The Wisconsin Emergency Rental Assistance (WERA) Program was created as a response to the loss of income for many rental households during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Funding for the WERA Program is from two separate programs: ERA1 is funded by the Federal Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, enacted on December 27, 2020, set aside $25 billion in funding nationwide, and ERA2 is funded by the American Rescue Plan of 2021, enacted March 11, 2021, which set aside $21.55 billion. Of that total, approximately $387 million of ERA1 and $306 million of ERA2 were appropriated to the State of Wisconsin. A portion of these funds will be distributed to Brown County, Dane County, Milwaukee County, Waukesha County, the City of Madison, and the City of Milwaukee. The approximate State of Wisconsin share of the Coronavirus Relief funds is $322 million for ERA1 and $255 million for ERA2 and these funds have been set aside for WERA.
Eligible Activities
The Wisconsin Emergency Rental Assistance program is no longer accepting applications. For additional rental assistance programs, please see our housing assistance map and locate the county you reside in.
WERA Program Manager - Kathleen Spencer
Kathleen.Spencer1@wisconsin.gov
Department of Administration
Division of Energy, Housing, and Community Resources
P.O. Box 7970
Madison, WI 53707-7970
Housing Stability Resources
Housing Stability Services Training
Housing Stability Services Training Meeting Recording 10-04-2023
