What this guide covers
Is OUR Florida Still Open?
No. OUR Florida closed to new applicants and is not accepting applications. The statewide program ran out of funds and shut down. The ourflorida.com portal is gone, the phone lines are disconnected, and there is no waiting list to join.
That is the short answer, and it is the one most pages about OUR Florida still fail to give clearly. What follows is what actually exists now.
When and why the program ended
OUR Florida was funded entirely by federal Emergency Rental Assistance money allocated during the pandemic. That money was finite and time-limited. Once the state’s allocation was distributed, the program had nothing left to pay out and closed to new applicants in 2022, as noted in this Helping Hands Action Group announcement.
It was never a permanent program. It was emergency funding for an emergency, and when the funding ran out there was no state money behind it to continue.
What happened to pending applications
When funding was exhausted, applicants still in the queue were not paid. Many people who had applied in good faith and waited months received nothing, which is why so much confusion persists: households were left waiting on a program that had already stopped.
If you have an old OUR Florida application, treat it as closed. There is nothing to check and no status to follow up. Start again with a county program.
Beware of sites still taking “OUR Florida applications”
Nobody can apply you to a program that no longer exists
Dead program names attract lookalike sites. If a site offers to submit an “OUR Florida application”, check your eligibility for a fee, or guarantee approval, walk away.
Legitimate rent assistance in Florida is free to apply for. County programs, Community Action Agencies, and charities never charge an application fee, and no one can guarantee you funding.
Never pay for a form, never pay for “priority processing”, and never send money to release a grant. Report anything that looks like this to the Florida Attorney General’s office.
What OUR Florida Was
Who it helped and what it covered
OUR Florida, formally Opportunities for Utilities and Rental Assistance, was Florida’s statewide Emergency Rental Assistance program, administered by the Florida Department of Children and Families. It covered:
- Past-due rent, in many cases going back several months
- Ongoing rent for a limited forward period
- Past-due and current utility bills, including electricity and water
Payments went directly to landlords and utility providers rather than to tenants, which is still how most county programs work today.
Where the funding came from and why it ran out
Federal Emergency Rental Assistance, distributed to states in two tranches commonly called ERA1 and ERA2. Florida’s share was substantial but fixed, and demand across a state with millions of renters exhausted it. Unspent funds nationally were subject to reallocation, which added further pressure on timing.
Some Florida counties and large cities received their own direct federal allocations and ran separate programs, which is why county help outlasted the statewide program.
What Replaced OUR Florida in Your County
There is no statewide replacement. Rent help in Florida is now a county-by-county patchwork, with counties including Miami-Dade, Broward and Hillsborough running their own emergency programs. Availability varies enormously, and programs open and close in funding rounds.
Before you rely on this table: county programs change status frequently and several of the ERAP successors have themselves now closed or paused. Treat the entries below as a starting point for who to contact, and confirm current status by phone before making plans. Dialling 211 is the fastest way to find out what is genuinely open near you this week.
| Region | Where to start |
|---|---|
| South Florida | Miami-Dade County community action and human services, and the county Housing Advocacy Hotline; Broward County Family Success Administration; Palm Beach County Community Services; plus local charities including AXIS Helps and legal aid providers |
| Tampa Bay | Hillsborough County social services and financial assistance; Pinellas County Human Services; City of Tampa and City of St. Petersburg assistance programs; Community Action Agencies serving the region |
| Central Florida | Orange County Crisis Assistance Program and the EPIC eviction prevention program; Osceola and Seminole county human services; Heart of Florida United Way 211; Community Hope Center |
| North Florida | Duval County and City of Jacksonville social services; Leon County human services; Alachua County social services; regional Community Action Agencies |
City-level detail, including phone numbers and current program names, is on our local pages: Miami, Orlando, Tampa, Jacksonville, St. Petersburg, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, Hollywood, Tallahassee, Gainesville.
Skip the phone tag
A free two-minute check compares your situation against 100+ federal, state, and county programs and shows what is open near you. No cost, no credit card.
Check My Eligibility FreeHow to Get Emergency Rent Help in Florida Now
Call 211 first
Dialling 211 connects you to a local referral specialist who knows which programs in your county are open and taking applications this week. It is free, it covers the whole state, and it is the single best call to make on day one. In Central Florida the service is run by Heart of Florida United Way.
County emergency rental assistance programs
Where a county still runs a program, it is usually the largest single source of help and pays the landlord directly. Programs typically require county residency, proof of hardship, income under a threshold, and evidence of arrears or an eviction notice. Funding moves in rounds, so a program closed last month may reopen.
Community Action Agencies
Every part of Florida is covered by a Community Action Agency. They administer utility assistance and often rent help, deposits, and case management alongside it. If your county program is closed, the CAA is the next call.
Charities: Salvation Army, Catholic Charities, St. Vincent de Paul
These operate across Florida and can often move faster than government programs, though amounts are usually smaller. Local churches, United Way chapters, and mutual aid groups also hold emergency funds. Ask 211 which have money available now, since it fluctuates weekly.
