Long Beach Awarded $13.1 Million State Loan for Emergency Rental Assistance Program

The City of Long Beach has been awarded a $13.1 million California Department of Housing and Community Development or HCD cashflow loan to provide additional funding for the Long Beach Emergency Rental Assistance Program or LB-ERAP. The funds will be used to continue to provide rent and utility assistance to tenants and landlords who submitted complete applications on or before March 31, 2022.

In April 2021, the city launched LB-ERAP as part of the Long Beach Recovery Act to assist landlords and income-eligible tenants who have experienced financial loss or hardship due to COVID-19. As the city received additional federal funding through the year, the duration and scope of the $64 million program was extended multiple times to enable the city to seek more eligible applicants.

To date, the city has received nearly 12,285 completed LB-ERAP applications and provided or approved over 7,250 rent and utility payments totaling $58.8 million. Roughly 97% of these payments were made on behalf of residents earning less than 50% of the area median income.

The cashflow loan funds will enable the city to provide assistance to approximately 1,300 additional applicants that have already applied, and have been reviewed and approved by the city, with a continued focus on assisting the lowest income residents. The funding, however, is restricted to rental and utility assistance payments for eligible applicants, and payments are limited to rent and utility bills that were due on or before March 31, 2022.

The city stopped accepting new LB-ERAP applications on March 31, 2022.

Existing LB-ERAP applicants with questions about the status of their application may contact the LB-ERAP support line at 833.358.5372 for assistance weekdays from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. The Long Beach Development Services Department is continuing to host in-person pop-ups to provide assistance to existing applicants by appointment at various locations throughout the city.

The city council last month adopted a resolution to request and accept HCD cashflow loan funds. The funding provides support, in the form of a forgivable loan, to cities and counties throughout the state to continue offering rental relief for eligible households impacted by the pandemic. Established by a State budget act known as Senate Bill 115, cities are able to request cashflow loans to be repaid using future federal funding.

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors recently voted to extend the COVID-19 Tenant Protections Resolution, previously known as the Los Angeles County Eviction Moratorium, through December 31, 2022. The resolution extends certain protections to residential tenants affected by the COVID-10 pandemic. 

Details: lacounty.gov/noevictions and longbeach.gov/erap.