Item 09 - First Amendment to Emergency Rental Assistance Program Spending Plan

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Coronavirus Emergency Rental Relief Fund for Tenants Page | 1 Program Guidelines as of November 3March 1, 20210 The City of Santa Ana recognizes the financial hardships faced by many of its residents due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19). In response, the Santa Ana City Council established the Coronavirus Emergency Rental Relief Fund for Tenants (Santa Ana “CARES for Tenants”) to provide emergency rental relief for qualified, low-income households who are not able to pay their rent due to the Coronavirus. Low-income Santa Ana renters impacted by the Coronavirus may apply online to receive up to $3,0005,500 in emergency rental assistance toward any rent due after March 19th13th, 2020, the date of the emergency declaration pursuant to section 501(b) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, 42 U.S.C. 5191(b). With respect to financial assistance for rent and rental arrears provided to an eligible household, payments shall be made directly to the landlord on behalf of the eligible household, except that, if the landlord does not agree to accept such payment from the City after outreach to the landlord by the City, the City may make such payments directly to the eligible household for the purpose of making payments to the landlord. The assistance is paid directly to the landlord. These Program Guidelines describe the Background, How it Works, Eligibility Criteria, Duplication of Benefits Requirements, Application Requirements and Instructions. Applications are available on the Santa Ana CARES website (www.santa- ana.org/covid19/rental-relief/cares-for-tenants), at our City offices, in-person or can be requested directly from the Salvation Army or Catholic Charities. The City is accepting CARES for Tenants applications until all of the funds are exhausted. *(The guidance contained herein supersedes any previously published Coronavirus Emergency Rental Relief Fund Guidelines. The CARES for Tenants Program has received funding from the Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) administered by the Department of Treasury; the Community Development Block Grant – Coronavirus (CDBG-CV) funds administered by the Department of Housing and Urban Development; and the State of California Coronavirus Relief Funds (CRF). The Program Guidelines have been updated to conform to the requirements of each funding source. Therefore, the guidance contained herein supersedes any previously published Coronavirus Emergency Rental Relief Fund Program Guidelines. **Renters who have already applied or been approved for $1,500 or $3,000 in emergency rental assistance, will may be considered for an additional assistance $1,500 (up to afor a maximum of $5,53,000) in assistance after re-certifying their eligibility. ***Where this guidance refers to the “City”, this includes the Salvation Army of Orange County and Catholic Charities of Orange County as the subcontractors for the City.) Background The Coronavirus crisis has hit many Santa Ana families hard. Paying rent may already be difficult under normal circumstances, but lost jobs and reduced work hours due to the virus have made it near impossible. Santa Ana’sThe State’s eviction moratorium has helped renters stay in their homes, but we know paying rent to the landlord can be a big mountain to climb. We are here to help. The Coronavirus Emergency Rental Relief Fund for Tenants (Santa Ana “CARES for Tenants”) aims to help struggling low-income renters who have been unable to make their rent payments since March 19th13th, 2020. Payments shall be made Field Code Changed Formatted: Font: 10 pt Formatted: Indent: Left: 0.5" Formatted: Font: 10 pt Formatted: Font: 10 pt Formatted: Font: 10 pt Formatted: Font: 10 pt Formatted: Font: 10 pt Formatted: Font: 10 pt Formatted: Font: 10 pt Formatted: Justified EXHIBIT 5EXHIBIT 1