What to have ready before you call
- Photo ID for every adult in the household
- Proof of address and your current lease
- Proof of income for everyone in the household, or documentation if you have none
- Your past-due rent notice, ledger, or any court paperwork
- Your landlord’s full contact details and payment information
- Documentation of the hardship: a termination letter, reduced hours, medical bills
Applications stall most often for missing landlord payment information, because the money goes to the landlord rather than to you. Get it before you apply, not after.
Help With Utilities
LIHEAP and the county agencies that run it
OUR Florida covered utilities as well as rent, and that side has a permanent successor. The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program helps with electric and cooling bills and is delivered through county Community Action Agencies. It is ongoing rather than pandemic-era funding, so it did not disappear with OUR Florida. Full detail on LIHEAP Florida.
Households with a member aged 60 or over may also qualify for EHEAP, the Emergency Home Energy Assistance Program, through Area Agencies on Aging.
Utility company hardship programs
Florida’s major providers, including FPL, Duke Energy Florida, TECO, OUC and JEA, run their own hardship funds, payment arrangements, and budget billing. Call them before a disconnection notice arrives rather than after, and ask specifically about hardship assistance rather than just a payment plan.
Longer-Term Housing Help
Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers
The long-term route, where you pay roughly 30% of your income and a voucher covers the rest. Vouchers are administered by local public housing authorities, not by the state, and most Florida waiting lists are closed at any given time with waits measured in years. Worth applying to now as a background plan: see Section 8 Florida and Section 8 waiting list Florida.
Income-restricted and LIHTC apartments
Apartments financed by the Florida Housing Finance Corporation cap rent by income tier without needing a voucher. Waiting lists are per-property and often far shorter, and some have units available immediately. For many households facing a closed voucher list, this is the faster realistic option.
If You Are Already Facing Eviction
Your deadlines under Florida law
Florida eviction deadlines are short. A 3-day notice for unpaid rent excludes the delivery day, weekends and legal holidays, so it typically gives about five calendar days. Once a case is filed, you have five business days to file a written answer with the clerk, and in a nonpayment case you must also deposit the rent claimed into the court registry or ask the judge to determine the amount. Miss that and a default can be entered without your defence being heard.
Apply for assistance and respond to the court at the same time. Applying does not pause a case. Start with how to stop eviction in Florida, then Florida eviction process and Florida 3 day notice.
Free legal aid
Florida’s civil legal aid organisations provide free eviction defence to income-qualifying renters, and several publish online tools that build your answer and your motion to determine rent. Contact them the day you are served, not the day before a hearing.
Where to Get Help
Dial 211 for free local referrals anywhere in Florida. Contact your county human services or community action office for emergency rent programs, your Community Action Agency for utilities, and legal aid if court papers have arrived. Know your rights while you sort the money out: Florida tenant rights.
A free eligibility check against 100+ emergency rental assistance Florida programs takes about two minutes, costs nothing, and a real person calls you within 24 hours to explain your matches.
OUR Florida FAQ
How do I get immediate help with rent?
Call 211 first for referrals to programs open in your county this week. Then contact your county human services or community action office about emergency rental assistance, and your local Community Action Agency, Salvation Army, Catholic Charities, or St. Vincent de Paul. Have your ID, lease, proof of income, past-due notice, and crucially your landlord’s payment details ready, since assistance is paid directly to the landlord and missing landlord information is the most common reason applications stall.
Can you get rent assistance in Florida?
Yes, but not from a single statewide program any more. Since OUR Florida closed, help comes from county emergency rental assistance programs, Community Action Agencies, charities, and utility hardship funds, and availability varies by county and moves in funding rounds. Longer term, Section 8 vouchers and income-restricted apartments financed by the Florida Housing Finance Corporation are the main routes.
Is OUR Florida coming back?
There is no indication that it is. OUR Florida existed because of one-off federal pandemic funding, and there is no ongoing state program of that kind behind it. Rather than waiting for it to return, apply through your county and the organisations listed on this page. Be cautious of any site suggesting the program is reopening or offering to submit an application for it.
What financial assistance programs are available in Florida?
For rent: county emergency rental assistance, Community Action Agencies, charity funds, and SHIP-funded help through your county. For utilities: LIHEAP, EHEAP for households aged 60 and over, and utility company hardship programs. For longer-term housing: Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers through local housing authorities, public housing, and income-restricted apartments financed by the Florida Housing Finance Corporation. For food and health, Florida’s Department of Children and Families administers SNAP and Medicaid. Dial 211 to be routed to whichever applies.
Can I still check my old OUR Florida application status?
No. The portal has been taken down and the program is closed, so there is no status to check and no case to follow up. If you applied and were never paid, that unfortunately happened to many households when the funding ran out. Treat it as closed and apply to a county program instead, starting with a call to 211.