Monterey rental assistance program sees 267 applications in 8-hour window, 10 applicants will get help in first month

MONTEREY, Calif. (KION-TV) - Monterey's rental assistance program opened it's application window Wednesday receiving 267 applications, according to the city.

“We know that there are a lot of renters who really are struggling, and the costs are high, and they just need help to make ends meet," Monterey Housing Manager Anastacia Wyatt said.

The City of Monterey previously had a rental assistance program during the pandemic. However, once those funds ran out, some renters were still facing challenges.

The city acknowledges they won’t be able to help all of the 267 applications they received for this month. Only the top ten eligible applicants will receive assistance for now.

For those ten applicants selected this month, they'll receive three months of rental assistance, up to $5,000. They can also receive additional funds for legal assistance and housing counseling.

“I think programs like this are good. I think we need to keep looking towards programs like this to understand how we can positively affect more people," Monterey visitor Brandon Scales said.

While this month’s application period is now closed, it doesn't mean people can’t still get help down the line.

"We'll see how much we expect to probably helped people for about four to six months with the initial funding that the city council provided for the program, which was $250,000 total. So then, we expect if we help about 10 applicants that we're going to help probably between 40 to 60 applicants with this amount of funding," Wyatt said.

The city adds, people who apply in April who aren't selected, will need to reapply the following month.

You can find more info on the rental assistance program and the application on the City of Monterey website.