North Dakota Rent Relief: What Replaced ND Rent Help and Where Renters Turn Now

Is North Dakota rent relief still available?

Not as a general program. In March 2025, North Dakota Health and Human Services announced it was ramping down general rent assistance and moving to a more targeted housing stability program for households experiencing or at imminent risk of homelessness, with an anticipated end date for all pandemic-era eviction prevention and rental assistance of September 15, 2025, as Valley News Live and the Minot Daily News reported from the HHS announcement. The federal program behind it is finished nationwide; the U.S. Treasury states that the ERA2 period of performance closed September 30, 2025, on its ERA page.

The drop is large. In July 2026 the executive director of the Community Action Partnership of North Dakota told the Minot Daily News that the state’s resources had shrunk roughly tenfold, from about 800 households a month at the 2025 peak to about 80 to 100 a month now.

How the North Dakota Homeless Grant Program helps renters

The Homeless Grant Program is state money, administered with the North Dakota Housing Finance Agency’s homeless grant allocation plan and delivered by shelters and community action agencies. The Legislature invested a record $10 million over the biennium; most goes to emergency shelters, and a smaller portion provides direct housing stability support such as past-due rent or deposits for households about to lose housing or leaving homelessness. Because capacity is about 80 to 100 households a month statewide, priority goes to people at the greatest risk: those with an eviction in progress, families with children, people with disabilities, and people already in shelter.

HUD Exchange lists homelessness prevention and rapid re-housing among the uses of Emergency Solutions Grants in its program requirements.

Other rent help in North Dakota

• Community action agencies. Seven regional agencies (for example, Community Action Partnership of Minot, Southeastern North Dakota Community Action Agency in Fargo, and Community Action Program Region VII in Bismarck) run emergency services, the Homeless Grant, weatherization, and energy help; the Community Action Partnership of North Dakota lists them.
• County human service zones. North Dakota’s human service zones handle applications for SNAP, TANF, Medicaid, and LIHEAP and can make referrals for emergency housing.
• Homeowners behind on mortgage payments use the separate Homeowner Assistance Fund, which offered up to $40,000 for delinquent payments and asked for applications by August 15, 2026, according to ND HHS.
• Charities such as the Salvation Army and Catholic Charities North Dakota pay one-time rent amounts to landlords when funds allow.

Benefits that free up money for rent

• LIHEAP. North Dakota accepts LIHEAP heating assistance applications year-round, from homeowners and renters, online at hhs.nd.gov/applyforhelp, at a human service zone office, or by mail; for help applying, call Community Options at (800) 823-2417. Payments go to your fuel or utility provider. See EnergyHelp.us or 1-866-674-6327.
• TANF. North Dakota’s maximum benefit for a family of three is $916 a month, about 40% of the poverty line, according to the National Center for Children in Poverty’s 2025–26 profile.
• SNAP. From Oct. 1, 2026 – Sept. 30, 2027, up to $306 a month for one person and $1,023 for four; estimate with our SNAP calculator.
• Medicaid. North Dakota expanded Medicaid; most low-income adults qualify.
• Unemployment benefits through Job Service North Dakota; see our unemployment guide.

If you already have an eviction notice

1. Read the notice date. North Dakota landlords generally must give a 3-day notice to quit before filing an eviction; hearings follow quickly.
2. Call Legal Services of North Dakota (1-800-634-5263) for free help if you are low-income or 60 or older.
3. Call ND 211 and your community action agency the same day and say you have an eviction notice; that moves you up for Homeless Grant help.
4. Get the landlord’s written agreement to accept a payment and stop the case.

How to get help, step by step

1. Dial 211 (FirstLink runs ND 211) and ask for rent help, the Homeless Grant provider for your county, and legal aid.
2. Call your regional community action agency and book the earliest appointment; bring your lease, notice, ID, and proof of income.
3. Apply for a Housing Choice Voucher with each housing authority that serves your area.
4. Apply for LIHEAP, SNAP, TANF, and Medicaid at hhs.nd.gov/applyforhelp or your human service zone office.

For more specifics, see our guides on North Dakota hardship relief and emergency rent relief by state.

Related guides

• Programs that help pay rent
• Immediate hotel vouchers for people who are homeless
• Salvation Army rental assistance
• Housing help: vouchers, affordable housing, and paths to owning

Frequently asked questions

This guide is general information, not legal or financial advice, and not an application. Funding changes; confirm with ND HHS, your community action agency, or 211. National Relief Program is an independent website, not a government agency.