LA County Mortgage Relief Program

The program is designed to provide financial assistance to non-corporate rental property owners in LA County who have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and meet specific eligibility criteria.

To qualify for the program, applicants must fulfill the following requirements:

• Property Ownership: You must be a non-corporate rental property owner with no more than 4 units in LA County. This means that individual property owners or small-scale landlords are eligible, but large corporations or real estate companies are not eligible for this program.
• Location of Property: The rental property must not be located within the City of Los Angeles. Only properties situated in areas outside the city limits are eligible for this assistance.
• Census Tract Requirements: The property must be located in high or highest needs census tracts. Census tracts are geographical divisions used by the government for data collection and analysis. To determine if your property qualifies, you can use a specific tool provided by the program. By applying a “need tier” filter and selecting “high” and “highest” on the map, eligible census tracts will be displayed.
• Financial Distress Due to COVID-19: Applicants must have experienced financial distress between March 1, 2020, and March 31, 2023, directly related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Examples of financial distress include loss of employment, reduction of work hours, or other COVID-19 related financial hardships.
• No Prior Assistance Received: You should not have received any financial assistance from the State’s COVID-19 Rent Relief or Mortgage Relief programs before applying for this specific program.
• Property Ownership Duration: You must have owned the rental property for at least 12 months before the declared state of emergency in March 2020. This requirement ensures that the property owners have a pre-existing stake in the property and are not taking advantage of the program.
• Income Limit: Your total household income should not exceed 120% of the Area Median Income (AMI). The AMI is a measure of income commonly used for housing programs to determine eligibility based on the average income in the local area.
• Loan Balance Limit: The outstanding loan balance on the property must not exceed $1,000,000. This requirement ensures that the financial assistance targets properties with manageable debt loads.
• Acceptance of Funds: By applying for and receiving funds through this program, you are agreeing to accept the financial assistance as full settlement of the rental debt for the covered period. In return, you must refrain from proceeding with eviction actions against your tenants during this period, including the satisfaction of any eviction-related judgments.

By meeting all of these eligibility requirements, rental property owners can avail themselves of the financial aid offered by the program to alleviate the burden caused by the COVID-19 pandemic on their rental properties and tenants.