residential Tenant Anti-Harassment Protection Ordinance

In a continued effort to protect Concord tenants, Concord's Residential Tenant Anti-Harassment ordinance (Concord Municipal Code 19.50) became effective on July 28, 2022. The purpose of the ordinance is to prevent landlords and their representatives from harassing their tenants, to encourage landlords to follow the law and uphold their responsibility to provide habitable rental properties, and to give tenants legal recourse through the adopted Ordinance when they are subjected to harassment by owners.   

The ordinance is the result of collaborative effort that considered input received from tenant advocate groups and landlord representatives, and hours of public testimony.

If you are a residential tenant or a landlord with compliance concerns, please contact ECHO Housing at (925) 732-3919 or at echofairhousing.org.

The City has produced an English/Spanish flyer that details the program highlights.   

RESIDENTIAL TENANT PROTECTION PROGRAM

On Tuesday, July 28, 2020, Concord City Council adopted the Residential Tenant Protection Program to be effective August 28, 2020, and allows for

• relocation assistance for no-fault just cause evictions; 
• requires that a tenant be provided a written lease with the appropriate minimum lease terms; 
• and sunsets on January 1, 2030. 

Tenants' legal rights workshops

ECHO HOUSING

ECHO Housing is Concord's tenant and landlord service provider. For additional information on any of Concord's tenant and landlord programs and policies, please contact ECHO Housing at 1-925-732-3919 or contact@echofairhousing.org.

The City has developed a legislative flyer that summarizes recently released residential eviction and rent increase regulations for those affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The English/Spanish flyer includes information regarding COVID-19 related tenant protections. Also available is the COVID-19 Declaration of Hardship,  which tenants must provide to their landlord in order to be protected under the State legislation. The City has also developed a flyer that provides information on Concord’s Residential Tenant Protection Program and relocation payment requirements.

ECHO Housing es el proveedor de servicios de inquilinos y propietarios de Concord. Para obtener información adicional sobre cualquiera de los programas y políticas de inquilinos y propietarios/arrendadores de Concord, por favor comuníquese con ECHO Housing al 1-925-732-3919 o contact@echofairhousing.org.

La Ciudad ha elaborado un folleto que resume las regulaciones recientemente publicadas de desalojos residenciales y del aumento de alquiler para los afectados por la pandemia de COVID-19. El folleto en inglés/español incluye información sobre las protecciones de inquilinos relacionadas con el COVID-19. También está disponible la Declaración de Dificultades COVID-19, que los inquilinos deben proporcionar a su propietario para estar protegidos por la legislación estatal. La Ciudad también ha desarrollado un folleto que proporciona información sobre el Programa de Protección de Inquilinos Residenciales de Concord y los requisitos para el pago de reubicación.

Additional CA COVID‐19 Rent Relief Available to Income Eligible Households

Contra Costa County has partnered with the State of California to develop a Countywide Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) pursuant to Assembly Bill 832. For more information on AB 832, please click on the State Legislation tab below. Income eligible households who need financial assistance for unpaid rent and utilities may apply for help through the CA COVID‐19 Rent Relief program.  Tenants may apply directly or landlords may apply on behalf of their tenants.

If you are a tenant or a landlord whose tenants have experienced a financial hardship due to COVID‐19, have past due rent or utilities, and have a household income that is not more than 80% of the area median income (currently $109,600 for a family of four), you may be eligible for assistance. Tenants and landlords can verify eligibility by visiting the Housing Is Key website at HousingIsKey.com or by calling (833) 430‐2122.   

Landlords who participate in the CA COVID-19 Rent Relief program can get reimbursed for up to 100% of an eligible renter’s unpaid rent dating back to April 1, 2020.  Eligible renters whose landlords choose not to participate in the program may apply on their own and receive assistance for up to 100% of the unpaid rent dating back to April 1, 2020.  Financial assistance for upcoming monthly rent is also available.

Eligible renters may receive assistance for unpaid utility payments dating back to April 1, 2020, and/or for future utility payments.  Utility payments will be compensated at 100% of cost, limited to a total of 12 months, and paid directly to the utility provider.

To check eligibility and review the required application items, visit the Housing is Key website at HousingIsKey.com. All necessary information and verification items will be required for applications to be processed. Once an application has been processed, both the landlord and tenant will be notified about the application status and next steps.

Alivio de alquiler adicional de CA COVID‐19 Disponible para Hogares Elegibles Según ingresos

El Condado de Contra Costa se ha asociado con el Estado de California para desarrollar un Programa de Asistencia de Alquiler de Emergencia (ERAP, por sus siglas en inglés) de conformidad con el Proyecto de Ley de la Asamblea 832. Los hogares elegibles según ingresos que necesitan asistencia financiera para el alquiler no pagado y los servicios públicos pueden solicitar ayuda a través del programa de Alivio de CA Alquiler COVID‐19. Los inquilinos pueden aplicar directamente o los propietarios pueden solicitar en nombre de sus inquilinos.

Si usted es un inquilino o un propietario cuyos inquilinos han experimentado dificultades financieras debido al COVID‐19, tienen alquileres o servicios públicos vencidos y tienen un ingreso familiar que no es más del 80% del ingreso promedio del área (actualmente $109,600 para una familia de cuatro), usted puede calificar para recibir asistencia. Los inquilinos y propietarios pueden verificar la elegibilidad visitando HousingIsKey.com o llamando al (833) 430‐2122.

Los propietarios que participan en el programa de Alivio de Alquiler de CA Covid-19 pueden obtener un reembolso de hasta el 100% del alquiler no pagado de un inquilino elegible que se remonta al 1 de abril del 2020. Los inquilinos elegibles cuyos propietarios decidan no participar en el programa pueden solicitarlo por su cuenta y recibir asistencia por hasta el 100% del alquiler no pagado que se remonta al 1 de abril del 2020. La asistencia financiera para el próximo alquiler mensual también está disponible.

Los inquilinos elegibles pueden recibir asistencia para pagos de servicios públicos no pagados que se remontan al 1 de abril del 2020, y/o para pagos futuros de servicios públicos. Los pagos de servicios públicos se compensarán al 100% del costo, limitados a un total de 12 meses, y se pagarán directamente al proveedor de servicios públicos.

Para verificar la elegibilidad y revisar los elementos de solicitud requeridos, visite HousingIsKey.com. Toda la información necesaria y los elementos de verificación serán necesarios para que las solicitudes sean procesadas. Una vez que se ha procesado una solicitud, tanto el propietario como el inquilino serán notificados sobre el estado de la solicitud y los próximos pasos.

 Attention Local Residential Landlords!

(April 15, 2021)  The City of Concord and Diablo Valley Federal Credit Union have partnered to provide a Rent Recovery Loan Program to help people who may have experienced dif­ficulty paying their rent on time due to economic disrup­tions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. 

 The program is designed to help tenants and landlords eliminate or reduce back rent owed by providing a low-cost loan of up to $6,000 to tenants who owe back rent. 

 To qualify for the loan, tenants must demonstrate an ability to repay the loan in monthly installments over five years, and to execute a loan agreement. The loan pro­ceeds are made payable directly to the landlord to cover back rent. 

 The landlords, in turn, agree not to evict the tenants due to back rent. If the borrowers default on the loan pay­ments to the credit union, the credit union will assign the unpaid balance to the City for collection. 

 Benefits for the landlord:

·         Receive up to $6,000 in back rent owed

·         Tenants who do not qualify for Federal aid may quality for this program

·         No payment plans to keep track of- everything is handled by the Credit Union

 To learn more about this program, check out these FAQs and  visit www.diablovalleyfcu.org.