City of Los Angeles Launches New Rental Assistance Program

City of Los Angeles Launches New Rental Assistance Program

Up to $18.4 Million Offered to City’s Tenants to Pay Past Due Rent Debts

The City of Los Angeles has announced the launch of a new, Emergency Rental Assistance Program that is being made available through the United to House LA Measure (a/k/a, Measure ULA).  Information can be found on the Los Angeles Housing Department (LAHD} website at the following link: https://housing.lacity.org/.  The new program is limited to tenants in the City of Los Angeles only, and  will assist low-income residential renters who are at risk of homelessness due to unpaid rent as a result of COVID-19 or other financial hardship. According to the LAHD website, to be eligible, a household must be obligated to pay rent on a residential dwelling and meet the requirements.

The tenant application is open until October 2, 2023, at 6:00 p.m. and will pay up to six (6) months of rent in arrears. All applications received by the closing date will be considered for eligibility and not on a "first come, first served" basis. A second application period that will allow small landlords, defined as landlords who own 12 or fewer units, will open approximately October 23, 2023. Under either application, both the landlord and the tenant must agree to participate.  More information on the Small Landlord Application period will be provided by LAHD at a later time. Applicants for both programs may apply online, in-person or via telephone.

Eligibility for Tenant Rental Assistance

To be eligible for the rental assistance program, a renter household must be obligated to pay rent on a residential dwelling and meet the following requirements:

• Be a resident of the City of Los Angeles, regardless of immigration status.
• One or more individuals within the household have experienced a loss of employment, reduction in household income, incurred significant costs, or experienced other financial hardship between March 2020 and now.
• Have unpaid rent due to their current landlord for any month(s) between April 1, 2020, through September 30, 2023.
• The current household income is at or below 80% of the area median income (AMI).

Any participants of Section 8 housing choice voucher, Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (VASH), or living in project-based Section 8 or public housing are not eligible to apply to the program.

Prioritization

Priority will be given to applications from households with income at or below 30% of the Area Median Income (AMI) and who have unpaid rent beginning on April 1, 2020, through September 30, 2021. Applicants that do not meet the eligibility priority may be processed at a later time. Once the above priority is met, the following applications will be selected that based on the following criteria:

• Households with minor children and/or seniors aged 65 and above or people with disabilities.
• Households that are extremely rent burdened, paying more than 50% of total household income for rent each month.
• Households that are at high risk of becoming homeless (include, but is not limited to households with past due rent or an eviction notice, unsafe or unhealthy living conditions; or any other evidence of such risk.
• Households for whom up to six (6) months’ rent in its entirety will satisfy their entire debt for the unit they currently inhabit; or who have entered into an agreement to repay the remaining balance affordably.