Renters and landlords can find out what emergency rental assistance covers, how it works, and who’s eligible on the interagency housing portal hosted by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).
1.1 For Renters/Landlords/Utility Providers: How do I access an Emergency Rental Assistance Program?
ERA programs are designed to assist households that are unable to pay rent, utilities, home energy costs and other expenses related to housing.
Treasury does not accept or process applications made by renters, landlords, or utility providers for assistance under the ERA programs. Program funds are provided directly to eligible States, U.S. Territories, Local Governments, and (in the case of ERA1) Indian tribes or Tribally Designated Housing Entities, as applicable, and the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (Collectively, the “eligible grantees”). Eligible grantees may use the funds to provide assistance to households through existing or newly created rental assistance programs.
You will need to contact an eligible grantee in your location for information on their participation and how to apply for assistance. To find ERA programs that may be available in your area, please see the “Find Rental Assistance Programs in your Area” hosted by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s website.
1.2 For ERA Grantees: What ERA program support resources are available to me? Are there Webinar or Zoom calls that I can attend?
The Treasury team will continue to communicate to ERA grantees via email about specific information and various webinar and office hours opportunities. Please make sure that your contact information in Treasury's Portal is up to date.
You can also find reporting support resources, on the Reporting webpage. The ERA Promising Practices and Program and Service Design webpages can also be helpful resources for program administrators looking to improve the effectiveness of their emergency rental assistance programs.
1.3 How do I find initial allocation information for state, local government, territories, Tribes, TDHEs, and DHHLs?
The amounts allocated for each entity for ERA1 and ERA2 are listed the Allocations and Payment page.
1.4 Members of Audit Community seeking to confirm ERA Grantee Award Amount may navigate USASpending.gov
Members of the audit community seeking information to confirm amounts awarded under pandemic programs are advised to consult the data in USASpending.gov. Please see the links to the programs’ Assistance Listing number below for award detail by Recipient award ID. Additional program information may be found at the Covid-19 Economic Relief page at treasury.govtreasury.gov
ERA Assistance Listing Numbers:
For details on other federal pandemic programs, please visit the COVID-19 page at USASpending.gov.
1.5 Members of Audit Community identifying priority compliance requirements to evaluate as part of single audits.
The U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury) uses the Compliance Supplement to identify priority compliance requirements for auditors to evaluate as part of single audits. It is a valuable resource to help your organization fulfill its compliance and reporting responsibilities. Unless otherwise specified, non-Federal entities that expend $750,000 or more of federal financial assistance within the entity’s fiscal year are required to engage the services of a licensed auditor or audit firm to perform an annual Single Audit of the entity’s operations.
You can now access the ERA-specific portion of the 2023 Compliance Supplement on our website.
1.6 What are my responsibilities in reporting suspected waste, fraud, and abuse and/or related violations of Federal criminal law?
In addition to reporting suspected waste, fraud, and abuse to Treasury’s Office of Inspector General, ERA participants are required to report certain information to the ERA program team by emailing emergencyrentalassistance@treasury.gov. The ERA Financial Assistance Agreement requires compliance with the Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards codified at 2 C.F.R. part 200, including mandatory disclosure requirements. Specifically, 2 CFR 200.113 states that “The non-Federal entity or applicant for a Federal award must disclose, in a timely manner, in writing to the Federal awarding agency or pass-through entity all violations of Federal criminal law involving fraud, bribery, or gratuity violations potentially affecting the Federal award.”
1.7 Is there any guidance on conflict of interest for recipients and subrecipients of federal financial assistance awards issued by the U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury)?
Yes. Paragraph 11 of the ERA2 Financial Assistance Agreement that all ERA2 recipients executed in connection with their ERA2 awards require ERA2 recipients to maintain a conflict of interest (COI) policy consistent with 2 C.F.R. § 200.318(c), and that such COI policy is applicable to each activity funded under their ERA2 award. ERA2 recipients and subrecipients must disclose in writing to Treasury (or the pass-through agency, as in the case of a subrecipient), any potential COI affecting the awarded funds in accordance with 2 C.F.R. § 200.112. In addition, Treasury’s Office of Recovery Programs developed COI Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) that will be posted under the Guidance section of the ERA Program’s website for recipients and subrecipients of federal financial assistance awards issued by Treasury. The COI FAQs provide information consistent with the Uniform Guidance and provide examples of common types of real and potential COIs.
