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First Amendment to Emergency Rental Assistance Program Spending Plan and <br />Appropriation Adjustment of $14,026,593.90 <br />July 6, 2021 <br />Page 3 <br />1 <br />8 <br />6 <br />1 <br />CARES for Tenants Program that we have been administering since May 2020. The <br />remaining $2,103,988.95 (15% of the total grant) will be allocated to the administration of <br />the CARES for Tenants Program. The City has over 366 applicants waiting for assistance <br />through our CARES for Tenants Program and 456 applications are currently under review <br />by the four providers who have been contracted by the City to administer the <br />program. While various other emergency rental assistance programs across the country <br />have opened and closed their applications, the City has kept the application process <br />continuously open for new applicants since August 17, 2020. Since the City began <br />administering ERA1 funding, a total of 403 families have been recertified for additional <br />assistance, 352 new families have been assisted, and $3,122,729 has been approved for <br />payment by the four providers. However, of the $3.1 million, only $1.8 million has actually <br />been paid by the United Way of Orange County because property owners are generally <br />unresponsive to requests for their W-9. In order to increase the City’s efficiency to <br />administer these funds, staff will be contracting with at least eight providers to begin <br />processing applications. This will double the capacity of the City to administer these <br />ERAP funds as expeditiously as possible. <br />The CARES for Tenants Program provides emergency rental relief for qualified, low- <br />income households who are not able to pay their rent due to the Coronavirus. Low-income <br />Santa Ana renters impacted by the Coronavirus may apply online to receive full payment <br />(100%) of all their rental arrears / past due rent owed to their landlord since April 1, 2020. <br />With the $14 million in additional funds, if the City Council does not change the core <br />requirements of the CARES for Tenants Program, the City will be able to pay off 100% of <br />the rental arrears / past due rent for everyone who has applied for assistance to date, <br />based on the information reported on their original applications. <br />Families who have already applied or been approved for up to $5,500 or $3,000 in <br />emergency rental assistance since May 1, 2020 (previous participants), will also be <br />considered for additional assistance up to their total rent owed (up to a maximum of 15 <br />months of rental arrears) since April 1, 2020 after re-certifying their eligibility and <br />submission of the additional verification of income and at risk of homelessness <br />documentation. Re-certification must be documented before an additional payment will <br />be sent to the landlord. <br />Our CARES for Tenants Program already conforms to the new statutory requirements of <br />the ERA2 funds. Staff is attaching the Program Guidelines, Frequently Asked Questions <br />and Flyers for the CARES for Tenants Program (Exhibit 3, 4 and 5). These documents <br />have also been translated into Spanish and Vietnamese. Staff have been advertising the <br />program as widely as possible by sending out monthly Nixles, monthly text messaging, <br />and providing two workshops a month after regular business hours in English, Spanish <br />and Vietnamese.