Miami’s Senior Rental Assistance Program is back on the table, once again offering up to $500 a month to qualifying low-income renters age 62 and older. Paper applications are available through Friday, February 20, 2026, and recipients will be selected by district in computerized lotteries. For those who make the cut, assistance is paid directly to landlords for up to 12 months.
Who qualifies
To get in the running, applicants must be at least 62, rent a unit within City of Miami limits, have a current, executed lease and be up to date on rent payments. Households have to earn no more than 50% of the area median income and spend more than 30% of their income on rent to meet the rent-burden requirement. The program excludes people living in public housing or already enrolled in federally funded rental assistance, and it cannot be used to cover past-due rent, according to the City of Miami.
Income thresholds and benefit
The city says SRAP may provide up to $500 per month, based on need, with payments sent straight to the landlord for up to one year, per local reporting. The income cutoffs the program uses translate to roughly $43,400 for a one-person household and $49,550 for a two-person household at 50% of area median income. See Westmont Advisors for those thresholds.
How big is the need
Local reporting suggests the pool of potentially eligible seniors is huge: the Miami Herald reports nearly 25,000 householders age 65 and older live in the city, and about two-thirds of those householders are rent-burdened, meaning their rents chew up 30% or more of income. If those figures hold, the SRAP could be a lifeline for many, but it will not come close to solving the city’s broader affordability crisis. For more context see the Miami Herald.
How to apply
Paper applications are available for pickup at Miami City Hall (3500 Pan American Drive) and at City district offices Monday through Friday; completed packages must be submitted as directed on the form. If mailing an application, the city says it must be postmarked by Saturday, February 21, 2026; the application window itself runs through Friday, February 20. The City will review applications for preliminary eligibility and then run district computerized lotteries, with waitlists scheduled to be posted by March 31, 2026. Call 311 or visit the City of Miami website for pickup locations and required documents.
Why it matters
Advocates say SRAP can plug immediate gaps for individual households but will not fix the wider affordability crunch in Miami, where rising rents and limited subsidized stock leave many older renters on shaky ground. Because funding is limited and distributed by district, some neighborhoods may see their slots snapped up quickly. The program’s exclusion of arrears also means it cannot help seniors who are already behind on rent. Local outlets including WLRN have framed the reopening as a modest, short-term boost set against much larger housing needs.
