HOUSING ASSISTANCE FUND FOR COUNTY/SEIU 1021 EMPLOYEES

Sonoma County entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 1021 in order to fund one or more programs to assist represented employees with housing cost issues. Since July 1992, County employees who work in SEIU-represented job classifications have had one penny ($.01) per each hour of their employment paid into a Housing Assistance Fund. The County provides a dollar for dollar match for all employee deposits into the Fund.

A joint labor/management Housing Assistance Committee (HAC) meets quarterly to monitor the operation of the Housing Assistance Fund and to design appropriate programs to assist SEIU represented employees. The HAC, responding to recurring requests from employees, formulated the First Time Home Buyer and Rental/Mortgage Assistance programs. The First Time Home Buyer Program provides up to $50,000 secondary mortgage financing at below-market rates to assist in the purchase of a home. The Rental/Mortgage Assistance Program provides short-term, unsecured, 0% interest loans to eligible employees to pay rental security deposits, first month’s rent, delinquent rental payments, delinquent mortgage payments, delinquent real estate taxes or expired hazard insurance on the borrower’s primary residence. Repayments for all loans are made through payroll deductions.

Click on the following links for additional information and application forms for these two programs.

Frequently Asked Questions about the Housing Assistance Fund

First Time Homebuyer Program

Rental/Mortgage Assistance Program

HOUSING ASSISTANCE REHABILITATION LOAN PROGRAM