SANTA MONICA—Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, numerous residents have not been able to upkeep payments or have experienced loss of income resulting in a challenging time paying all the necessary expenses. The city of Santa Monica stepped in to alleviative the situation and is now accepting applications until noon on Friday, July 17 for the new COVID-19 Emergency Rental Assistance Program.
The program will be in full effect providing eligible applicants with up to three months of rental assistance. The applications opened this past Tuesday, July 7 and residents will be able to apply until Friday, July 17. To be eligible, the person must currently reside in a rental unit in Santa Monica, provide proof of loss of income or increase in expenses related to COVID-19, not be a POD or a rental housing voucher recipient, and qualify as a low-income household. The eligible applications will be submitted into the lottery and chosen randomly for a final decision. The rental assistance payments will be made directly to landlords or property management companies for the qualifying residents.
“When the federal government released the CARES act and additional funds became available to the city for COVID-related impacts, the first thing we thought to use it for was rental assistance,” said Maggie Willis, human services administrator of Santa Monica. “We’re trying to help as many as we can and with the amount of money that we have available. We estimate that if everyone used the maximum amount that it would be about 300 households.”
Cities in California have instituted eviction moratoriums which will extend until the end of the pandemic, preventing landlords from their right to evict when tenants cannot make payments. Willis states that it will be difficult for residents to pay their rent after the moratoriums expire due to the spike in unemployment or still having a limited income. The city has partnered up with St. Joseph Center, a local nonprofit organization that provides rental assistance experience to low-income populations, to expedite the process. The same program was utilized throughout other districts of Los Angeles County in which they expected to assist 135 families in the area but had over 1,000 eligible people in the lottery.
“We’ve heard loud and clear from our most vulnerable residents that making rent and putting food on the table are urgent concerns,” stated Mayor Kevin McKeown. “These two new crucial basic-need programs are meant to help our neighbors most at risk. Your city is very clear that we’re all in this together, and we continue not only to fight the spread of COVID-19 but to support those of us most impacted by the pandemic’s effect on jobs and the economy.”
For the link to the application or more information regarding the program, please visit https://www.santamonica.gov/coronavirus-renthelp.