2. Policy – General2.1 Where can I find information about policy guidance?
ERA grantees must comply with the requirements outlined in their ERA Award Terms, including the relevant ERA statute (see ERA1 and ERA2), all other applicable federal statutes, regulations, executive orders, and Treasury’s guidance (FAQs, reporting guidance, etc.).ERA grantees must comply with the requirements outlined in their ERA Award Terms, including the relevant ERA statute (see ERA1 and ERA2), all other applicable federal statutes, regulations, executive orders, and Treasury’s guidance (FAQs, reporting guidance, etc.).
Note: Grantees are advised to monitor the ERA Guidance and ERA Reporting pages on Treasury’s website for additional guidance resources and updates.
2.2 What are the eligible uses for these funds?
For information on appropriate uses of funds, please visit the “What an ERA program can pay for” section in the FAQ by Category page.\For information on appropriate uses of funds, please visit the “What an ERA program can pay for” section in the FAQ by Category page.
2.3 Am I required to provide 1099’s to landlords who receive ERA payments?
An ERA payment made to a landlord on behalf of a household is income for the landlord. As such, ERA grantees are required to provide a Form 1099 to landlords receiving ERA payments in the amount of $600 or more in a calendar year per IRS regulations at 26 CFR 1.6041-1(a)(1)(i).
2.4 How does the end of the Public Health Emergency (PHE) on May 11, 2023, impact ERA?
2.5 Was I allowed to provide assistance to a household with my ERA1 award for the entire month of December 2022?
On May 3, 2023, Treasury released a Notice stating that as long as reallocated ERA1 award funds were originally obligated for eligible ERA1 expenses before December 29, 2022, Treasury is granting a forbearance to allow financial assistance to cover December 30 and 31, 2022.
Please see the Notice Regarding ERA1 Assistance Provided for December 2022 for additional details.
3.1 How does my entity receive payment (Wire, ACH)?
Entities receive payment to Fed ACH (Automated Clearing House) and Fedwire bank accounts. An ACH Routing Number is required.
3.2 Will we receive the full payment in one transaction? Or will there be multiple transactions?
ERA1 payments have already been disbursed.
ERA2 payments are made in multiple tranches. Grantees that have received the initial 40% of their allocations may draw down additional funds. Those ERA2 grantees that obligated 75% of their initial ERA2 award payment can request an additional tranche payment of ERA2 funding from their remaining allocation. This process occurs on a rolling basis as each ERA2 grantee meets the 75% obligation threshold.
3.3 How are funds reallocated under ERA1 and ERA2?
Reallocation Guidance for ERA1 and ERA2 can be found on the Guidance page.
3.4 How do I make a Reallocation Request? Where do I go to request Reallocated Funds?
Grantees should input their requests for Reallocated Funds directly in Treasury's Portal, which is accessible through ID.me or Login.gov.
Please do not submit previously issued Request for Reallocated Fund forms by portal, email or otherwise.
3.5 I did not/cannot submit my reallocation request on time. What do I do?
Please submit your Reallocation Request as soon as possible on Treasury's Portal.
Grantees should input their requests for Reallocated Funds directly in the Treasury's Portal, which is accessible through ID.me or Login.gov.
Please do not submit previously issued Request for Reallocated Fund forms by portal, email or otherwise.
3.6 I received an email stating that my entity’s allocation is being reduced by Treasury because of an excess funds determination. Why is the allocation being reduced? How was this determined?
The ERA1 statute requires Treasury to identify “excess funds” for reallocation from amounts Grantees have “not obligated” from their initial ERA1 allocations. For ERA2, the statute provides that beginning on March 31, 2022, Treasury must “reallocate funds allocated to eligible grantees … but not yet paid,” according to a procedure established by Treasury.
Reallocation Guidance for ERA1 and ERA2 can be found on the Guidance page.
3.7 I received an email stating that I have to send funds back to Treasury. How do I do that?
The ERA statutes require Treasury to identify “Excess Funds” subject to reallocation. The methodology for determining “Excess Funds” can be found in the ERA1 and ERA2 Reallocation Guidance sections of the Guidance page.
The email or letter sent to you should have detailed instructions on how to send funds back to Treasury. If you need further assistance, please send an email to ERAapplications@Treasury.gov.
3.8 I sent back funds to Treasury. Can you confirm that those funds were received?
We have a specific team that handles these types of requests. Please send them an email at ERAapplications@Treasury.gov.
