By Stephen Witt
Two weeks after tabling a vote to create a nearly $20 million emergency rent relief program targeting both wildfire survivors and immigrants impacted by recent ICE raids, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors tweaked the motion and approved it yesterday.
“We are facing two unprecedented crises that are driving thousands of residents to the brink of homelessness. There are fire survivors who are still struggling to get by. At the same time, ICE isn’t targeting criminals – they are raiding workplaces,” said Supervisor Janice Hahn (D-Southeastern LA County including Long Beach, San Pedro, Diamond Bar, Whittier, Cerritos, Downey, Torrance, Redondo Beach, Hacienda Heights)
“That means thousands of families have lost, not only their loved ones, but their breadwinners. LA County is our region’s safety net, and we are doing everything we can to step up and help people in dire need right now,” she added.
The motion established three priority groups that will receive rental help. The first priority group gives rent relief to countywide tenants who resided in their rental unit before January 7, 2025, and had a 2024 household income equal to or less than 150 percent of the Area Median Income.
Additionally, these residents must have begun “Income Replacement Efforts,” which means enrolling in or applying for a relief program for the Wildfires, and have had a direct financial impact of more than 10% of their monthly income before the fire, among other requirements.
Priority Group 2 includes additional populations affected by the Wildfires such as tenant and homeowner households. with verifiable Wildfires-related income loss, but without self-certification forms. Among these are those who have exhausted the support provided by their insurance carriers and FEMA and need additional financial support for rental or mortgage payments to maintain housing stability. These households shall be eligible for up to $5,000 of support.
Also in Group 2 is mortgage relief for small landlords in the unincorporated area whose units are fully covered under the County’s Rent Stabilization and Tenant Protections Ordinance (RSTPO), and which remain vacant due to ongoing repairs related to the Wildfires. Landlords must return these units to the rental market and shall be eligible for up to $5,000 in relief.
Priority Group 3 is for tenant households countywide that face emergency conditions and other emerging economic hardship including sudden loss of income due to federal actions targeting immigrantcommunities, to prevent housing instability and preserve tenancy. These households shall be eligible for up to $5,000 in relief.
LA County Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell (D-Southwest/Central Los Angeles including Inglewood, Compton, Carson, Hawthorne, Culver City, portions of South LA), who voted against the motion two weeks ago out of concerns of the funding streams and grant caps, said she was satisfied with the new motion.
“I appreciate that the authors of the rent relief motion accepted amendments to avoid splitting the $10M commitment the Board made to our residents displaced by wildfires by keeping whole the amounts for wildfire survivors and immigrant communities. As well as adjusting the max grant caps for up to 6 months or $15,000 per household – since we heard from residents that $5,000 per household is not enough to fulfill the intent of housing stability,” said Mitchell.
Mitchell said for any rent relief program to be successful, it must be timely, targeted, and accessible.
“I will continue to urge the Department of Consumer and Business Affairs to quickly get funding to the people who need it most. It will be 90 days for DCBA can get this program started. I will also continue to work with my colleagues on the Board to ensure we apply the insights captured after this program once it launches to see where there is room to strengthen and expand access to these crucially needed funds,” Mitchell said.
