The California Apartment Association is encouraging all Sacramento rental housing providers to hold off on evicting tenants for nonpayment of rent if they still have an application pending with the Sacramento Emergency Rental Assistance (SERA) Program.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency (SHRA), in partnership with the City and the County of Sacramento, through federal and state funding, established the SERA program offering emergency rent and utilities assistance for renters living anywhere in Sacramento County who have experienced a reduction in household income or other financial hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Eligible applicants can receive up to 18 months of assistance for past rent and utilities owed. At this time, applicants who have received an eviction notice are being given priority, totaling approximately 2,100 applications as of Monday, July 18. SHRA has informed CAA that their staff is currently processing applications and issuing rental assistance checks at a rate of 200 per week. There are an additional outstanding 7,200 applications in the pipeline which will be processed in the coming months.

With thousands of applications still in the queue to be processed, CAA strongly encourages rental housing providers to work with their residents who are still involved in the rental assistance application process and remain patient while the checks are being dispersed.

SERA staff is committed to working with CAA and its membership to have open communication regarding pending applications. If you have a question about the status of a SERA application, please email either the SERA office at sera@shra.org, or Mallori Farrell, CAA’s senior vice president of local public affairs, at mfarrell@caanet.org.

Please note, CAA is sponsoring legislation to assist landlords whose tenants are ineligible for current SERA funds due to income restrictions (those who make over 80% AMI) or would not cooperate in the rental assistance application process. This legislation would provide much needed relief to rental housing providers and tenants. We will continue to advocate for relief for our members at the state, local, and federal levels.