Although the COVID-19 pandemic hasn’t been a major part of general public discourse in quite a while, the pandemic period still looms large as a financial burden for some, including landlords and tenants across Los Angeles County.
An early 2023 study conducted by National Equity Atlas, produced by PolicyLink and the USC Equity Research Institute, stated that unpaid back rent from the pandemic across greater Los Angeles could exceed $1 billion. To recoup some of those costs, eligible landlords are now able to apply for the Los Angeles County Rent Relief Program, designed to “provide direct financial assistance to landlords to help them mitigate the detrimental economic impacts caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.”
The rent relief program, run through the county’s Department of Consumer and Business Affairs (DCBA), offers grant awards to cover eligible expenses incurred from April 1, 2022 onward on a rolling basis. Eligible expenses, according to the program’s website, include “qualifying unpaid rental debt” and other “substantiated related expenses” such as utilities. The county will be providing over $68 million in grants to qualified landlords, geared toward smaller landlords who own up to four rental units. The deadline to submit an application is January 12 at 11:59 p.m. PST.
“The LA County Rent Relief Program will provide small rental property owners with much-needed direct financial assistance to alleviate the financial burdens they have experienced due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” DCBA Director Rafael Carbajal said. “By helping mom-and-pop landlords in LA County, we simultaneously address the dual impact of maintaining the availability of affordable housing in Los Angeles County and reducing the number of tenant evictions due to past due rent.”
Priority for the direct payments, up to $30,000 per unit, will be given to those located in “high-need areas” and income levels at or below 80% of the LA County Area Median Income. Applicants must meet eligibility requirements, such as the rental property being within the County of Los Angeles (excluding the City of Los Angeles), and the landlord being able to provide independently verified authentic proof of ownership. Besides proof of ownership, applicants must provide proof of identity, proof of income, proof of tenancy of unit applied for, proof of rent owed and proof of outstanding eligible expenses.
DCBA has been the local consumer protection agency serving County consumers, tenants, homeowners, immigrants, and workers since 1975. However, the relief program is administered by nonprofit The Center by Lendistry, which also emphasized the need to protect smaller landlords in the post-pandemic period.
“We are proud to partner with the County in delivering crucial financial assistance,” The Center President and CEO Tunua Thrash-Ntuk said. “Mom-and-pop landlords, who are often from underserved communities, are the backbone of our local housing market. By helping them, we are ensuring that our most vulnerable community members continue to have a roof over their heads.”
The relief program launched in December, shortly after the launch of an Emergency Renters Assistance Program in the City of Los Angeles, providing financial assistance toward back rent to low-income renters at risk of homelessness. The program, funded by Measure ULA sales tax funds, offers up to six months of rental assistance for those that have experienced “a loss of employment, reduction in household income, incurred significant costs, or experienced other financial hardship” between March 2020 and the present day.
To apply for the DCBA program, visit lacountyrentrelief.com.