Anaheim Reopens Rental Assistance Applications, Though Only Landlords Can Apply

Newly built apartments await residents in Anaheim, Calif., on Jan. 8, 2021. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

The city of Anaheim has decided to reopen its rental assistance program, although only landlords are allowed to apply at this time.

Anaheim reopened the application period on Aug. 2 after closing it on March 31. The program allows landlords who have not received rental payments from April 2020 to September 2021 to receive 100 percent of the unpaid rent and utility bills.

The funding comes from California’s $5.2 billion plan to pay back 100 percent of rent lost due to the pandemic for low-income renters regardless of immigration status. Anaheim spokeswoman Lauren Gold told The Epoch Times the city has received $21.6 million so far in state funding, but it’s expecting additional funding soon.

While only landlords can apply for assistance at this time, they won’t be able to fill out the paperwork without the tenant’s help. Tenants will need to work with the landlord to provide basic documentation such as income levels in order for the landlord to be paid.

“We chose to focus on landlords initially this time because it makes the process go more quickly and helps us gather all the details for the application more easily,” Gold told The Epoch Times. “Even when it was tenant driven, we still needed to gather information from landlords. This way, the landlord is on board from the start so it makes it more efficient and gets checked out quicker.

“Because the state and federal funds we are using for the rental assistance program are tied to family income, we need the [tenant’s] information to proceed with the application and to award funding.”

Gold said the city is planning to open the tenant side of the application process soon.

Additionally, tenants will need to make less than 80 percent of Orange County’s area median income, which is $75,300 for one person, $86,050 for two people, $96,800 for three, and $107,500 for four people per household.

Landlords who previously applied for the program back in March and opted to have 80 percent of their unpaid rent covered won’t need to reapply to be considered for the additional 20 percent.

“We are working through previous awardees to ensure landlords receive the full assistance with unpaid rent. You and your tenant will be notified in writing when the additional 20 percent payment will be issued,” the application portal states.