More than $7 billion is now available for California residents behind on their rent and utility payments after state officials approved the funding this week, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Wednesday.
The state will use $5.2 billion of the funding to pay 100 percent of outstanding rent payments that residents still owe because of lost income during the pandemic.
The remaining $2 billion will support residents who have unpaid water and utility bills. The state will also subsidize rent and utility payments for some low-income residents over the next two months.
“COVID is not taking the summer off,” Newsom said during a briefing Wednesday in Southern California.
“We still have a lot of work to do, so the impacts are still being felt and they’re very real.”
Californians have already filed more than 100,000 applications requesting more than $1 billion in rental assistance, according to state officials.
The state has also partnered with 110 local organizations to conduct outreach and ensure that all of the rent and utility relief funding is dispersed to landlords, property managers and utility providers.
Newsom proposed spending billions to fully pay off debt owed by the state’s renters as part of the revised state budget proposal he released in May.
Although the state and local governments have made rent relief funds available throughout much of the pandemic, the new relief funding was included in a spending package Newsom signed Monday that also includes stimulus checks for most state residents and small business relief grants.
Newsom said the rent relief program will be especially critical for unemployed residents in the coming months, as state officials are unlikely to extend California’s moratorium on pandemic-related evictions past its current Sept. 30 deadline.
“We’re encouraging others that may not be aware of (the program) or may need a little bit of a push to take advantage of this program,” he said.
Both landlords and renters can apply directly to the state’s rent relief program and applicants will be considered regardless of immigration status.
Relief funding will be paid directly to the person or organization to whom the debt is owed. The rent and utility relief application can be found at https://housing.ca.gov/covid_rr/index.html.
34 comments
Feel like such a sucker paying my rent this whole time. I would love a new car. Shouldn’t have just bought a car instead of paying rent.
I paid my rent on time in my duplex but my neighbor did not. Now my landlords wants to sell. I don’t have money for deposit but I would have plenty if I didn’t pay my rent.
Jason if you’re in the city of Concord your landlords have to help with relocation assistance for no fault evictions such as this. It was a new ordinance put in place last year for multi family dwellings. Such as your duplex. Look into it under tenants rights on the City of Concord website.
If you’re not in Concord, see if your city has a ordinance similar to this one. Most have adapted some sort of protection for tenants. Good luck.
Two questions:
1. Where is Newsome getting all this money?
2. Can they pay a few months of my mortgage?
Asking for a friend
It is surplus money he just found it is called tax payer money and he is using it to buy votes.
Passing out Billions of our tax dollars to buy his way out of a recall election . Remember when Trump wanted to give the American people $2000 in covid relief before the election . Pelosi and the democrats stopped it . They are such corrupt hypocrites . Democrats have no respect or moral values and their voters don’t care .
Democrats are nothing but power mongers and control freaks who want to move America away from the America as set forth by the founders. They are full-on marxist despite their denials.
“Both landlords and renters can apply directly to the state’s rent relief program and applicants will be considered regardless of immigration status”
There is California’s constant problem cater to the illegals!
BSBSBS!
Again cannot stress enough how this state continues to go down the toilet with catering and giving money and or benefits to illegals.
I’m a landlord and I think I’m gonna pay for this money mine as well I’d rather get it than some illegal person.
Wow so paying off debt for votes
What next free gas and lottery tickets
For those who have none
Must be nice to force 40 million people to help you keep your job
I gotta get outta here.
You all are right. Why should any one pay their rent when the state will pay it for you! There are jobs available but it pays more to stay home. We need a clean sweep of our legislators and let them start
preaching personal responsibility.
What about property tax relief for those that pay the taxes that support so many others?
I’d like some help with my mortgage payment too please.
You could have done a mortgage forbearance
SOCIALISM.
108RS
There goes are taxes the Governor just giving it away.Take from those who have and give to those who don’t.Everywhere you go Businesses are begging for help.No reason to be out of work.Get a paying job and then if you need help let’s talk.And child care for people making 75.000 to 150.00 Absurd.We paid our own child care when we were working.To much free money today.
This is an obscenity.
Blatant redistribution of wealth.
I have sympathy for the landlords, but the money owed to them ought to be paid by those who owe it, not the tax payer.
California is really upping the absurdity of the nanny state.
The way the government decides to respond to Covid is worse than the disease itself.
Gavin just trying to buy votes so he does not get recalled. He is one of the worst Gov’s ever.
Really-for illegals also.
This is way over the top. How about those of us who have struggled to make our mortgage payments and pay our bills but yet get sucked dry by high gasoline prices, inflation and taxed to death to support all those who do not want to work?
My hours were cut drastically and I received no relief.
Recall Newsom as this is just another ploy for him to stay in office.
As usual, those of us who do the right thing are screwed, while the ones who don’t are rewarded.
You could have done a mortgage forbearance, no documentation needed, along with suspending credit card payments. Should have done your research before complaining.
@ A…
You do realize that if you did the mortgage forbearance that the money does need to be paid back. You don’t just get to walk away from what is owed.
Anon – You pay it back when you sell or refinance, and it is non-interest bearing debt. No one has to write a check. And you could go 30 years with it outstanding. Do not talk down to me. Many people on here complaining. If they had done proper research and/or planning, they too could have gone a year without paying many many bills and gotten themselves in better financial positions. They just have another agenda for their posts.
So if the money is owed for past rent, will it be given directly to the landlord …
Newscum is complaining about the 81Million dollars the recall costs .. but he is throwing out BILLIONS in all his other ‘buy-a-vote’ tactics …
CHINA should be paying for this.
Gavin, why aren’t you going after CHINA?
So let me get this straight, I pay taxes, live here legally, pay rent on time, and support my family by working a job in the public sector. These taxes are used to pay the rent for those that aren’t even here legally?
Why are these individuals more deserving of my hard-earned money than I am? Give relief back to those that filled the coffers in the first place, or soon enough there won’t be anyone left willing to work to support these degenerates that can’t even take care of themselves.
Something’s got to change, get rid of NewSCUM!
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Can you say “Bailout”?
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Band-aid on a bullet hole.
Vote Larry Elder for Governor.
I think Larry has the best chance.
Need help with my rent
Larry Elder has Gavin on the run. Look for several additional examples of vote purchasing between now and September 14th.
Everyone sitting here saying “damn I guess I shouldnt have paid my rent” and all that nonsense sounds like entitled jerks. Congratulations you had the money to do that. Not every one did.
Wow! talk about discrimination at its best. We have struggled with work hours being cut back and trying to pay bills so we don’t get too far behind and now they are giving this money to people who straight up refused to pay their bills during covid. My question is this, if they were not paying bills, where were they spending the money they were getting from “EDD”, work, welfare or what ever? They should have been paying utilities and putting the rest in the bank.
If only the Republicans had a strong candidate, that would help.
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