California has more state-run rental assistance programs than any other state, alongside charities and church groups that may pay back rent, security deposits, and moving costs directly. Many tenants qualify for help they have never heard of — including a state program that operates in all 58 counties and can pay up to two months of overdue rent. This page covers the charities and state programs available across California, followed by links to local rent assistance in counties and cities throughout the state.

Charities and non-profits that help with rent across California

Society of St. Vincent de Paul Councils
The Society of St. Vincent de Paul runs volunteer groups, called conferences, based in Catholic parishes throughout California — with major diocesan councils in Los Angeles (also covering Ventura and Santa Barbara counties and the number is 1-888-552-7872), Sacramento, Oakland, San Francisco, San Jose, San Diego, and Contra Costa County, where 29 separate branches operate. Volunteers typically visit a family at home, listen to the full situation, and arrange one-time help that can include back rent, utility bills, food, and furniture. The Sacramento council alone often helps more than 200,000 people a year across the diocese. To ask for help, contact the Catholic church closest to your home and ask for the St. Vincent de Paul conference.

Salvation Army Centers in California
The Salvation Army operates corps community centers in cities across California, many of which hold emergency funds for back rent, security deposits, and utility bills, along with transitional housing for families working their way out of homelessness. Funding at each center is limited and goes quickly, so renters should call before visiting and ask what documents to bring. Locations, programs, and what each center offers are on the Salvation Army in California page.

Community Action Agencies
The California Department of Community Services and Development funds a network of 60 community action agencies and tribal organizations covering every county in the state, including some of the largest agencies in the nation. Many of these agencies hold their own emergency rent and deposit funds alongside utility assistance, and their caseworkers often know about local funding that is never advertised. One warning straight from the state: California does not give grants directly to individuals, and scammers posing as state block grant programs contact people by phone and text offering "grants" in exchange for a fee. Real community action help is always free. Find the agency serving your county through the California community action agencies page.

State of California programs that pay rent and housing costs

CalWORKs Homeless Assistance — Available in All 58 Counties
California runs a program that most struggling families have a legal right to receive — not a waitlist, not a lottery. The CalWORKs Homeless Assistance program is an entitlement for families who receive CalWORKs or appear eligible for it, and it operates in every county in the state. It comes in two forms.

Permanent Homeless Assistance pays a security deposit and last month's rent on a new home, or up to two months of overdue back rent to stop an eviction, as long as the monthly rent does not exceed 80 percent of the family's income.
Temporary Homeless Assistance pays for a motel or hotel — between $85 and $145 per day depending on family size — for up to 16 days while a family looks for housing.

Each form of help is available once every 12 months, with exceptions for domestic violence and certain hardships. Families apply at their county welfare office. Full eligibility details and how to apply are at https://www.cdss.ca.gov/inforesources/cdss-programs/housing-programs/calworks-homeless-assistance, with additional tips and explanation on the NHPB CalWORKs Homeless Assistance program page.

CalWORKs Housing Support Program
Separate from Homeless Assistance, the Housing Support Program operates in 56 California counties and provides deeper, ongoing help for CalWORKs families who are homeless or about to lose their housing. The program follows a Housing First approach: it can pay rental assistance over multiple months, security deposits, utility payments, moving costs, and motel vouchers, while caseworkers help families find landlords willing to rent to them and stay housed afterward. Families are referred through their county CalWORKs office — anyone receiving CalWORKs who is in a housing crisis should ask their caseworker about a Housing Support Program referral by name.

State Housing Help for Seniors, People With Disabilities, and Families in the Child Welfare System
Three more California programs serve renters in specific situations, all run through county social services.

The Housing and Disability Advocacy Program helps people who are homeless or at risk of it and who likely qualify for disability benefits — it pairs help applying for SSI or other disability income with rental assistance and housing navigation while the application is pending. We have other options, in addition to these, listed on the NHPB guide to rent help for disabled people.
The Home Safe program serves seniors and dependent adults involved with Adult Protective Services who face losing their housing because of abuse, neglect, or financial exploitation.
Bringing Families Home provides rent help, deposits, and case management to families involved with the child welfare system, so that housing instability does not separate parents from their children.

