News Alert: L.A. County Creates New Rent Relief Fund – Urgent Feedback Needed!
At the January 24th Board of Supervisors meeting, the Board passed a motion made by Supervisors Barger and Mitchell to create a new $45 million Rent Relief Fund for independent, “mom-and-pop” owners to repay past due rent owed by renters in Los Angeles County from April 2022 forward due to COVID-19 and L.A. County’s related emergency moratoriums. Rental housing owners that do not have a mortgage on their property can receive up to $30,000 per unit to cover past due rent with funds first being made available after the current eviction moratorium expires on March 31, 2023. The qualifications for being considered “mom-and-pop owners” and other details are still being discussed by the County. The Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles (AAGLA) will be updating our members as soon as additional information is available.
Supervisor Mitchell has already launched a survey seeking feedback from “mom and pop” owners (although it was not provided directly to AAGLA). The survey is open to all L.A. County rental housing owners. Please follow the link below to complete and submit the survey as soon as possible. The deadline for responding to the survey is February 27, 2023. Click here to access the survey link.
In particular, first and most importantly, please be sure to respond to question number 4 - rank county allocation one-time, housing-focused dollars - by resorting the items requested using the arrow keys next to each statement to move it up and down in the list. The first line is rent relief for past due rent due to COVID-19 emergency protections and should remain in the first position as this is the primary reason that this fund is being created. Next, however, you should move the current fourth line up by two lines to show in the second position the statement “relief / grant programs for utilities, maintenance and/or repairs.” Our rental housing owners need these funds to make needed repairs and maintenance on their properties. Anything about acquiring properties should be moved to the bottom of the list as this was never the intent for creating this fund. Please see the table below:
Your voice is critical to the design of this new Rent Relief Fund. Please be sure to fill out the survey TODAY!