Rent Assistance and How to Apply
STATE OF CALIFORNIA RENTAL ASSISTANCE – The California COVID-19 Rent Relief Program stopped accepting applications on March 31, 2022. To check on an existing application, go to housingiskey.com.
PROPERTIES UNDER LOCAL EVICTION MORATORIUM
If your property is in a city where there is a local eviction moratorium that pre-dates the California state moratorium, you may be asking what you should serve and what you should NOT serve. The best answer is to check the laws of the city and county where your property is located.
CITY OF LOS ANGELES – | COVID-19 Renter Protections Fact Sheet | The COVID-19 Renter Protections Fact Sheet (Protections Notice) is required to be given to each residential tenant by the landlord per Ordinance 186606. Additionally, a landlord must also include the Protections Notice when serving a tenant a notice to pay rent or quit, a notice to terminate a residential tenancy, a notice to perform covenant or quit, or an eviction notice served during the local emergency period and for 12 months after the expiration of the local emergency period. The Protections Notice must be in the language predominately used by the tenant. To keep tenants updated about the amount of rent due, you can provide a Balance Due Notice and a copy of the Renter Protections Fact Sheet.
LOS ANGELES COUNTY – The County’s COVID-19 Tenant Protections Resolution (formerly the LA County Eviction Moratorium), which went into effect March 4, 2020, extends certain protections to residential and commercial Tenants affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in Los Angeles County. On January 25, 2022, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted to extend the COVID-19 Tenant Protections Resolution through December 31, 2022, unless repealed or further extended by the Board. CLICK HERE for more specifics. If you have questions or need assistance, please contact the LA County Department of Consumer and Business Affairs (DCBA) at 800-593-8222
CITY OF ALAMEDA – On March 15, 2022, The City Council passed a new ordinance allowing landlords to begin serving rent increases. This Frequently Asked Questions Page provides details on this change.
COVID Forms and When to Use Them
To begin an Unlawful Detainer action through the court, you must first apply for rent reimbursement through local Emergency Rent Assistance Programs or the state’s HousingIsKey program BEFORE 3/31/2022 AND be certain you have served all of the required forms for each specific covered period.
NOTE: Some cities and counties still have protections regarding unpaid rent. The forms below are for cities or counties subject ONLY to the State of California notice requirements. If you have outstanding rent for any of the below covered months, the required forms are below. If you have already served the notices for each specific period that rent was not paid, you do not have to serve again.
The Notice From the State of California, created within AB832, is included in all the packets and posted separately. This form is required and was added after some of the various periods began and ended If you served the forms in each period, this may be the only additional form you will need to serve before beginning an Unlawful Detainer.
If you did not serve forms in each period when COVID rent was due, Below are the forms for each period:
REQUIRED NOTICES FOR UNPAID RENT MARCH 1, 2020 – AUGUST 31, 2020
This packet should be served to tenants who owe rent during this period
REQUIRED NOTICES FOR UNPAID RENT SEPTEMBER 1, 2020 – JANUARY 31, 2021
This packet should be served to tenants who owe rent during this period.
REQUIRED NOTICES FOR UNPAID RENT SEPTEMBER 1, 2020 – SEPT 30, 2021
This packet should be served to tenants who owe rent during this period NOTE: This was the last moratorium extension and included the original period of September 2020 through January 2021, above Beginning in February 2021, if you were owed any rent from September 2020 through September 2021, those amounts should be listed on this notice.
REQUIRED NOTICES FOR UNPAID RENT FROM OCTOBER 1, 2021 – MARCH 31, 2022
This 3-Day notice should be served to tenants who owe rent during the time period of October 1, 2021, through March 31, 2022.
No other notice is required. If your renter has applied for rent reimbursement, you must wait until you receive a determination from Housing is Key. If they are approved and you receive rent reimbursement, you cannot evict for rent due during this period. If your renter is rejected and you will not be receiving reimbursement and can move forward with an Unlawful Detainer for unpaid rent.
IMPORTANT NOTE: All of the above information is applicable for property covered by the State of California moratorium and regulations. If your property is in a city or county with a local moratorium, for example, San Francisco City and County, Los Angeles City, and Alameda County, this information MAY NOT APPLY, and you must follow the requirements of your local moratorium.
CHANGE IN APPLICANT SCREENING
Housing providers are not permitted to deny applicants whom they SUSPECT have unpaid rent during the Pandemic. Please use the newest AOA Application to Rent – dated 1/2021. Click HERE to access the updated application.
RESTRICTIONS ON APPLICATION OF SECURITY DEPOSIT
Housing providers are not allowed to use security deposits or rent payments to cover past due rent without written permission from a current tenant. However, the security deposit can be used to cover past due rent when the tenant moves out.
California Department of Real Estate Forms
While AOA has worked tirelessly to provide you with the forms required, we want to make sure you have the link to the California Department of Real Estate list of forms. Their forms are basic – AOA’s forms are more extensive; however, they do provide copies in the following languages: English, Chinese, Korean, Spanish, Tagalog, and Vietnamese. If you negotiated a lease in a language other than English, a version in that language must be provided.