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LA County Landlords Dealing With COVID Losses Face Deadline To Apply For Rent Relief Funds
L.A. landlord Rich Kissel says L.A.’s COVID-19 eviction protections and rent freeze forced him to consider selling his properties.
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David Wagner
/
LAist
)
Friday is the deadline for Los Angeles County landlords to apply for rent relief through a new $69-million program aimed at clearing remaining COVID-19 tenant-related debts.
Applicants can seek up to $30,000 per tenant household through the county program’s website, LACountyRentRelief.com.
Many tenants are still carrying pandemic debts, because job loss, illness or deaths in the family made them unable to keep up with rent payments.
According to recent U.S. Census Bureau survey data, tenants in the L.A. area have a combined $898.2 million in rent debt.
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Recent rulings have struck down requirements in L.A. and Pasadena for landlords to pay thousands of dollars to tenants who couldn’t afford large rent hikes. -
This is not the first time Orange County leaders have earned the reproval of state housing regulators. -
The reforms are expected to reduce the cost of affordable housing construction in California by an estimated $60,000 to $70,000 per-unit.
The relief funding can be used to clear unpaid rent as far back as April 2022. The goal is to make financially strapped landlords whole, and prevent evictions of tenants unable to repay huge balances.
County officials say small landlords (those who own no more than four housing units) will be prioritized for help.
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The program’s funding is dwarfed by earlier pandemic rent relief efforts. The state of California’s earlier COVID-19 rent relief program delivered $2.7 billion to local landlords.
Landlords cannot apply for relief on behalf of tenants living in the city of L.A. because the city is administering its own program.
Tenants also cannot apply directly to the county’s program. But they can refer the program to their landlord through the county’s website.
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