Before you apply
What the FreeRent ATL grant requires, what to have ready, and answers to questions applicants ask most.
What the program requires
An active lease in the City of Atlanta
You need a lease that has already started, at an address inside Atlanta city limits. City limits do not always follow the postal address, so a reviewer checks this by hand.
Household income at or below 80% of the area median
The limit depends on how many people live in your household. See the table below. Households between 50% and 80% are the program's priority range, but being under 50% does not count against you.
At least one adult employed full-time, for a year or more
One full-time earner in the household is required, and that job must be one they've held for a year or more. If the only work in the household is part-time, or you're not sure how long the job has been held, a reviewer looks at the whole picture before anything is decided.
No more than half your income goes to housing, and rent is $2,000 or less
Rent plus utilities must come to 50% or less of your monthly income, and monthly rent on its own must be $2,000 or less.
A recent, unexpected hardship
Something outside your control. For example unexpected medical costs, illness or disability, domestic violence, a fire or flood, the death or serious illness of the household's main earner, a transport setback affecting your job, or a significant change involving children.
What happens after you apply
Eligibility screening
The formal process starts with an eligibility screening. Submit an eligibility form from October 5 @ 12 PM to October 12 @ 5 PM.
Invitation to submit a full application
After completing the eligibility screening, we will invite qualified applicants to complete a full application.
Interviews
Selected applicants will be invited to a first-round interview with the FreeRent team. A smaller group of finalists moves forward to a second interview with the FreeRent team and review committee.
Background and credit check
Finalists will complete a background check, a soft credit check (no impact to your credit), and employment verification.
2027 Cohort selected
By December 2026, we will notify the households selected for the 2027 Cohort. The official program will begin in January 2027 with a mandatory program orientation, and the first rent payment will be due in February 2027.
Income limits by household size
Yearly household income at or below these amounts meets the income requirement. Count everyone who lives with you.
| People in household | Income limit |
|---|---|
| 1 | $66,000 |
| 2 | $75,400 |
| 3 | $84,850 |
| 4 | $94,250 |
| 5 | $101,800 |
| 6 | $109,350 |
| 7 | $116,900 |
| 8 | $124,450 |
Households of more than eight people are reviewed individually. These are 2025-2026 HUD figures for the Atlanta area.
What to have ready
The form itself does not ask you to upload anything. These are the materials the program collects later, so it helps to gather them.
- Identification
- Your lease
- A rent ledger
- Income verification
- Documentation of your hardship
- A 90-second video introducing yourself and your goals for the program
What the program asks of you
Recipients sign an agreement to set quarterly financial and personal goals, take part in financial education, and save at least three months of housing costs during the program.
Common questions
- Can I nominate someone else?
- For the 2027 Cohort, applicants must apply for themselves. We are not accepting nominations this cycle.
- Do I have to be currently renting?
- Yes. You need an active lease inside the City of Atlanta.
- What if no one in my household has worked full-time for a year?
- This program is built for families with at least one adult who has held a full-time job for one year or more.
- What if my rent-to-income ratio is above 50%?
- Right now, we're looking for households where rent plus utilities is no more than 50% of monthly income.
- What if my income is below 50% AMI?
- For this application cycle, the program is designed for households between 50% and 80% AMI.
- Why do you run a background check?
- The background and credit check process helps us confirm information and support our final program decisions. The credit inquiry is a soft pull and will not affect your credit score. Both are run only with your consent.
- Do you pay landlords directly?
- Yes. We coordinate rental assistance payments directly with property managers. We do not disburse rental assistance funds to recipients.
- Will you consider back rent?
- You can share any past-due amount in your application. We make determinations case by case within budget parameters.
- How many families are selected each cohort?
- The number of families supported each year depends on our annual budget, fundraising efforts, and projections for the total cost of support. In 2025, the FreeRent Grant supported 11 families for a full year and 14 families for 3 months. In 2026, the FreeRent Grant supported 18 families for a full year.
- What if I need language or accessibility support?
- Please reach out to us at atl@freerent.org and we'll make sure you're supported.
Not sure whether you qualify? Submit an eligibility form anyway. Staff review every eligibility form.