California Apartment Association

The application period for emergency rental assistance in the city and the county of Sacramento will expire Friday, March 19.

Last month, the Sacramento City Council unanimously approved the allocation of $31.7 million in federal and state funds to help low-income renters catch up on past-due rent and utility payments due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Similarly, Sacramento County received and allocated an additional $64 million dollars of federal and state funds.

This allocation follows the passage of SB 91, which extends the COVID-19 Tenant Relief Act (AB 3088, 2020) for another five months until June 30, 2021, and creates a state government structure to pay up to 80% of past due rent to landlords. CAA has developed numerous compliance materials to assist landlords with navigating SB 91, which created the new state rental assistance program and extended the state eviction moratorium.

The city’s rental assistance funds will be distributed by the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency (SHRA) through the existing Sacramento Emergency Rental Assistance Program (SERA). Unlike the first round of city rental aid, which totaled $5.36 million and limited assistance to $4,000 per family, the new money has no cap and can be used to pay utilities. Priority will be given to households that earn up to 50% of the area median income, or $38,850 for a family of three, and to those who have been unemployed for at least 90 days. Eligibility and income limits can be viewed on the SERA flyer.

Applications for the Sacramento Emergency Rental Assistance (SERA 2) Program will be accepted online from Feb 25 until March 19. Landlords can apply for assistance on behalf of their tenants, and tenants may also apply on their own behalf. To apply, or for more information on the SERA program, please visit www.shra.org/sera.