As discussed elsewhere in our Q3 2025 report, federal Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) funding ended on September 30, 2025. ERA funding previously made up the Eviction Diversion and Defense Partnership’s (EDDP’s) largest source of funding. As a result, in the final quarter of 2025, Tenant Resource Center is shifting some of the services offered under the EDDP for tenants in Dane County. Some of the EDDP’s services are continuing unchanged, while others are new.
Eviction Diversion Services
While much of the EDDP’s work focuses on tenants with an active eviction case, our EDDP team also supports tenants whose housing stability is at risk but do not yet have an eviction case filed against them. In those eviction diversion situations, we may be able to provide many of the services, described below, that we provide to tenants with an eviction filing. The goals of the diversion side of the EDDP are to prevent an eviction from being filed and to help a tenant retain their current housing or move into stable housing.
Services Before Court
TRC will continue to reach out to every tenant with an eviction case filed against them in Dane County. TRC staff members follow the Dane County Circuit Court’s eviction calendar, collect available data on each filing, and create a client file for each case so that tenants have access to the necessary materials as needed when we are working to provide services.
When staff make contact with a tenant before an eviction case’s initial hearing, they may provide a number of services:
- Housing counseling to answer questions about rental rights and responsibilities.
- Court navigation to explain what to expect at court and the steps involved in an eviction case.
- A referral to an EDDP partner attorney for potential free representation.
- Mediation to try to reach an agreement between the tenant and landlord.
- Referrals to other community resources and services.
Services at Court
EDDP staff will continue to be present at every eviction hearing in Dane County. Team members work in the background to reach out to tenants to help them appear at their assigned hearing time, assist tenants with logging into their virtual hearings, and help troubleshoot access issues. A mediator from TRC’s Housing Counseling Services program will also continue to be present at every eviction hearing. During eviction hearings, EDDP staff will continue to provide court navigation services to tenants, such as explaining what is happening during the hearing and helping tenants understand stipulations and the outcomes of hearings. EDDP staff will be available to provide tenants with information about their rental rights, connect tenants with other TRC programs and community resources, make referrals to attorneys as needed, and answer any questions tenants or landlords might have.
Services After Court
After court, the EDDP team will continue to reach out to tenants to make sure they understand what happened at court, the required next steps and deadlines, and what resources may be available to the tenant. The team will also continue to support redaction clinics and make referrals to our EDDP partner attorneys to assist with redacting eviction court records; follow up with tenants to provide support with stipulation requirements; assist tenants with writing letters to prospective landlords about the circumstances surrounding an eviction judgment; and connect tenants with resources for moving and securing new housing.
New Service: Short-term Case Management
Beginning in the fourth quarter of 2025, the EDDP team has also begun to offer short-term case management services to a limited number of tenants. Case managers provide the same services described above, but on a one-on-one basis with eligible tenants. In addition, the housing case managers provide more intensive assistance to enrolled tenants. This includes identifying the tenant’s barriers to stable housing and working through those barriers; helping the tenant to fi nd and keep stable housing; accessing available community resources, including applying for rental assistance if available; coordinating with landlords, attorneys, and services partners; providing guidance on moving and securing the return of a security deposit; creating individualized plans to stabilize housing; and providing ongoing follow-up to ensure tenants are able to remain in stable housing.
Rental Assistance - Significantly Diminished Services
The fourth quarter of 2025 is our first quarter without federal COVID-related emergency rental assistance since 2020. Going forward, TRC will have a much smaller amount of rental assistance available to tenants. Rental assistance funds are dramatically limited for the remainder of 2025. There will be more rental assistance available for a limited time in 2026 through a grant from Dane County. However, those funds will be a fraction of the amount TRC has distributed using federal COVID-19 funding in recent years. TRC will distribute more information about eligibility requirements and the timeline for this 2026 rental assistance shortly.