The city and the county of Sacramento on Tuesday, May 11, will begin taking applications for a new round of emergency assistance for renters impacted by COVID-19.

Federal and state are available to help low-income renters catch up on past-due rent and utility payments due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The availability of dollars follows the passage of SB 91, which extends the COVID-19 Tenant Relief Act (AB 3088, 2020) until June 30, 2021, and created 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 are distributed by the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency (SHRA) through the existing Sacramento Emergency Rental Assistance Program (SERA). 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 beginning May 11. 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.