Rent relief is now available to income-eligible households who need financial assistance for unpaid rent and utilities through the CA COVID-19 Rent Relief program. If you have experienced a financial hardship due to COVID-19, have past due rent or utilities, and have a household income that is not more than 80% of the Area Median Income (AMI), you may be eligible to receive help to pay past due or future rent and utilities from the state of California.
Landlords and renters can verify eligibility immediately by visiting https://housing.ca.gov/, or by calling 833-430-2122, and if eligible, apply now.
Program Details
If you are a landlord and participate in the COVID-19 Rent Relief program, you can get reimbursed for 80% of your eligible renters’ unpaid rent accrued between April 1, 2020, and March 31, 2021, if you agree to waive the remaining 20% of their unpaid rent from that same time.
If you are an eligible renter, you can apply on your own and receive 25% of your unpaid rent that was accrued between April 1, 2020, and March 31, 2021, even if your landlord doesn’t participate. You can also receive financial assistance to pay future rent, equal to 25% of your monthly amount. This combined assistance can help you stay housed once California’s eviction protections expire on June 30, 2021. Additional financial assistance available through the CA COVID-19 Rent Relief program includes help paying past-due utility payments accrued from April 1, 2020, through March 31, 2021, as well as help paying future utility bills, both of which may be paid at 100% of cost but are limited to a total of 12 months.
To check eligibility, review the required application items, and apply, visit https://housing.ca.gov/. Required information, along with necessary verification items, will be required for applications to be processed. Once an application has been processed, both the landlord and renter will be notified about the application status and next steps.