The City Council has voted unanimously to launch a new homelessness prevention program that will provide up to $20,000 in emergency financial assistance to Santa Monica renters facing eviction, awarding a $6 million contract to The People Concern to administer what officials called a groundbreaking effort to keep vulnerable residents housed.
The Santa Monica Renter Aid program, funded entirely by Measure GS — the city's real estate transfer tax approved by voters in 2022 — is expected to begin serving residents this summer and will initially assist approximately 150 at-risk households annually. The council approved the contract 6-0, directing staff to execute a two-year agreement with The People Concern with three additional one-year renewal options.
"I'm very excited about this," Mayor Caroline Torosis said before casting her vote. "I think we're doing groundbreaking work here for a city of our size. We want to see the number of unlawful detainer filings decrease and hopefully keep more people housed, because it's cheaper to keep people housed than it is to get them housing."
The program represents a key component of the city's broader 2025-2030 Homelessness Strategic Plan, which the council adopted in March 2025. That plan, built around four pillars of prevention, intervention, coordination and communication, identified creation of a flexible financial assistance program as a core renter protection strategy.
How the Program Works
The Santa Monica Renter Aid program will offer three tiers of financial assistance to renters earning up to 120 percent of area median income — approximately $126,000 annually for a single-person household — with priority given to those at the greatest risk of homelessness.
One-time emergency assistance of up to $5,000 per household will be available to residents facing an acute financial crisis threatening their ability to pay rent. Ongoing monthly assistance totaling up to $10,000 per household annually will support longer-term housing stability. Renters already involved in unlawful detainer (eviction) proceedings who are receiving services through the city's existing Right to Counsel program will be eligible for up to $20,000 in assistance to help maintain their housing or, if necessary, fund a relocation.
The program will also provide case management services, with staff connecting renters to the Right to Counsel program and other city resources. City data estimates that approximately 472 Santa Monica renters face unlawful detainer filings annually, a figure that shaped the program's design from the outset.
The first year of the contract is valued at $1.2 million, with 75 percent — about $900,000 — directed toward direct financial assistance. The remaining 25 percent will primarily fund case manager positions.
Selection Process
The Housing and Human Services Department released the request for proposals in January 2026, drawing three applications from nonprofit organizations. The People Concern, formed through the 2016 merger of Ocean Park Community Center and Lamp Community, scored highest among the applicants. An interdepartmental evaluation panel that included an external reviewer and a member of the Measure GS oversight committee assessed applicants on organizational capacity, fiscal performance, past experience and program model.
"The People Concern operates a number of programs regionwide and in Santa Monica, and these homelessness prevention programs — which consist of case management and financial assistance — are substantively separate from some of the other programs that TPC administers that folks in the community might be more familiar with," said Tee Martin, a senior analyst with the city's Homelessness Prevention and Intervention Division, who presented the item to the council.
Council Questions Accountability, Transparency
The council's discussion centered on questions of accountability, fund disbursement and public transparency.
"There's a lot of transparency issues around the broader conversation around these programs," Negrete said, pressing staff on how quickly funds could reach residents facing imminent eviction. Martin said the average timeline from application to assistance would be two to three weeks, with expedited processing available for households facing 30-day notices or other urgent timelines.
Negrete also asked about how funds would be disbursed and whether payments would go directly to tenants or to landlords. Staff confirmed that under most circumstances, payments would be made to landlords or other vendors rather than directly to renters.
“I do want to point out that as much as we trust people I would hate for those that, you know, may not be intending to take advantage of it to end up using the funds for something it's not intended for and taking from someone who desperately needs to stay in their place,” she said. And so for me I think that's my biggest concern when I was referring to how quickly it gets sent to obviously prevent from an unlawful detainer or any additional fees and things like that but also to make sure that it's very clear that there's a set allowance that it's allowed to be used for certain things so that we can make sure that the most amount of people are getting those very necessary things of a roof over their head, electricity, heat all that kind of stuff.”
Negrete also asked about public-facing performance benchmarks, noting the importance of community trust in how Measure GS funds are being spent. Martin said the program would be integrated into city scorecards and the Homelessness Strategic Plan's public data dashboard.
Torosis pushed staff to consider more flexibility in how funds are distributed, pointing to models in other cities that have used direct cash payments to tenants. "We need to trust tenants and we need to trust people to do what they need with their money," she said, adding that faster access to funds could prevent unlawful detainer filings before they occur.
Implementation Timeline
The program is expected to launch this summer. Outreach will be conducted in multiple languages. Applications will be available online through the city's website as well as in paper form for those who need it. Staff will hold in-person office hours at Virginia Avenue Park in the Pico neighborhood as well as at libraries and other city facilities.
The program will be promoted through the city's Seascape newsletter, downtown digital kiosks and Big Blue Bus advertising. Outcomes and participant feedback surveys will be monitored regularly by the Homelessness Prevention and Intervention Division, with performance tied to the contract's renewal options.
The city will also audit grantee organizations including The People Concern for fiscal performance.