3.9 I received an email stating that my entity is subject to an excess funds determination and the allocation will be reduced. I would like to dispute/appeal that decision.
Please send your dispute via email to the e-mail address from which you received the excess funds determination. Your email should include your ERA Number (see question 4.6 for instructions on identifying your ERA Number), the rationale for your dispute, and any additional supporting documentation or information.
3.10 How do I request my ERA2 tranches?
3.11 Will there be a Quarter 4 Assessment or an additional round of ERA2 Reallocation?
Treasury has determined that it will not conduct the optional Final Undrawn Funds Assessment described in the Guidance until at least June 2023, if ever.
If ERA2 award funds remain undrawn following completion of the Quarter 3 2022 Assessments, Treasury may elect to make excess funds determinations with respect to those funds. However, Treasury will not make any such excess funds determinations prior to June 2023. Given grantee spending rates and the anticipated effects of the Quarter 3 2022 assessment on allocations, Treasury expects the aggregate scale of any such reallocation to be limited.
4. ERA Reporting Guidance - Some of the questions have been re-numbered.4.1 What reporting is required? Am I required to report?
Each ERA1 and ERA2 Recipient must gather and track required information throughout each reporting period and submit required reports using Treasury’s online portal. ERA1 grantees are the entities that received an ERA award directly from Treasury under the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, and ERA2 grantees are those entities that received an ERA award directly from Treasury under the American Rescue Plan Act. Each state, local, and territorial ERA Recipient must submit a data file containing household level information described below for each ERA Financial Assistance payment made to or on behalf of each participant household during the reporting period.
Please note that Tribe, TDHE, and the DHHL Recipients are required to complete only specific sections of the Quarterly Report form.
Note: Continued failure to submit required ERA quarterly reports in timely fashion may result in the imposition of special award provisions.
4.2 When are reports due?
For a list of reporting deadlines, please see the ERA Reporting Guidance document located on the under the Quarterly Reporting Guidance section on the Reporting page.
Initial information about deadlines for ERA1 Final Reports is available in the ERA1 Closeout Resource, and Treasury will continue to communicate more information as it becomes available.
4.3 Where do I submit reports?
All grantees must submit required reports via Treasury’s portal. The portal can be accessed via ID.me at Portal.treasury.gov/cares or via Login.gov at portal.treasury.gov/compliance/s.
For further assistance, please see the ERA Reporting Guidance and the User Guide – Treasury’s Portal for Recipient Reporting available on the website Treasury.gov/ERA. You can access these two documents by clicking on the Reporting link on the left side of the page.
4.4 Do reports need to be submitted by the Authorized Representative or the Account Administrator for ERA Reporting?
Yes. Reports must be submitted by the Authorized Representative or the Account Administrator for ERA Reporting.
Note: reporting roles must be assigned for each ERA program (ERA1 & ERA2) for which the reports are being submitted. That is, the ERA1 Account Administrator for ERA Reporting will not be able to submit an ERA2 quarterly report unless they are also assigned the role of ERA2 Authorized Representative or ERA2 Account Administrator for ERA Reporting.
4.5 Where can I find my ERA number?
There are several ways to find your ERA number.
Log into Treasury's Portal and navigate to Submissions. Scroll down to the section titled “ERA Reallocation Form Submissions and select the Reallocation Forms Button. In the window that pops up, there is a dropdown menu that asks you to “Select an ERA Type”: Opening this dropdown menu will display your ERA1 and ERA2 numbers.
For ERA1, you should be able to find your ERA1 number in the body of any emails with a subject line indicating “you have a compliance report due”.
For ERA2, you can view your ERA number by logging into Treasury's Portal, navigating to Submissions and at the top of the page one of the submissions should be your ERA2 application. The Submission ID is your ERA number.
4.6 What do I do if I am not able to submit my report?
The User Guide for Recipient Reporting located on the on the Reporting page has some helpful information on submitting reports that can be used to solve a number of issues.
A step-by-step guide to reporting can be found on the ERA Reporting Guidance document located on the under the Quarterly Reporting Guidance section on the Reporting page.
Please remember the Account Administrator for ERA Reporting or the Authorized Representative for Reporting are the only designees with authority to submit a report.
