Rent relief: LA City Council approves $100M to help tenants, landlords amid pandemic

The Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday approved a $100 million renters relief program.
Tuesday, June 23, 2020
LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- The Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday approved a $100 million renters relief program.

The program's goal is to help renters struggling with the economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.
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Once approved, funds would be paid directly to their landlords.

The city estimates the program could help 50,000 households through two months of assistance, with up to $2,000 being awarded per home.

Meanwhile, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved a motion Tuesday to spend up to $30 million in funding earmarked for affordable housing to instead go for rent relief.

The motion, co-authored by Supervisors Sheila Kuehl and Mark Ridley-Thomas, is aimed at preventing a huge uptick in homelessness as a result of COVID-19. They have asked their colleagues to relax a rule set by the board in 2015 that requires at least 75% of $100 million set aside for the Affordable Housing Programs Budget Unit be spent on new housing or renovations.
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A moratorium on evictions is currently in force statewide, but will expire 90 days after Gov. Gavin Newsom declares the end of the COVID-19 emergency, unless earlier repealed by the state's Judicial Council. The council had planned to vote on lifting the order last week, but suspended the vote, with Chief Justice Tina Cantil-Sakauye citing the need to give state legislators time to put relevant policies in place.



The Board of Supervisors has extended a countywide eviction moratorium to at least June 30, and will reconsider the matter every 30 days thereafter.

City News Service contributed to this report.
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