LOS ANGELES – Mayor Karen Bass today applauded action taken by the Los Angeles City Council to approve an additional $12,000,000 for the Short-term Emergency Assistance Program in the United To House Los Angeles (ULA) expenditure plan. The emergency rental assistance prioritizes lower income households, seniors and those with disabilities and is available for both tenants and small landlords and housing providers for up to six months owed back rent due to a one time economic hardship.
“We must continue to do all that we can to prevent Angelenos from falling into homelessness which means supporting our tenants, small landlords and housing providers,” said Mayor Karen Bass. “I want to thank the City Council and the Citizens Oversight Committee for their work in approving the additional funding which will provide much needed rental relief to Angelenos living in our City and know that we will continue to do all we can to ensure that a wave of evictions does not hit our City as we continue confronting the homelessness crisis.”
“With the support of Mayor Bass, I am so proud of the role that the City Council and Citizens Oversight Committee have played in supporting our communities,” said Councilwoman Nithya Raman, Chair of the Housing and Homelessness Committee. “In addition to getting these much-needed dollars out the door quickly to support Angelenos in need, I am also pleased with the approval of $56 million under the Multi-family Affordable Housing Accelerator Plus program, which will ensure ULA dollars are being used for union-built housing construction as soon as possible.”
“As a City, we have an obligation to ensure public funds are spent responsibly for the maximum public good. Approving the additional revenues from ULA will help both our rent burdened tenants and small housing providers. Both groups are suffering from the housing crisis and will benefit from ULA’s helping hand,” said Councilman Bob Blumenfield, Chair of the Budget and Finance Committee.
“We are grateful for the leadership shown by the City Council, the Mayor, and the ULA Citizen Oversight Committee in supporting the movement of more ULA funds to the short term rental assistance program,” said Ann Sewill, Los Angeles Housing Department General Manager. “This funding will help keep Angelenos housed and will provide landlords with funding toward rental arrears.”
Mayor Bass has worked with the Los Angeles City Council to lead relief efforts to prevent homelessness. The Emergency Renters Assistance Program was approved by City Council and signed by the Mayor earlier this year as part of continued efforts to reduce the amount of evictions in Los Angeles and now includes $30,400,000 of assistance for Angelenos.
Today, October 31, is the final day for small landlords or housing providers to apply for the City of Los Angeles Measure United to House LA (ULA) Emergency Renters Assistance Program. The application portal will remain open until 6:00 PM PT.
Last week, Mayor Karen Bass, City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto and the Los Angeles Housing Department (LAHD) released a statement regarding the decision dismissing the Measure ULA lawsuit initiated by property owners and anti-tax groups seeking to invalidate the Measure which is being used in efforts to prevent homelessness and fund additional affordable housing in Los Angeles.