The purpose of CCRPC's Emergency Rent Assistance Program is to help homeless households obtain housing and near-homeless retain housing. Services provided in this program include information and referral, assistance with landlord negotiations, housing counseling, and emergency rent assistance.

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About the Program

Champaign County Regional Planning Commission is your Community Action Agency serving low-income persons in Champaign County. Funds are provided for this program through The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity through the Community Service Block Grant (CSBG), FEMA Emergency Food and Shelter Program (EFSP) funds and the Department of Human Services (DHS) Homeless Prevention funds.

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If you apply for first month's rent, you must either show your ability to pay the security deposit, or have written agreement with the landlord for payment of the deposit. Near-homeless households may apply for past-due rent. Our office cannot assist with past due rent if you live in subsidized housing (public housing, Section 8 housing). You must be able to pay the amount remaining after our rent assistance or have a written agreement with your landlord for payment of remaining amount.

1. Please call 384-1226 and schedule an appointment.

• Application Instructions
• Application
• Client Rights & Responsibilities
• Authorization for Release of Information
• Homeless Prevention Screening Tool
• Documents Needed for Verification

Please arrive 10-15 minutes to complete the application. Information provided will be used only to determine program eligibility.

2. If accepted, we will ask you to bring in specific documents to verify your eligibility and need. These documents include picture ID, social security cards, pay stubs, public aid letters, LINK cards, birth certificates, your lease and letter of eviction notice from landlord. Before we consider you for financial assistance, we must have your documentation complete and verified by staff. If you miss your appointment or you fail to call ahead and reschedule the appointment, your application will be denied. If you miss two scheduled appointments, we will not consider you again for a period of three months.

3. Staff consider such factors as income amount and stability, affordability of proposed housing, ability to pay past-due rent balance or deposit, ability to remain in housing if assisted, as well as other issues which may impact the housing situation. In an effort to make the decisions as fairly as possible, applicants are rated on a point system. Once approved for assistance, the amount that the household will receive is based on several factors, such as number of people in the household, the amount of funding we have available, and the number of applications we receive that week.

4. If limited funds prevent us from providing rental assistance, our staff may write, call, or meet with eligible applicants to identify other appropriate resources.

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Government Benefits Information: http://www.govbenefits.gov

Department of Human Services: http://www.dhs.state.il.us

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