The City of Los Angeles is launching an Emergency Renters Assistance Program (ULA ERAP) to assist small landlords who are struggling to receive timely payments from their tenants.
The Los Angeles Housing Department (LAHD) announced on October 18 that the Emergency Renters Assistance Program landlord application will open on October 23, 2023, at 8:00 a.m. and close on October 31, 2023, at 6:00 p.m.
To qualify, applicants must own a property in the City of Los Angeles and have fewer than 12 units.
Upon the submission of a landlord application, the tenant will be invited to apply to the ULA ERAP. Tenants who have already applied and have an existing application will be matched with the landlord’s application to speed up the processing time, determining if the tenant fulfills the ULA ERAP eligibility requirements.
Previously, the city had initiated a partial rent payment program, United to House Los Angeles (ULA), to shield residents from eviction due to rent arrears, accepting applications from March 19 to March 2.
Priority will be assigned to applications from households with incomes at or below 30% of the Area Median Income (AMI) and those having unpaid rent from April 1, 2020, through September 30, 2021. Applications that do not conform to the eligibility priority might be processed subsequently.
After fulfilling the above priority, the subsequent applications to be selected will meet the criteria below:
- Households with minor children, and/or seniors aged 65 and above or individuals with disabilities.
- Households that are extremely rent burdened, allocating more than 50% of the total household income for rent each month.
- Households at a significant risk of homelessness, which includes, but is not confined to, households with overdue rent or an eviction notice, and those living in unsafe or unhealthy conditions, or possessing any other evidence indicating such a risk.
- Households where a payment of up to six months’ rent in full will settle their entire outstanding debt for the unit they currently reside in, or who have consented to a repayment agreement for the remaining balance at a manageable rate.
The outstanding rent must be dated between April 1, 2020, and September 30, 2021.
Funding for the City’s rent assistance program is sourced from the revenue generated by the mansion tax, a ballot measure approved in the previous November’s city election. The mansion tax entails an extra 4 percent Capital Gains Tax on property transactions valued at $5 million or upwards. The city has reported a collection of approximately $55 million since April 1.
Homeowners interested in applying can do so directly at https://housing.lacity.org or seek guidance from the Korean American Federation of Los Angeles.
Applicants are advised to bring along proof of identification, evidence of homeownership, a W-9 tax form, and a record of the tenant’s overdue rent, and it is recommended to schedule an appointment beforehand.
Contact: (323)732-0700
BY NICOLE CHANG, JUNHAN PARK [chang.nicole@koreadaily.com]