4.7 I can’t get these reports in by the deadline. What do I do? Is there an extension?
ERA grantees are required to submit complete and accurate ERA quarterly reports by the official due dates as published in the current version of the ERA Reporting Guidance document located under the “Quarterly Reporting Guidance” section on the Reporting page
Please submit your report(s) as soon as possible. If there are extenuating circumstances, an ERA grantee may request an extension using the Extend Deadline button located on the Compliance Reports page on Treasury’s portal.
4.8 How do I request an extension to a reporting deadline?
To request an extension for an ERA quarterly report, log into Treasury's Portal, navigate to the Compliance Reports page and locate the specific quarterly report then:
Treasury will review your extension request on a case-by-case basis and, if approved, a one-time 30-day extension from the original submission deadline will be granted.
4.9 What are the three ERA reporting roles? Is there more information on these roles?
The three roles for ERA reporting: Account Administrator for ERA Reporting, Point of Contact for Reporting and Authorized Representative for Reporting.
Note, roles need to be assigned for both ERA1 and ERA2: someone with an ERA1 role will not be able to access ERA2 reporting without also being assigned an ERA2 role. One person can be assigned multiple roles.
For more information on these reporting roles, go to Hints and Tips for Designating Points of Contact for ERA1 and ERA2 Reporting located on the Reporting page.
4.10 How can I confirm that my report was submitted?
You can check the status of your report at any time by logging into Treasury's Portal via ID.me at https://Portal.Treasury.gov/cares/s/ or via Login.gov at https://Portal.Treasury.gov/compliance. You can check the status of your report at any time by logging into Treasury's Portal via ID.me at https://Portal.Treasury.gov/cares/s/ or via Login.gov at https://Portal.Treasury.gov/compliance.
4.11 I already submitted my report, but I received a message saying it was not submitted. What do I do?
Please double check that your report was fully certified and submitted by the Authorized Representative or the Account Administrator for ERA Reporting and shows a Status of "Submitted". If a report is in "Draft" status, it is not submitted, and an Authorized Representative or Account Administrator for ERA Reporting must take action to submit the report.
4.12 I previously submitted/viewed my ERA report, but now I cannot see it. What do I do?
Currently, due to a technical issue, the portal does not display copies of past reports. Treasury expects this issue will be corrected soon.
4.13 How do I make edits to my quarterly report?
You can edit quarterly reports prior to the submission deadline. If you have already submitted a quarterly report and need to make an edit (before the submission deadline), you can hit the unsubmit button, and then re-submit and re-certify the report after making the edits. Users are not able to "un-submit" a report after the submission deadline has passed.
4.14 How do I edit a previous monthly report?
Important: The final ERA monthly report covered grantee activity through June 2022 (with a due date of July 15, 2022). ERA grantees are not required to submit monthly reports after June 2022.
If the report is still in draft status (has not been fully submitted), you can update and submit.
If you already submitted a monthly report, you will not be able to edit or delete it. However, you can submit a new report to replace the previously submitted one and Treasury will take the most recent submission as the correct one. To submit a replacement monthly report:
4.15 Where can I find information on the bulk file upload capability?
You can find information on the bulk upload capability within the User Guide for Recipient Reporting on the Reporting page. Appendix A (Bulk File Upload Overview) contains detailed instructions on how ERA Recipients may utilize this capability to bulk upload expenditure, subrecipient, and subaward data.
4.16 Is there an Internet speed requirement to use the bulk file upload capability?
No, there is not an Internet speed requirement for using the bulk file upload capability. Users with slower Internet connections may experience longer upload times. Please note that many variables may contribute to longer upload times including your organization’s upload speed/bandwidth threshold, network congestion, network latency or other end-user network connectivity issues
4.17 Is the bulk file upload capability a mandatory requirement?
Users have the option of providing subrecipient, subaward, and expenditure data via manual entry.
However, the Participant Household Payment Data (PHPD) file must be attached as a separate spreadsheet with participant household payments covering all program beneficiaries. The PHPD file is the only dataset that does not have a manual data entry option.
Note: Tribe, TDHE, and the DHHL Recipients are not required to submit the PHPD file. For more details, see the ERA Reporting Guidance document located under the “Quarterly Reporting Guidance” section on the Reporting page
4.18 Should I begin the bulk file upload process with a specific module?
Prior to utilizing the bulk file upload capability, you must first manually create a Project Record with a subrecipient. Once you complete the Project Record, you may begin using the bulk file upload capability in the following sequence:
There are separate temples for each module. Be sure to use the template associated with the module for which you are uploading information.
