Rent relief grants now available for Hayward residents facing economic hardship

HAYWARD, Calif., May 13, 2020—The City of Hayward will begin accepting applications today for rent relief assistance grants for Hayward residents facing economic hardship resulting from the COVID-19 public health emergency.

The assistance grants are intended to support Hayward residents at greatest risk of displacement who are unable to pay rent due to loss of income or increased medical or childcare costs attributable to the emergency.

The grants will be paid to landlords on behalf of qualifying low-income tenants to reduce financial burden on tenants and ensure landlords receive revenue needed to maintain rental housing services.

The program, authorized when the Hayward City Council adopted an emergency COVID-19 eviction moratorium, will provide one-time payments of up to $2,500 per household to bridge the gap between what tenants can afford and their actual rent.

To qualify, tenants must be Hayward residents at risk of displacement with income adjusted by household size below 50 percent of Area Median Income (AMI), or up to 80 percent of AMI with rent equal to or greater than 30 percent of their income.

Tenants also must have experienced economic hardship resulting from COVID-19 in the form of loss or reduction in employment or wages; increased medical or child-care costs; or loss of child-care.

The program will be administered on behalf of the City by the nonprofit organization Bay Area Community Services (BACS) and will use $600,000 from Community Development Block Grant COVID-19 funds allocated as part of the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

To learn more and to submit an application, go online to https://housing.bayareacs.org/  and complete the Keep Everyone Housed Application for the City of Hayward or call BACS at (510) 850-6492.