With federal funding dwindling, the city of Denver will no longer accept first-time applications for emergency rental assistance starting next Friday.

The city said it would continue processing recertification applications that people submitted prior to Nov. 1, as well as first-time applications submitted by Dec. 9.

Metro Denver has been struggling to address homelessness, which jumped by 12.8% – from 6,104 to 6,888 – between January 2020 and January this year. Local authorities have poured significant resources into tackling the problem in the last few years.

Funding for several of those programs came from the federal government – but that money is now running out.  

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In a news release, Denver’s housing authority said it would stop accepting first-time applications for the Emergency Rental Assistance Program by midnight on Dec. 9. Denver’s allocation from the the Coronavirus Relief Fund and American Rescue Plan kept the program going, but the balance is now low, the city said.

The program provides low and moderate-income households with money to pay for rent, utilities, energy costs, and other services.

Since the program began in 2021, more than $130 million in federal rent assistance has been distributed to more than 13,700 Denver households, city officials said. 

Denver’s Department of Housing Stability said it implemented limits to the program earlier this fall and began winding down on Nov. 1, accepting only new first-time applications.

But in recent weeks, the department received a significant increase in applications. After further analysis and in consultation with the state, the city concluded the program needs to stop accepting new applications and to limit the number of months of assistance.

Housing authorities emphasized that rent assistance is still available via Denver’s locally-funded Temporary Rent and Utility Assistance program.