Local Rental Assistance Program Open
Apply to get help with your rent.
Starting May 28, 2021, apply to get up to 3 months’ back and forward rent for a total of 6 months.
Cost is free.
You can apply online or get help with your application for free through a community partner organization.
Rent help for 2020 and 2021.
For rent help between April 2020 and March 2021, apply for the State program at housingiskey.com. The State’s program provides up to 12 months of assistance.
For rent help for April 2021 and after, you can apply starting May 28 for the City’s program. The City’s program provides up to 6 months of assistance.
What to do.
1. Check if you meet all eligibility criteria.
You must have had financial hardship during the pandemic.
You can either:
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- have qualified for unemployment benefits.
- experienced a reduction in household income, incurred significant costs, or experienced other financial hardship.
You must be able to demonstrate a risk of experiencing homelessness or housing instability.
This can include:
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- a past-due rent notice or eviction notice.
- unsafe or unhealthy living conditions.
- any other evidence of such risk.
You can apply if you are a subtenant. The master tenant does not need to be involved in the first part of the application process.
You must not make more than a certain amount for your household size.
The maximum income depends on your household size:
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- For 1 person, $102,450
- For 2 people, $117,100
- For 3 people, $131,750
- For 4 people, $146,350
- For 5 people, $158,100
- For 6 people, $169,800
- For 7 people, $181,500
- For 8 people, $193,200
These income limits are at or below 80% of HUD’s Area Median Income (AMI) for San Francisco.
We will be prioritizing applicants with significantly lower incomes and other vulnerability factors.
Meeting eligibility criteria and applying early will not guarantee assistance. The program is not first-come, first-served.
2. Starting May 28, apply to get help with your rent.
If you applied for rent help before May 2021, you must submit a new application. For example, if you applied for the Give2SF Housing Stabilization Program, you must fill out a new application.
It may take 2 to 3 weeks after you apply, to learn if you will get help with your rent. The rest of the process may take an extra 2 to 6 weeks. It depends on how many applications are received.
Current eviction protections.
Right now, there are no eviction protections after June 30, 2021. City and State leaders are working on extending these protections.
See state law SB-91 or housingiskey.com for details about these protections.
If you could not pay rent from March 1 to August 31, 2020.
Your landlord cannot evict you for not paying during those months. They can take you to small claims court for unpaid rent, starting August 1, 2021. The City is partnering with Bay Area Legal Aid and other legal services organizations to help with COVID-19 rental debt matters in small claims court starting August 1.
You must give your landlord a signed declaration in response to a 15-day notice.
If you could not pay rent between September 1, 2020 and June 30, 2021.
Until July 1, 2021, your landlord cannot evict you for not paying during those months. They can take you to small claims court for unpaid rent, starting August 1, 2021.
You must:
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- Give your landlord a signed declaration in response to a 15-day notice.
- By June 30, 2021, pay at least 25% of your missed rent from September to June. This can be a lump sum.
Helping our most vulnerable.
San Francisco’s local emergency rental assistance program is targeted to the most vulnerable households affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Get help
Get free help with your application.
Find a community partner organization at sfadc.org or call 311.
Related
About the local and state emergency rental assistance programs.
FAQs about applying to the different programs.
Last updated May 24, 2021
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