4-Month Rental Assistance (RA) Program

The County 4-Month RA Program provides formerly homeless CalWORKs Welfare-to-Work (WtW) families with a short-term rental subsidy after securing non-subsidized permanent housing. The program can also be accessed by a CalWORKs WtW family who lives in non-subsidized permanent housing, when the family demonstrates they are experiencing a valid financial hardship and receive DPSS administered eviction prevention funds. Eligible families can qualify for a once-in-a-lifetime* rental subsidy of up to $500 per family (based on family size) for a maximum of four consecutive months to help the family while their housing situation stabilizes. If the CalWORKs WtW family is participating in the GAIN Family Stabilization Program, the family may receive an additional four consecutive months of rental subsidy payments; totaling up to eight consecutive months. 

To be eligible for RA, the family must: 

• Be CalWORKs approved; 
• Be employed full-time, or employed part-time and actively participating in an approved GAIN WtW activity or Post-Time Limit (PTL) services, or unemployed and actively participating in an approved GAIN WtW activity or PTL services; 
• Have received or be eligible to receive the Permanent Homeless Assistance (HA) payment and/or Moving Assistance Program payment, or have received the Permanent HA Arrearages and/or the Emergency Assistance to Prevent Eviction (EAPE) Program payment, to prevent the family’s eviction; 
• Have signed a rental/lease agreement to secure non-subsidized permanent housing within the past 30 calendar days of the request for RA or received the Permanent HA Arrearages payment and/or EAPE Program payment, to prevent the family’s eviction; 
• Agree to receive RA payments; and 
• Provide a rent receipt or verification that rent has been paid for each month a subsidy is issued before another subsidy payment is issued.

The monthly subsidy payment amount is determined by using the issuance table below. 

* Eligibility to the 4-Month RA Program is limited to once-in-a-lifetime (i.e., once when the family secures permanent housing after being homeless and once if the family receives DPSS administered eviction prevention funds). A family cannot receive the 4-Month RA more than twice.