Note: Tribe, TDHE, and the DHHL Recipients are required to complete only specific sections of the Quarterly Report form. See the ERA Reporting Guidance document located under the “Quarterly Reporting Guidance” section on the Reporting page for more information.
4.19 I’m receiving an error on my bulk upload document. Why is the bulk upload feature not working for me?
If there is an error with the bulk upload file, the portal will notify you of all errors and they can be corrected within the Portal. You may also download an Excel file that lists all errors. If you choose to do so, you can correct the errors in the Excel document instead of the portal and then re-upload the file. After fixing the errors, re-upload the file. Remember to re-validate the file after it is re-uploaded.
Additionally, when a required field is left blank in your bulk upload file, the specific bulk upload file row and cell number will be provided on the screen. When the system scans for and finds invalid data, the error message will indicate the row containing the error.
Note: the portal treats the first row with Recipient data (typically Row 8) as Row “0.”
Finally, the data in the CSV file needs to be in text format, otherwise leading zeros in the zip code will be dropped. To verify if any cell is in the proper format, right click the cell and select ‘Format Cells’ then, in the Number tab, select the category of text. Please note the bulk upload system does not accept dollar signs ($) or commas (,) for monetary values. Please double check to ensure that you are uploading the correct bulk upload file to the correct location
The bulk upload process can take a while. Please be patient while the files upload. Remember that files need to be in CSV format and not in Excel format. Also, a subrecipient needs to be created before a subaward can be created, and a subaward needs to be created before and expenditure can be created or uploaded in order for the bulk upload process to work.
For more information, please consult Appendix A of the User Guide for Recipient Reporting on the Reporting page. The Bulk Upload Overview section contains detailed instructions on how to utilize the capability.
Note: Tribe, TDHE, and the DHHL Recipients are required to complete only specific sections of the Quarterly Report form. See the ERA Reporting Guidance document located under the “Quarterly Reporting Guidance” section on the Reporting page for more information.
4.20 Are there separate reporting questions for ERA2 award funds used for other affordable rental housing and eviction prevention purposes, per FAQ 46?
Yes, the Q1 2023 quarterly report for the ERA2 award that was due on April 17, 2023 has questions regarding the ERA2 grantee’s use of award funds for other affordable rental housing and eviction prevention purposes.
Please see Reporting for additional information on reporting requirements, including the ERA2 Reporting Guidance and the User Guide – Treasury’s Portal for Recipient Reporting, Emergency Rental Assistance Programs. Please see Reporting for additional information on reporting requirements, including the ERA2 Reporting Guidance and the User Guide – Treasury’s Portal for Recipient Reporting, Emergency Rental Assistance Programs
4.21 Where can I locate and download monthly reports that ERA grantees submitted from May 2021 through June 2022
Each grantee’s submitted monthly reports are available for review and download from the “Compliance Reports” tab of Treasury’s Portal.
When you are on the “Compliance Reports” section, scroll to the “ERA Monthly Reports” section. You can locate all monthly reports submitted and either view each report on-line by clicking the associated eye icon or download it to your computer in PDF format by clicking the download button.
Remember, you must be designated as either the Account Administrator, the Authorized Representative, or Point of Contact for Reporting for “ERA1" to view ERA1 Reports and for “ERA2” to view ERA2 Reports in Treasury’s Portal.
4.22 How will I be notified by Treasury that my extension request has been approved?
Extensions are generally approved for those recipients that make their request prior to the established due date. ERA2 grantees requesting an extension for their ERA2 quarterly reports will be notified of their approval via e-mail. Treasury’s portal will also show Extension Status “Approved”.
Please note: The approval emails are sent based on when the request was made. Since extension requests can be made up to the submission deadline, approval notifications may be received after the submission deadline.
4.23 I have expended the total amount of my ERA2 award prior to the end of the award period of performance, am I still required to submit ERA2 quarterly compliance reports to Treasury?
Yes. ERA2 recipients are required to submit all ERA2 quarterly compliance reports even if they have expended the total amount of their ERA2 award, including reallocation funds prior to the end of the award period of performance. As of Quarter 1 of 2023 (Q1 2023), the ERA2 quarterly compliance reports required recipients to report “cumulative” information for most programmatic and financial data points, thus there would be minimal updates on ERA2 quarterly compliance reports for ERA2 recipients that expended the total amount of their ERA2 awards prior to the end of the award period of performance.