Georgia

NLIHC has estimated a need for no less than $100 billion in emergency rental assistance and broke down the need and cost for each state (download Excel spreadsheet). 

In response to COVID-19 and its economic fallout, many cities and states are creating or expanding rental assistance programs to support individuals and families impacted by the pandemic, and NLIHC is tracking in-depth information on these programs.  

You can use the interactive map and searchable database to find state and local emergency rental assistance programs near you. You can also see the latest news on rental assistance programs through the state-by-state news tracker. Note that this is not a comprehensive list of all rental assistance programs as we continue to update frequently. If you are aware of a program not included in our database, please contact [email protected]. 

COVID-19 Emergency Rental Assistance Programs

Across the country, homeless service providers are struggling to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. In order to follow public health guidelines and help ensure people’s safety, some shelters are being forced to reduce services, restrict admittance, or close entirely. The loss of these critical resources puts people experiencing homelessness at even higher risk of illness. Check NLIHC's cumulative list of shelter closings.

Below is a list of shelters that have had to majorly alter services or completely close:

No information at this time.

Nearly a dozen families residing at an extended hotel in DeKalb County were evicted, but the Housing Justice League and DeKalb County Commissioner Larry Johnson report that anyone who has lived at the property longer than 90 days cannot legally be evicted under the federal moratorium. Commissioner Johnson noted that many people, including landlords, do not fully understand the CDC eviction moratorium. 

Updated on September 15, 2020

The Georgia Recorder reports that eviction hearings are rising across Georgia after the supplemental unemployment benefit expired at the end of July and the 30 days’ notice of eviction required by the CARES Act ended on August 24.

WABE reports that as federal eviction protections have expired, tenants in metro Atlanta are feeling the effects. 

Updated on September 2, 2020.

Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms announced on August 20 that the city has allocated $22 million from the Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF) to the Atlanta COVID-19 Emergency Rental Assistance Program. The program is expected to help more than 6,700 Atlanta residents with rental, utility, and/or security deposit assistance. Applications for the rental assistance program are now available at: https://relief.uwga.org/.

Georgia Public Broadcasting “On Second Thought” host Virginia Prescott spoke with housing experts to examine the state’s looming eviction crisis and the long-term impacts it could have on Georgia residents.

Updated on August 25, 2020.

More than 10,000 evictions have been on hold in metro Atlanta during the pandemic, but courts in DeKalb, Gwinnett, Fulton, and Cobb counties have either recently resumed landlord-tenant hearings or will resume hearings in the coming days. Fulton, usually considered Georgia’s busiest eviction court, has a backlog of over 9,000 cases and will hold virtual hearings, rather than in-person hearings, until at least November.

Updated on August 19, 2020.

WABE reports that while in Georgia many courts have paused in-person eviction hearings for the time being, thousands of evictions have been filed in Fulton, DeKalb and Gwinnett counties since March.

Updated on August 11, 2020.

Crossroads Community Ministries, an organization that operates like a post office for people who are experiencing homelessness and don’t have a permanent address, has continued to provide services throughout the pandemic. The executive director spoke with WABE about the challenges that the organization has encountered due to COVID-19.

Atlanta

The Atlanta City Council approved legislation on June 15, directing millions of dollars in CARES Act funding to support people experiencing homelessness and prevent evictions. City officials are allocating $22 million for rental assistance to prevent evictions and homelessness. An additional $7 million will be allocated to provide care for people experiencing homelessness to mitigate COVID-19 effects. Read the legislation here.

Updated on June 22, 2020.

The city of Atlanta has acquired 250 hotel rooms to house people experiencing homelessness who are either older than 65 or dealing with underlying health conditions. The city is paying $3 million to lease the hotel rooms for three months until August 1, with approximately half of the funding coming from philanthropic dollars and half from emergency funding. 

Atlanta has tested more than 2,000 people experiencing homelessness, uncovering approximately 30 new positive cases in shelters. The total number of people experiencing homelessness who have tested positive is at least 55 as of April 20.

Savannah

The Savannah Homeless Authority has partnered with the City of Savannah and Chatham Emergency Management Agency to deliver meals-ready-to-eat, or MRE’s, to the city’s more than 35 homeless camps Thursday morning.

No information at this time.

Federal, state, and local eviction moratoriums are rapidly expiring and the CARES Act supplemental unemployment benefits will end soon; at that time, millions of low-income renters will be at risk of losing their homes. The NLIHC estimates at least $100 billion in emergency rental assistance is needed to keep low-income renters stably housed during and after the pandemic. This tracker links to news reports of the growing evictions crisis in various cities and states. Check NLIHC's cumulative list of eviction updates.

The Georgia Recorder reports that eviction hearings are rising across Georgia after the supplemental unemployment benefit expired at the end of July and federal eviction protections expire on August 24. More than 10,000 evictions have been on hold in metro Atlanta during the pandemic, but courts in DeKalb, Gwinnett, Fulton, and Cobb counties have either recently resumed landlord-tenant hearings or will resume hearings in the coming days. Fulton, usually considered Georgia’s busiest eviction court, has a backlog of over 9,000 cases and will hold virtual hearings, rather than in-person hearings, until at least November.

Updated on August 28, 2020.

More than 10,000 eviction cases have been on hold in metro Atlanta during the health crisis, but courts in DeKalb and Gwinnett counties resumed landlord-tenant hearings this week. Fulton and Cobb plan to restart next week. Judges generally plan to start with cases that were filed before the pandemic hit but have not yet been ruled on.

Updated: August 12

No statewide order was ever issued. The State Supreme Court had tolled deadlines in pending cases from March 14-July 14 (allowing for local discretion). This extended the time limit tenants and landlords had to respond to eviction cases but did not prevent cases. All proceedings related to evictions have continued throughout the pandemic. 

Updated: August 1

In the third week of July, 28.3% of adults in Georgia reported they had missed their previous housing payment or had little confidence they would make their next one on time, according to a weekly survey conducted by the Census. In the same survey, 465,246 renters reported they had not paid their previous rental payment. 

Updated: July 29

According to a weekly survey by the Census, 1 in 3 adults in the state either missed their last housing payment or have little/no confidence of being able to make next month’s housing payment.

Updated: July 16