City of LA’s $100M rental subsidy program would be boon to multifamily landlords

The city plans to set aside huge pot of money in the form of subsidies for low-income tenants

Nury Martinez, City Hall (Credit: Twitter, iStock)
Nury Martinez, City Hall (Credit: Twitter, iStock)

Tens of thousands of renters in the City of Los Angeles could receive help in paying the rent through a new city-run subsidy program, a big relief to multifamily landlords.

L.A. City Council President Nury Martinez is set to release details of the $100 million rent relief program on Wednesday, according to the L.A. Times.

Martinez told the Times that tenants could qualify if they prove they earn less than 80 percent of L.A. County’s area median income and were affected by economic or health effects caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

AMI for a family of four in L.A. County is $77,300. An individual who earns less than $63,100 would qualify for the city’s program, while a family of five would qualify if their total income is less than $97,350.

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The city subsidy would be paid directly to landlords and the money would come from the $694 million the city is receiving from the federal government through its $2 trillion coronavirus stimulus program. L.A. County is formulating its own rental assistance program.

The California Apartment Association, a landlord trade group, said that low-to-moderate-income residents are having the most trouble paying rent. Some landlords saw rental income drop in May.

The duration of the program and how many renters it could support depends on the tenant rent rates. The city’s Housing and Community Investment Department calculated that 74,074 households could have their rent subsidized for two months if their rent was $1,350 per month. Around 33,333 households with $2,000 in monthly rent could get three months of subsidies. [LAT]Dennis Lynch