Santa Monica Housing Office - Displaced Preference
|
|
|
|
|
The Santa Monica Housing Office's "Displaced Priority"
The first households to receive assistance on the City of Santa Monica’s Housing Choice Voucher program (Section 8) and Below Market Housing (BMH) program waitlists are those that qualify for the "displaced" priority. This priority is for households who have lost or will be losing their housing in Santa Monica due to one of these specific situations:
- A natural disaster has damaged the building you live in* (e.g. flood, fire, earthquake, etc.)
- You have had to leave your home because of domestic violence against yourself or someone you live with (this is applicable for Section 8 only)
- Ellis Act: The property owner is seeking to remove your building from the rental market
- You were evicted from a rent-controlled unit so that the property owner or a relative could move into your unit (owner-occupancy)
- A government action related to code enforcement or public development forced you out of your home
- You were evicted because of a mobile home closure
The displacement must have occurred in the last 12 months, or will occur in the coming 12 months.
*Please note that the displaced priority only applies when the natural disaster damages the building you live in. It does not apply if you are unable to pay your rent due to COVID-19. There is currently an eviction moratorium in Santa Monica for households who can't pay their rent due to COVID-19 - learn more here. If you think you are at risk of losing your housing in Santa Monica because you can't pay your rent for other reasons, please visit this page.
If you are in one of the above displacement circumstances, to be considered for the displaced priority, you must:
- Apply to the Section 8 and/or BMH waitlists. We encourage those who are eligible to apply to both. More information and the links to apply can be found here.
- Email displaced@santamonica.gov with ALL of the following:
- the address from which you were (or will be) displaced
- documentation verifying your tenancy at that address
- the date you were (or will be) displaced
- a brief description of which situation you are experiencing
- documentation verifying your displacement
Emails that do not include all of the above will not be considered.