Millions in rent relief to be available to Kern County residents soon
Mar. 5—Millions of dollars in rent and utility assistance will soon become available to Kern County residents as part of a federal spending bill passed and signed into law late last year.
Representing a significant expansion of the roughly $10 million in federal funds Kern County and Bakersfield designated for rent relief in 2020, the money is meant to help struggling citizens who have seen rent and property values increase as the coronavirus pandemic has dragged on.
On Wednesday, the Bakersfield City Council allocated $11.4 million to the Emergency Rental and Utility Assistance Program. The Kern County Board of Supervisors set aside $15.3 million for the same purpose in January.
Working together through the Housing Authority of the County of Kern, the program is expected to become available to the public March 15. Unlike previous relief, only renters will be eligible this time.
"We know the need still exists," said Heather Kimmel, assistant executive director of the Housing Authority. "We know that people are still struggling in our community and they needed more assistance than what the initial program could provide."
Last year, the Housing Authority received 3,941 applications for rental and mortgage assistance, although some individuals submitted multiple times so an exact count is not yet known. The program ran out of funds before every applicant could be helped, and some renters who received assistance need it again.
"We talk with property management companies who state that they are hundreds of thousands of dollars in arrears with their tenants," Kimmel said. "At the Housing Authority, we are also a landlord and we are also experiencing a significant number of our tenants who are not able to pay their rent."
The pandemic has exacerbated a growing issue of affordable housing in Bakersfield and Kern County. A set of new residents from coastal counties who have the new ability to work from home have sought cheaper housing in Bakersfield, pushing prices up.
The California Housing Partnership reported in 2019 that Kern County was short 26,200 affordable housing units, a problem many believe has grown worse. With a vacancy rate of less than 2 percent, rent has been rising steeply as multifamily housing becomes hard to find.
In an attempt to take on the issue, on Wednesday the City Council approved a $573,520 agreement with Portland-based ECONNorthwest to develop an affordable housing strategy that will utilize a new state program that created a $75 fee on real estate development to address statewide housing needs.
Still, Ian Sharples, executive director of the Income Property Association of Kern, says the city could ease the burden by allowing multifamily homes in more parts of the city.
"The vast majority of land is zoned for single family zoning, which means that it's illegal to build multifamily housing in the majority of the city," he said. "If you allow multifamily housing in more parts of the city, that allows private sector actors, developers in the marketplace, to build the housing that is in demand right now."
Although the pandemic is straining the bank accounts of many Bakersfield residents, the problem of affordable housing could stay after COVID-19 recedes. That could be bad news for renters.
"We're seeing an increase in demand, and if the supply doesn't keep up, we're going to have continued low vacancy rates, which is going to push rents higher," Sharples said. "If these barriers that are artificially constraining the housing supply aren't lifted, then things could get worse."
You can reach Sam Morgen at 661-395-7415. You may also follow him on Twitter @smorgenTBC.
