California’s COVID-19 Rent Relief Program reported that it has received nearly $3 billion in assistance requests to help households across the state that have suffered financial hardship because of the pandemic.
The program’s dashboard early Friday showed that it has received 309,168 applications — from both tenants and landlords — of which 227,388 household applications are complete.
The funds requested to date total approximately $2,963,969,356.
The program said 54,974 households have been served with $649,356,911 paid so far. Average assistance totals $11,812.
The state reported that 779 applications have been received from Lake County, of which 777 are complete.
Lake County applicants have sought $9,987,925 in assistance so far, with $1,768,474 paid.
A total of 160 Lake County households have been served, with assistance averaging $11,053.
At the city level, residents from the city of Clearlake have submitted 314 applications, of which 313 are complete.
Clearlake residents have requested $4,232,188, with $606,256 paid for 54 households. Average assistance is $11,227.
In Lakeport, 51 applications — all of which are complete — have been submitted, seeking $712,439 in assistance. To date, $16,569 has been paid to assist three households, with assistance averaging $5,523.
The program is not first-come, first-served. Applications are reviewed and assistance payments are processed based on tenant vulnerability factors.
On June 28, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed AB 832, which increased the level of assistance to 100% for both back rent and prospective rent and gave California the strongest eviction protections in the nation.
The extension of state-level eviction protections, which were initially established over a year ago, have provided much-needed housing stability for Californians throughout the pandemic, state officials said.
“The COVID-19 pandemic brought so much pain and economic disruption, particularly to low-wage workers and low-income renter households,” said Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency Secretary Lourdes Castro Ramírez. “Working with over 130 community-based partners, we are reaching families hardest hit — 85% being very low- or extremely low-income — and making landlords whole. Rent relief has been a game changer for Californians at greatest risk of displacement or becoming homeless.”
Additional protections will be in place through the spring.
Beginning Oct. 1 and continuing through March 31, 2022, tenants earning less than 80% of the area median income will be protected through a pre-eviction diversion process through the courts, so long as they have submitted a completed application for rental relief through either the state or a locally administered program.
“We have been moving with a sense of urgency to ensure that renters and landlords who need assistance can get it as quickly as possible,” said Department of Housing and Community Development Director Gustavo Velasquez. “Keeping families stably housed continues to be a critical public health measure, as we continue to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.”
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California COVID-19 Rent Relief Program receives nearly $3 billion in requests
- Elizabeth Larson