Prince George’s County pauses rental assistance program after overwhelming demand

Prince George’s County has shut off new rental aid applications after an overwhelming response, a stark sign of how much housing pressure still sits on local renters. The county’s Emergency Rental Assistance page said the program was “Temporarily Closed” as of Tuesday, April 28, 2026, and the registration portal now shows “No more Registrations.”

The practical fallout is immediate for households already behind on rent. For a family trying to avoid eviction, a short-term grant can be the difference between staying put and facing a court date, a sheriff-scheduled lockout, or the instability that follows a forced move. The county’s notice tells residents to check back periodically for updates, but it does not say when the portal will reopen.

The closure also doubles as a measure of local housing distress. Prince George’s County’s own housing data show a large renter population, with 38% of households renting and 53% of renters paying unaffordable housing costs. In a county of 947,430 residents and 369,064 housing units in 2023, that kind of strain gives the closure broader policy weight than a routine website update.

County leaders have already seen this pressure build over time. In April 2024, Prince George’s County said its Emergency Rental Assistance Program had helped 11,276 households and paid out more than $112 million in rent and utility support since March 2021. Earlier, in January 2023, the county said the program had distributed more than $102.6 million and supported more than 10,225 households. In a separate notice, the county told tenants facing eviction or a utility disconnect to call the ERAP hotline at (301) 883-6504 and press 9.

The current closure comes after a larger program transition. The county says its older ERAP ended on September 30, 2025, in line with the federal statute, while the current ERA portal is the one now marked closed. County eligibility rules still say households below 80% of area median income may qualify, and households above 50% AMI must also meet eviction-related requirements such as a sheriff-scheduled eviction, a warrant for possession, a court summons, or a court judgment.

The state backdrop remains active as well. Maryland began collecting eviction case data on January 1, 2023, and launched a public eviction dashboard in May 2023, giving policymakers another way to track how often emergency aid and eviction risk intersect. Governor Wes Moore also highlighted increased funding for the Community Schools Rental Assistance Program during an April 27 visit to Prince George’s County, underscoring that rental assistance remains a live issue even as the county’s own portal is closed.

For now, the county’s message is simple: the demand has outgrown the intake. Until the portal reopens, families who missed the window will be waiting for the next chance at help in a county where the pressure on renters is still intense.