From the Sacramento Bee:
As part of a national effort to save low-income renters from eviction, Sacramento city and county officials on Thursday will make nearly $100 million in free rent assistance grants available to help pay for past-due rent and utility bills during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Sacramento Emergency Rental Assistance program taps federal and state funds to help renters in Sacramento County who are financially under water. Both renters and landlords can apply for funds to cover a portion of rents owed back to April of last year, and rents that will come due between now and June of this year.
The fund has nearly $96 million in it, $31.7 million of it via the city of Sacramento from its federal and state grants, and $64 million from the County of Sacramento via federal and state grants.
The fund is similar to but much larger than a previous rent subsidy program last fall for Sacramentans who lost jobs or had their paychecks reduced due to economic shutdowns. The previous program offered $6.5 million in limited subsidies to some 1,230 low-income Sacramento families and about 780 landlords.
Sarah O’Daniel of the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency called it the largest emergency rental aide program ever in Sacramento. She said the new program can be used to help fill rent gaps for 10,000 to 15,000 families in the county.
“We’re very glad to have this, to be able to keep a roof over the the heads of our families, instead of facing eviction later this year,” O’Daniel said.
Read the Sacramento Bee's article "Sacramento now has a $96 million fund to help struggling renters, landlords," featuring the Sacramento Housing & Redevelopment Agency.