San Bernardino County has established the San Bernardino County Rent Relief Partnership, an emergency rental assistance program that will leverage more than $46.8 million in federal Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 funds to provide rental and utility assistance to county residents impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The County has teamed up with Inland SoCal 211+ (ISC211) to administer the San Bernardino County RRP, which will provide up to 12 months of rental arrears and/or prospective rent payments, as well as utility arrears and prospective assistance.
“This program will bring much-needed relief to tenants trying desperately to stay in their homes and, in turn, landlords who have been hard-hit by the economic effects of the pandemic,” said County Board of Supervisors Chairman Curt Hagman. “The county’s partnership with Inland SoCal 211+ is a key step toward economic recovery for our region.”
The county’s program will target its efforts to the most vulnerable individuals/households that have experienced the greatest impacts due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Households must meet the following criteria to receive assistance:
Household Eligibility
- Household must reside within San Bernardino County. Residents of the cities of Fontana and San Bernardino must submit applications directly to their respective cities for assistance. Applicants from these cities who apply for the County’s program will be redirected to their applicable programs.
- Household must be obligated to pay rent on a residential dwelling and have a household income at or below 50% of area median income (AMI). See Table 1:
Table 1
| Number of
Persons in Household |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
| 50% AMI | $26,400 | $30,150 | $33,900 | $37,650 | $40,700 | $43,700 | $46,700 | $49,700 |
- One or more individuals within the household has qualified for unemployment benefits or experienced a reduction in household income, incurred significant costs, or experienced other financial hardships due, directly or indirectly, to the COVID-19 outbreak; or
- One or more individuals within the household can demonstrate a risk of experiencing homelessness or housing instability.
- One or more individuals within the 50% AMI household is unemployed as of the date of the application for assistance and has not been employed for the 90-day period preceding such date.
Assistance is Available!
ISC211 will begin accepting applications on Monday, April 12, 2021. Current plans call for the program to be available through December 31, 2021, or until all funds are exhausted, whichever occurs first.
For more information and to be placed on an interest list, please log on to the County’s website at http://sbcountycdha.com/community-development-and-housing-department or ISC211’s website at https://iscuw.org/sbcrent
TO APPLY: Visit https://sbcrentrelief.org or dial 211 and select extension 5.
The county encourages landlords to proactively work with their tenants to complete applications as quickly as possible. Tenants are encouraged to work closely with landlords and to communicate their interest in participating in the program.
NOTICE: Households with a household income above 50% AMI, but below 80% AMI are being served by the State of California’s CA COVID-19 Rent Relief program. Please visit https://housing.ca.gov/. The State’s program is distinctively different from the County’s program in that it imposes payment restrictions, allowing 80% of total arrears to be paid, as opposed to the 100% paid by the County’s program. See Table 2:
Table 2
| Number of
Persons in Household |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
| 80% AMI | $42,200 | $48,200 | $54,250 | $60,250 | $65,100 | $69,900 | $74,750 | $79,550 |
About San Bernardino County
San Bernardino County is a highly diverse public service organization dedicated to the health and safety of the 2.2 million residents of America’s largest county. Governed by an elected five-member Board of Supervisors, San Bernardino County employs 23,000 public service professionals to provide services in the areas of public safety, health care, social services, infrastructure, economic development, housing, cultural enrichment, recreation, and more. For more information, visit sbcounty.gov.
Inland SoCal 211+, a program of Inland SoCal United Way
The Inland SoCal 211+ Contact Center provides 24/7 centralized, compassionate connection to all health and human services in San Bernardino and Riverside Counties. Established in 2005, we answer over 250,000 calls per year for housing, utilities, food, healthcare, employment, childcare, social service resources, veteran services, transportation, crisis intervention, and more. We operate specialty call lines for COVID-19 information and vaccine appointments. Inland SoCal 211+ also offers 48 in-house programs. These assist with needs such as job placement, homelessness resolution, rental assistance, and system navigation. The 2-1-1 Contact Center is AIRS Accredited and operated by trained, expert Community Resource Advisors. There is round-the-clock assistance in Spanish/English and live translation for more than 150 languages. Residents can reach services via the toll-free, easy access number 2-1-1, or by texting their zip code to 898-211.