Rent assistance in Florida comes from thousands of separate organizations. Local charities, churches, and community action agencies handle most of the emergency funds, and every one of Florida's 67 counties also has a SHIP office with state housing money. A smaller set of statewide programs and organizations serve renters in any part of the state. The statewide options are listed first, with links to local county rent assistance at the bottom of the page.

NOTE: Evictions in Florida move through the courts quickly. The best time to apply for the rental assistance programs on this page is before any notice is sent, while the rent is only late. A tenant who has already received a notice or court papers needs a different kind of help — start with the Florida eviction prevention programs page and the free legal advice programs in Florida page.

Statewide rent assistance programs and organizations in Florida

State Housing Initiatives Partnership (SHIP)
SHIP is Florida's own housing money, paid for by the state affordable housing trust fund and managed by the Florida Housing Finance Corporation. Every year the state sends SHIP funds to all 67 counties and about 50 larger cities, and each local government receives at least $350,000. The local office decides how its share is spent. Many county and city SHIP plans pay security deposits, eviction prevention grants, or several months of back rent for very low-income renters, while some put the money only into home repair or down payment programs.

SHIP applications are taken by the county or city office, not by the state. Call your local SHIP office and ask which renter programs are funded this year, because local rental funds open and close as the money is spent. The Florida Housing Finance Corporation posts the phone number for every local SHIP office. Contact: 227 N. Bronough Street, Suite 5000, Tallahassee, FL 32301. Phone: (850) 488-4197. Website: https://www.floridahousing.org/programs/special-programs/ship---state-housing-initiatives-partnership-program.

Florida Office on Homelessness and Emergency Solutions Grants
The Florida Department of Children and Families runs the state Office on Homelessness, which sends federal Emergency Solutions Grant money to a lead agency in each region of the state. The lead agencies and their partner nonprofits use the funds to pay back rent, move people into new housing, and help renters who have already lost their home. The lead agency for each part of Florida is listed on the Florida Office on Homelessness programs page, and the guide to Florida Emergency Solutions Grants for housing explains what the grants pay for and how to apply.

Up-Front Diversion payments for families
A Florida family with children can ask for a one-time Up-Front Diversion payment instead of monthly cash assistance. The payment can cover an urgent bill such as back rent, and it is meant for a family that qualifies for Temporary Cash Assistance but only needs help once. Apply through the state MyACCESS benefits system (website: https://myaccess.myflfamilies.com/Public/login) or call the Department of Children and Families at (866) 762-2237. Then ask staff at the local CareerSource office about the diversion payment by name, because it is rarely offered unless a family asks for it. A family that accepts the payment agrees not to apply for monthly cash assistance for the next three months. The monthly program itself is covered on the Florida Temporary Cash Assistance guide.

Community action agencies
Community action agencies cover all 67 Florida counties through county and multi-county service areas. Several hold emergency rent and deposit funds along with their utility programs, and their caseworkers usually know which local funds have money right now. The agency for each area is listed on the Florida community action agency programs page.

Free legal aid for Florida renters
Florida does not have one single statewide legal aid office. The state is divided among regional nonprofit law firms — Bay Area Legal Services around Tampa Bay, Community Legal Services in Central Florida, Legal Services of North Florida in the Panhandle, and others — and each one gives free legal help to income-qualifying tenants in its own counties.

Two statewide phone lines connect renters to the right program: the Eviction Prevention Line at (888) 780-0443, run by Florida's legal aid network, and the Senior Legal Helpline at (888) 895-7873 for renters age 60 and older. The provider search at https://www.floridalawhelp.org lists the legal aid program for every county. The full set of options is on the free legal advice programs in Florida page.

Rent help for Florida seniors
Florida has one of the oldest populations in the country, and many older renters live on a fixed Social Security income that no longer covers the rent. The statewide Elder Helpline at 1-800-963-5337 connects callers to one of Florida's 11 Area Agencies on Aging, which screen seniors for help in their region and know which local emergency funds serve people age 60 and older. Each agency and its programs are covered on the Florida senior focused assistance page. Seniors who need a lower ongoing rent can also apply for a subsidized Section 202 apartment, explained on the guide to affordable housing for seniors on Social Security or a fixed income.

The Salvation Army in Florida
The Salvation Army operates service centers across Florida, and many of them hold short-term funds for back rent or a security deposit. The amount available changes by location and by month, so call the nearest center before visiting. Locations and application steps are on the Salvation Army housing assistance in Florida page.

USDA Rural Development
Renters in the Panhandle, the farming counties of the interior, and other rural parts of Florida can apply for an apartment in a USDA-subsidized rural rental property, where the rent is set by household income. These properties serve low-income families, seniors, and people with disabilities, and they are not always listed in the standard housing search tools. Contact the Florida state office: 4500 NW 27th Avenue, Suite D-2, Gainesville, FL 32606. Phone: (352) 338-3400. For questions about rental properties, call (800) 292-8293. Website: https://www.rd.usda.gov/fl-vi.

Rent help after a hurricane
When a hurricane damages rental housing in a county that receives a federal disaster declaration, displaced renters can apply for FEMA rental assistance to pay for a temporary place to live. Apply at https://www.disasterassistance.gov or call (800) 621-3362 soon after the declaration, because each storm has its own application deadline. Some county SHIP offices also run disaster help after a storm, so ask the local SHIP office as well.

Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers
Housing Choice Vouchers in Florida are run by dozens of local public housing authorities, and most waiting lists open for only a short period each year. A voucher lowers the rent for the long term, but it is not emergency money for this month's rent. Waitlist openings and housing authority contacts are on the Section 8 housing in Florida page.

Government housing resources and 211
HUD lists every Florida public housing authority and the free HUD-approved housing counseling agencies in the state at https://www.hud.gov/states/florida. The current phone number for every local SHIP office is posted by the Florida Housing Finance Corporation at https://www.floridahousing.org. Dialing 211 reaches the United Way information line for your part of Florida and adds referrals to nearby rent, deposit, and utility programs, as a supplement to the contacts above.

Florida renters share what worked — the community forum

Florida is a large state, and the rent help available in Miami or Orlando is different from the help in a small Panhandle town or a farming county in the interior. Renters from every part of the state use the moderated NHPB forum to post which local agencies had funds, how long an application took, and what worked in their own county. Reading recent posts from your area is a practical way to learn about a program before spending a day on the phone. Read the discussion or ask your own question in the FL rental assistance programs forum thread.

Local rent help in each Florida county

County charities, churches, SHIP offices, and social service agencies hold their own rent and deposit funds. Select your county or city below for local organizations, phone numbers, and application details.

Charlotte and DeSoto County

Citrus County and Hernando

Collier County

Dade County and Miami

Duval County and Jacksonville

Escambia and Santa Rosa County

Highlands County

Hillsborough County including Tampa