El Paso Rent Help

FAQs

Is the EP Rent Help Application still open?

The EP Rent Help Program is closed to new applicants, as all rental assistance funding has been committed.

Please call 211 for more information on resources available.

What is the program?

The City of El Paso and County of El Paso have allocated $13.08 million in funding from the Federal Cares Act to the EP Rent Help program which is Administered by the Paso del Norte Community Foundation.

The program provides rental assistance to landlords of residential rental properties for tenants that are experiencing an economic hardship as a result of COVID-19 and live in City of El Paso only.

How does the program work?

Eligible landlords of residential rental properties may enroll to participate in the rental assistance program; tenants apply by selecting their landlord from the Participation Directory (Tenants will be able to submit an application even if their landlord chooses not to participate); Landlords then verify the amount of rent the tenant owes.

When can Landlords start enrolling properties?

Landlord enrollment will start April 19th.

When will Tenant applications open?

Tenants may apply starting April 22nd.

Who is eligible for assistance?

Funding is available for tenants that live in the City of El Paso:

Have a household income at or below 80% AMI (Area Median Income), approximately $47,100 for a family of four, AND
Are behind in paying their rent and/or are at risk of eviction, AND
Are experiencing direct economic impact due to COVID-19, like unemployment, reduction in working hours, business closure, etc

Check your unit's eligibility here.

I’m a tenant, and have questions about the application process

Tenants can contact the United Way of El Paso County’s Community Resiliency Center at (877) 594-7276 to get guidance on the application process.

Should I include stimulus payments as income?

No. Income from Economic Impact Payments, also known as stimulus checks, are not included in determining AMI.

How much assistance is available to eligible households?

Tenants can receive assistance to pay up to 12 months of past due rent and up to 3 months of future rent. The number of months assistance provided will depend on eligibility and funding source.

Is landlord registration required?

Landlord registration is encouraged. Tenants will be able to submit an application even if their landlord chooses not to participate, however, approval process for tenants whose landlords are not participating may take longer, since the program has to reach out to the landlord three times over ten days before moving forward to approve direct payment to the tenant, according to program guidelines.

I’m a landlord that participated in the 2020 EP Rent Help program, do I need to re-enroll?

As a previous participating landlord no action is required to remain in the program, as those properties were automatically re-enrolled, but should be aware of the updated Landlord Terms and Conditions.

Landlords that need to update property’s information, banking information or want to opt out of the program, thus no longer being eligible to receive rental assistance payments, should email eprent@bakerripley.org

Participating landlords that want to include a new property, should enroll it starting April 19th.

Who will distribute the funds?

BakerRipley is the program administrator, processing applications and distributing funds.

I’m a Tenant. How can I check the status of my application?

Tenants can track the status of their rental assistance application at www.eprenthelp.org Look for the “Check my status” tool.

Tenants will need the following to access their application status:

Case number. It is the application confirmation number you received either by email or text

What if I have a question?

Please call us at 1-855-8EP-RENT (1-855-837-7368).

I’m a tenant and cannot provide proof of economic impact due to COVID-19 or other documents to be able to apply. What can I do?

The rental assistance application offers other options to be able to complete and submit an application. Apply now!

I have an update to banking information and/or the property in under new ownership, what should I do?

It is the Landlord´s and Tenant’s responsibility to submit any change(s) to banking information and/or property ownership to BakerRipley at: eprent@bakerripley.org

Program FAQs