Tenant Based Rental Assistance

Note: Commerce does not provide direct rent or utility assistance to households. Please contact your local Tenant Based Rental Assistance (Known as TBRA) provider. The TBRA program is not available in King, Clark, Spokane, Pierce, Kitsap, Thurston and Snohomish counties. However those counties may have another TBRA program available.

The Tenant Based Rental Assistance program (TBRA) provides homeless and low-income households with security and utility deposits and rent assistance. Eligible households must have incomes that do not exceed 50 percent of the median household income for their area, according to the published income limits by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) on an annual basis.

Eligible households may receive the deposits necessary to get them into a unit, or a combination of deposits and rental subsidies that enable them to pay no more than 30 percent of their household income for rent and utilities. The tenant rent share increases as the tenant income increases.

• Program Guidelines
• Current income limits
• Fair Market Rent

Service Delivery

Here is a map and a list of TBRA service providers in Washington State.  

Enabling Legislation and Related Rules 

• Title II of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act
• Section 24, Part 92, of the Code of Federal Regulations (24 CFR 92), HOME Investment Partnerships Program: Final Rule
• Subparts (92.207 & 92.209) of Section 24, Part 92
• State Action Plan

HUD Forms for TBRA Grantees

Below is a list of required and sample forms for the TBRA Program.  These are available on the HUD Website.  The HUD Website also contains other HOME program forms that may be useful in implementing a TBRA Program.