BATON ROUGE - A statewide program that provided assistance to renters and landlords in response to the coronavirus outbreak has run out of funds more than three years after the initial onset of the pandemic. 

Read the full announcement from the governor's office below. 

The Louisiana Emergency Rental Assistance Program has disbursed all payments to eligible renters and landlords, fully exhausting the state’s allocation of program funds received from the U.S. Department of the Treasury. The program provided emergency rental and utility assistance to Louisiana residents in 57 parishes who experienced housing instability due to COVID-19.

“This program has helped thousands of Louisiana renters remain in their homes during the COVID-19 pandemic, which brought financial uncertainty and increased expenses for so many Louisianans,” Gov. John Bel Edwards said. “I’m very proud of the program’s positive impact over the past two years, providing our residents with opportunities for assistance and relief in the wake of economic instability.”

Since its launch in March 2021, the program has approved $160 million in total assistance, serving 29,000 tenants – 9,201 of whom were facing eviction – and providing more than $9.3 million in utility payment assistance for impacted renters.

All approved applicants should expect to receive their payments by mail no later than the end of April. Questions regarding applications can be directed to info@lastaterent.com. The application portal will no longer be accessible to existing applicants after June 1, 2023.

Seven parishes received direct allocations from the Treasury Department and are administering their own programs – Caddo, Calcasieu, East Baton Rouge, Jefferson, Lafayette, Orleans and St. Tammany. Renters residing in these parishes should visit their respective parish’s program website for additional information on program status and funding availability.

The state-administered program was funded through the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 and the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, which provided up to $25 billion and $21.55 billion respectively to states for emergency rental assistance. The federal government issued $569 million to Louisiana, from which $129 million was allocated directly to local government agencies. The state re-allocated an additional $229 million to all seven parishes that administered their own rental assistance programs.

Consistent with the Treasury Department guidance, the state obligated the final $19 million of its Emergency Rental Assistance allocation to fund long-term affordable rental housing and promote housing stability through partnership with the Louisiana Housing Corporation.