United Way starts a rent stabilization program with remaining Covid-19 rental assistance funds.

Various pandemic relief funds that served as a cushion to help pay rent or cover burial and funeral costs are phasing out. Some relief programs, including California’s Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP), still have money to keep providing services while they last, and are transitioning to something that goes beyond an emergency.

The rental assistance program helped over 8,200 low-income households in Monterey County with paying overdue past rent and up to three months of future rent.

“We really believe it made a difference,” says Josh Madfis, vice president of community investments at United Way Monterey County, the agency charged with administering the program locally.

United Way still has $1.6 million of the $50 million of combined state and federal dollars it was responsible for distributing to qualifying renters. In March, the U.S. Department of the Treasury shifted ERAP funds from rental assistance to rental stabilization.

The local ERAP application process closed in April 2023, and fewer than 100 families remain on ERAP’s waiting list; United Way is working to process their applications. “We think we have enough funds to help those people, but we’ve also now been able to provide funding for this new program – housing stabilization,” says Katy Castagna, CEO of United Way Monterey County. About $600,000 will be used to help those remaining waitlisted families.

The remaining funds (about $1 million) will be distributed through United Way’s partners in the new housing stabilization program. So far, United Way has distributed $349,150 to five partners, including the City of Greenfield, Monterey County Office of Education and Goodwill Central Coast.

Each partner will use the funds to provide housing stabilization resources that best serve their community. That may include rental application fees, deposits or landlord mediation.