Eviction Moratorium
In March of 2021, Pittsburgh City Council enacted Chapter 782 of the Pittsburgh City Code, which, as amended, prohibited landlords from taking action to cause the eviction of an individual or household except for good cause. On March 26, 2021, the Pittsburgh Commission on Human Relations (PghCHR) enacted procedures for landlords to apply for just cause exemptions to the ordinance. On April 30, 2021, Mayor Bill Peduto designated that PghCHR investigate and enforce violations of the ordinance.
On August 3, 2021, the City's Emergency Disaster Declaration expired and, with its expiration, Chapter 782 was no longer in effect. At this time, PghCHR has stopped accepting applications for good cause exemption and has stopped pursuing enforcement for violations of the ordinance.
For more information about the ordinance, Pittsburgh residents can call 3-1-1 or the Mayor's Office at 412-255-2626.
For information about resources, please see below.
Rent, Mortgage, and Legal Resources
Resources for Pittsburghers to Prevent Eviction during the COVID-19 Pandemic
ERAP
The Allegheny County Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) is available if you’ve lost your job or experienced financial hardship since March 13, 2020. You may be eligible if:
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at least one person in your household qualifies for unemployment, has lost income, or suffered financially due to COVID-19
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at least one person in your household is at risk of experiencing homelessness if they don’t get help
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your household is renting its residence
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your household’s total income is below 80% of the Area Median Income for Allegheny County
Residents of Allegheny County can apply at covidrentrelief.alleghenycounty.us. If you can’t get online or need help filling it out, contact ACTION-Housing at 412-248-0021 or rentalassistance@actionhousing.org.
HEMAP
The Homeowners' Emergency Mortgage Assistance Program (HEMAP) was created by Act 91 of 1983, and was designed to protect Pennsylvanians who, through no fault of their own, are financially unable to make their mortgage payments and are in danger of losing their homes to foreclosure. HEMAP is appropriate for 1- or 2- family homes that are not primarily used for business purposes. If you have questions about your eligibility for HEMAP, you can contact ACTION Housing (action-mort@actionhousing.org) or NeighborWorks of Western Pennsylvania (info@neighborworkswpa.org).
HARP
The Housing Assistance Resources Portal (HARP) for the City of Pittsburgh is a guide that offers housing-related resources whether you are interested in renting, currently renting, interested in buying a house, a current home-owner, a landlord, or currently experiencing homelessness. If you are experiencing a housing crisis, please visit: pittsburghpa.gov/harp/
Allegheny Link
The Allegheny Link provides person centered resource navigation in an effort to help people maintain their independence, dignity, and quality of life. The Allegheny Link also provides a single access point for the Coordinated Entry System providing fair, equal, and streamlined access to homeless services in Allegheny County. Contact the Allegheny Link by phone at 1-866-730-2368 or online at alleghenycounty.us/Human-Services/About/Contact/Allegheny-Link.aspx
Housing Opportunity Fund Programs
The Housing Opportunity Fund, administered by the URA (412.255.6600, hof@ura.org, ura.org/pages/housing-opportunity-fund-programs), provides funding to a set of programs intended to stabilize housing in Pittsburgh. These programs include:
The Small Landlord Fund
Provides funding to landlords with ten (10) or less units for the preservation of existing affordable rental housing and / or the conversion of market/vacant housing to affordable housing in the City of Pittsburgh.
Housing Stabilization Program
The Housing Stabilization Program (HSP) is a housing crisis intervention program that provides one-time or short term (up to 3 months) financial assistance to households who are facing a temporary, non-recurring housing crisis. To see if you are eligible for the program, please contact United Way 2-1-1 by Texting your ZIP code to United Way at 898-211, or Dial 2-1-1 from your phone, or by chatroom at pa211sw.org.
Legal Assistance
The Center for Housing Opportunities has partnered with Neighborhood Legal Services to assist individuals in the Tangled-Title and Eviction Prevention legal assistance. New Legal Assistance Program coming April 2021 which will include mediation, limited legal consultation and full legal representation for tenants, as well as tangled title and foreclosure prevention for homeowners.
RentHelpPGH
RentHelpPGH is a coordinated project of the Hill District Consensus Group, Community Justice Project, the CREATE Lab at Carnegie Mellon University, and the Pittsburgh Hispanic Development Corporation to help more Allegheny County residents access the services they need and to quantify the impact of direct service work performed by Community Based Organizations. RentHelpPGH assists residents of Allegheny County in obtaining legal and financial assistance in order to avoid eviction and to help residents access resources that will stabilize their household and create an environment in which they can thrive. Contact RentHelpPGH: (412) 534-6600 for English, or (412) 530-5244 for Spanish or email support@renthelppgh.zendesk.com.
Emergency Solutions Grants
The purpose of the Emergency Solutions Grants (ESG) program is to assist individuals and families
quickly regain stability in permanent housing after experiencing a housing crisis or homelessness. ESG
provides grants by formula to states, metropolitan cities, urban counties and U.S. territories to support
homelessness prevention, emergency shelter and related services. For more information regarding the ESG program please visit pittsburghpa.gov/omb/esg.
This resource list is compiled by the Pittsburgh Commission on Human Relations and was last updated on August 8, 2021. For additional housing resources, visit pittsburghpa.gov/harp/.
