Keep Oakland Housed / Housing Assistance Resources

The following is information about the resources available to support housing stability.

Keep Oakland Housed Emergency Rental Assistance Program

The Federal government appropriated $25 billion for emergency rental assistance in the December 2020 COVID-19 relief package called the Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP). Jurisdictions with populations above 200,000 received money directly from the Treasury Department from this appropriation.

  • Oakland received a direct allocation of $12.8 million
  • California received $2.4 billion
  • The State will dedicate $13.8m of its $2.4 billion for Oakland

The $12.8m direct allocation will be deployed through Keep Oakland Housed (KOH). This program is tenant-focused, prioritizing housing stability and homelessness prevention and targeting the most vulnerable Oakland residents.

The Keep Oakland Housed ERAP launched April 1, 2021 and will go to March 31st, 2022 or until funding has been exhausted.

Keep Oakland Housed application materials will be posted on this webpage once available.

Program Overview  

The KOH provider agencies are:

  • Bay Area Community Services (BACS)
  • Catholic Charities East Bay
  • Centro Legal de la Raza
  • Eviction Defense Center
  • Additional partners may be added this Spring

The KOH Program will provide rental assistance to those impacted by the COVID-19 health pandemic.  Program goals are to:

  • Serve the most vulnerable tenants
  • Create housing stability for those at risk of homelessness and experiencing housing instability
  • Prevent homelessness
  • Prevent displacement

The program will prioritize resources for the following households and individuals:

  • Extremely low-income (30% of Area Median Income or below)
  • Previously experienced homelessness
  • Reside in a zip code with high rates of COVID-19 infection

Funds may be used for:

  • Rent arrears (must be prioritized)
  • Prospective rent may be paid after that
  • Can pay for utility expenses, or other housing related expenses
  • Funds go to landlord/utility provider; may go to tenant if landlord or utility provider will not participate

Apply Today!

Emergency Rental Assistance Flyer

Fact Sheets


ERAP fact sheet page 1


ERAP fact sheet page 2

SB 91 State Rental Assistance Program

The State of California received $2.4 billion in funding for emergency rental assistance from the December 2020 COVID-19 relief package. The state will be operating a Rental Assistance Program with these funds pursuant to SB 91, the COVID-19 Tenant Relief Act, adopted in January 2021. The state will dedicate $13.8m of this $2.4 billion for use in Oakland.

The $13.8m in State allocation will be administered by the State pursuant to SB 91, through its program implementers:  Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) and Horne LLP. This program is focused on property owner rental debt for 5 or more unit property holders and tenants at or above 50% AMI.

State SB 91 Rental Assistance Program materials can be found here: https://housing.ca.gov/covid_rr/dashboard.html

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