Renters who fit any of these situations should contact their county social services agency and ask about the program by name, since counties rarely advertise them.

Eviction Prevention and Rehousing Programs
California funds eviction prevention at a scale no other state matches. The state's Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention program — known as HHAP — has with grants flowing to all 58 counties, the 14 largest cities, and 44 regional Continuums of Care. There are also federal ESG grant funds and other sources of assistance.

Local agencies use the money for the exact things a renter in crisis needs: paying off rent arrears to stop an eviction, move-in assistance and deposits, and rental subsidies for households at risk of losing housing. A separate Tribal HHAP program funds California's federally recognized tribes directly. The catch is that HHAP dollars reach renters through local nonprofits and county programs — there is no single statewide application. What these programs cover, and how to find the agency holding funds in your area, is on the California homeless prevention and rehousing programs page.

Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers
Section 8 vouchers cap a tenant's housing costs at roughly 30 percent of income — and California renters with a voucher have a protection most of the country lacks. Since 2020, state law has made it illegal for any California landlord to refuse a tenant because they pay with a voucher. "No Section 8" advertisements are unlawful, a landlord cannot judge an applicant's income on anything beyond the tenant's own share of the rent, and landlords are restricted from running credit checks on applicants using housing subsidies. Vouchers are administered by dozens of public housing authorities across the state, each with its own waitlist — in high-cost regions, lists can stay closed for years, so apply with several authorities and recheck regularly. Find the agency in your area using the California Section 8 housing choice vouchers page.

California renters have stronger protections than most states

The Tenant Protection Act — California Civil Code sections 1946.2 and 1947.12 — gives most renters in the state two protections that do not exist in much of the country.

First, annual rent increases on covered units are capped at 5 percent plus local inflation, never more than 10 percent total.
Second, once a tenant has lived in a covered unit for 12 months, the landlord must state a legally valid "just cause" to end the tenancy — falling behind on rent is one, but a landlord cannot simply refuse to renew without a reason.

Local rent boards, county tenant counseling agencies, and legal aid offices can review a notice for free. Renters facing an eviction lawsuit have only five days to respond once served with court papers, so acting the same week matters.

Free legal help for California tenants facing eviction

A California renter served with an eviction lawsuit — called an unlawful detainer — has only five days to file a written response with the court, and missing that deadline usually means losing by default. Free help exists and works fast. Every county superior court in California operates a Self-Help Center where staff assist tenants with response forms at no charge, and legal aid organizations across the state represent income-qualifying tenants in eviction cases for free. Lawyers can also help people facing housing discrimination as well as with applications to rent assistance programs. California is also one of the few states with a court-appointed counsel program for housing cases.

Tenants represented through the program keep their housing far more often than those who go to court alone. LawHelpCA.org (website: https://www.lawhelpca.org/) matches renters to the legal aid office serving their county. Also see the legal aid guide in California for more details on option.

Government resources for housing help anywhere in California

The California Department of Social Services Housing and Homelessness Division oversees the CalWORKs housing programs described above and lists current programs, county contacts, and updates at https://cdss.ca.gov/inforesources/cdss-programs/housing-programs. For federal resources, HUD maintains rental help information and a directory of free HUD-approved housing counselors as well as programs for CA at https://www.hud.gov/states/california.

Forum — what California renters are saying

California residents have shared their experiences finding rent and housing help in the moderated community discussion forum — including which county programs came through for them, how long applications took, and what to do when a program runs out of money. It is a candid look at how these programs work in practice, from people who have used them. Read the discussion or ask your own question in the California rent and housing assistance forum.

Local California rent assistance programs by city and county

Beyond the statewide programs, every region of California has its own charities, nonprofits, and county-funded programs that pay back rent, deposits, and moving costs. Select your county or city below for local agencies, phone numbers, and application details.

Alameda County and Oakland CA

Los Angeles County and city specific rent relief programs