short, which is why legal aid needs to hear from you before the hearing, not after. If your rental has a federally backed mortgage or is subsidized housing, different notice rules may apply; ask legal aid to check.

Free legal help for tenants

Louisiana’s civil legal aid groups are split by region. Southeast Louisiana Legal Services covers 22 parishes in the southeast, including New Orleans and Baton Rouge. Acadiana Legal Service Corporation serves 42 parishes across the south, center, and north; its intake line is 1-866-275-2572. Both take eviction cases for eligible low-income tenants, and both help with benefit denials that may be the real reason rent fell behind.

A lawyer can look for defects that a tenant would miss: a notice delivered the wrong way, a rent amount that includes fees the lease does not allow, or a landlord who accepted rent after the notice. Even when there is no defense, legal aid can often negotiate extra days to move, which can be the difference between finding a new place and losing your belongings.

When a storm or flood caused the hardship

If a hurricane, flood, or tornado led to a federal disaster declaration with Individual Assistance for your parish, FEMA can pay rental assistance while your home is unlivable, as explained on FEMA’s Individuals and Households Program page. Apply at DisasterAssistance.gov or 1-800-621-3362, even if you have renters insurance. Louisiana sometimes opens Disaster SNAP after a declaration, and 211 posts the dates. Our Louisiana disaster relief guide covers FEMA appeals and insurance claims.

Vouchers and longer-term housing

If the rent is simply higher than your income can carry, one-time help only buys a month or two. Louisiana’s voucher programs are run by city and parish housing authorities, not by one statewide list. That means you can, and should, apply to every authority in an area where you could live. Lists open and close without much notice, so ask 211 or each authority which lists are open now.

Also ask about income-restricted apartments financed with low-income housing tax credits. Rents are set below market for households under set income levels, and you apply with the property manager, not a housing authority. If you are a senior or have a disability, ask about HUD-assisted buildings for those groups, which keep their own waiting lists.

A worked example

Say a mother of two in Lafayette Parish falls $850 behind after her hours are cut, and her landlord hands her a 5-day notice. On day one she calls 211 and her parish community action agency, which has no rent money this month but puts her on a list for LIHEAP cooling help. The same day she applies on LA CAFE for SNAP and FITAP and calls Acadiana Legal Service. On day two a local church agrees to pay $300 to the landlord if she can show the rest is covered.

With her SNAP approved and a smaller power bill coming, she offers the landlord $300 from the church and $550 over the next two paychecks, in writing. Her landlord agrees and signs. If he had filed anyway, she would have gone to the hearing with the church’s pledge and her written offer, and legal aid would have asked for time. The point is not that this always works; it is that several small pieces, started on the same day, add up faster than waiting on one program.

Papers rent funds ask for

Louisiana charities and prevention programs usually want your signed lease, the notice to vacate or court papers, a ledger or letter from the landlord showing what you owe, and the landlord’s name and phone number so they can confirm and pay. Bring ID and 30 days of income for everyone in the home. LIHEAP agencies add a utility bill dated within 30 days, per LHC. Our document checklist covers substitutes if papers were lost in a storm.

How to get help, step by step

1. Dial 211 or text your ZIP to 898-211 and ask for rent funds in your parish, coordinated entry, and legal aid.
2. Call your community action agency for emergency funds and LIHEAP.
3. Apply through LA CAFE for SNAP and, if children live with you, FITAP. Apply for Medicaid too.
4. Call legal aid the day you get a notice to vacate or court papers.
5. Offer the landlord a written plan that shows what is pledged and when the rest will come.
6. Go to the hearing if one is set, with every receipt and letter.
7. Apply for vouchers with each housing authority near you so this does not repeat.

For a wider list of bill and cash help, see our guide to emergency financial assistance in Louisiana.

Related guides

• Louisiana assistance programs
• Louisiana utility relief programs
• Programs that help pay rent
• Louisiana unclaimed property

Frequently asked questions

This guide is general information, not legal or financial advice, and not an application. Program funding and court rules change; confirm with the agency or court involved. National Relief Program is an independent website, not a government agency.