Los Angeles County Treasurer and Tax Collector and Director of Department of Consumer and Business Affairs Advise Landlords of Potential Relief from Impact of County Tenant Protections

KEITH KNOX, Los Angeles County Treasurer and Tax Collector, and Rafael Carbajal, Director of the Los Angeles County Department of Consumer and Business Affairs, as directed by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, are partnering to reach out to
landlords who have been impacted economically by the County’s Tenant Protections.

“Landlords who have not been able to collect rent may not be in a position to meet their property tax obligations,” Mr. Knox advised, “Under State law, my office has the authority to consider requests under these circumstances to cancel penalties, costs, interest and fees associated with late property tax payments.”

Mr. Knox further said, “After the April 11, 2022 delinquency date, landlords who were unable to pay their property taxes on time for reasons related to the County’s Tenant Protections may submit a request for penalty cancellation on our website at https://ttc.lacounty.gov/penalty-cancellation-request-2.”

In addition to the Tax Collector’s authority to cancel late payment penalties, costs, interest and fees, the County strongly encourages landlords who have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic to apply for emergency rental assistance from the CA COVID-19 Rent Relief Program. The program is designed to help income-eligible households pay rent and utilities for both future and owed payments. This valuable resource has been available to landlords and renters in Los Angeles County and across California, who have faced enormous financial pressure from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has resulted in job losses, housing instability, and homelessness.

Those in need of assistance with unpaid rent and utilities owed from April 1, 2020, through March 31, 2022, should visit https://housing.ca.gov. For additional information, including eligibility and application help, landlords should call the CA COVID-19 Rent
Relief Call Center at (833) 430-2122. Income-eligible applicants may qualify regardless of immigration status and will not be required to show proof of citizenship.

The deadline to apply for these funds is March 31, 2022.
Mr. Carbajal added, “Emergency rental assistance programs provide much needed relief for landlords, who have owed back rent, and low-income tenants, who are behind on their rent and utility payments, from the months of April 1, 2020, through March 31, 2022.

These rental assistance programs have helped prevent unnecessary housing displacements and ensure our most vulnerable residents have remained protected throughout the pandemic. Tenants who apply for rental assistance may be entitled to special eviction protections under State law, and program funds provide landlords
100 percent of the tenant’s rent obligation for approved months of rental assistance.”

Los Angeles County landlords, who are experiencing pandemic-related hardships or have fallen behind on their housing payments, may be eligible for the Los Angeles County Mortgage Relief Program. The program will provide grants of up to $30,000 for qualified landlords, plus expanded foreclosure prevention counseling services, and benefits single-family landlords with four or fewer units living in communities highly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Landlords can apply for the Los Angeles County Mortgage Relief Program by calling (888) 895-2647 or visiting https://nhslacounty.org/programs-and-services/mortgagereliefprogram.

Additionally, the Department of Consumer and Business Affairs’ Foreclosure Prevention Unit counselors are available to help landlords with 15 or fewer units avoid foreclosure and facilitate communication with lenders. Landlords may contact (800) 593-8222 or visit
https://dcba.lacounty.gov/foreclosure-prevention to learn more about eligibility or other foreclosure avoidance options.

Los Angeles County Treasurer and Tax Collector Reminds Property Owners of Upcoming Second Installment Delinquency Date

KEITH KNOX, Los Angeles County Treasurer and Tax Collector, reminds property owners that the second installment of the 2021-22 Annual Secured Property Taxes becomes delinquent if not received by 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time or United States Postal Service (USPS) postmarked on or before Monday, April 11, 2022. This is one day later than the traditional delinquency date of April 10, as this date falls on a Sunday in 2022. “To avoid late penalties, property owners should not wait until the last day to make payment; please pay early” says Treasurer and Tax Collector Knox.

Mr. Knox advised, “Property owners may find it difficult to reach us on the telephone. They may obtain answers to the great majority of their questions, including how to request a copy of a property tax bill, obtain the amount due on any property, or find the tax payment history for the past three fiscal tax years on the Los Angeles County Property Tax Portal at propertytax.lacounty.gov. Property owners may also call the toll-free Property Tax Information Line at 1(888) 807-2111, where automated information is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.”

PAYMENT OPTIONS

PARTIAL PAYMENTS – We recommend you pay the total amount due. However, if you are unable to do so, we accept partial payments, which reduce the amount of penalties imposed.

PAY ONLINE – To make payments online, go to propertytax.lacounty.gov and select
“Pay Property Taxes Online.” You can make online payments 24 hours a day, 7 days a week up until 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time on the delinquency date.

There is no cost to you for electronic check (eCheck) payments. The Annual Secured
Property Tax Bill contains your Assessor’s Identification Number (AIN) and Personal
Identification Number (PIN), which you will need to complete the transaction. Each eCheck transaction is limited to $999,999.99.

You may view a step-by-step video on how to make an eCheck payment at ttc.lacounty.gov/pay-secured-property-taxes-online. The video is available in multiple languages.

When paying by eCheck, your bank account must be Automated Clearing House (ACH)-enabled, meaning the transaction can settle through the ACH Network. If your bank account has a debit block to prevent unauthorized organizations from debiting your account via ACH, you must notify your bank to authorize ACH debits from Los Angeles

County with a debit filter with the Company Identification Number of 0 0 0 0 0 7 9 1 6 1. Los Angeles County updated its Company Identification Number in September 2018, so you must update this Company Identification Number if you previously had a debit filter on your bank account.

You may also pay online by using major credit cards or debit cards. Each online credit/debit card transaction is limited to $99,999.99, including a cost, currently 2.22 percent of the transaction amount.

PAY BY CREDIT OR DEBIT CARD OVER THE TELEPHONE – We accept major credit
card and debit card payments over the telephone. To pay by telephone, call toll-free
1(888) 473-0835. The Annual Secured Property Tax Bill contains your Assessor’s
Identification Number (AIN), Year, and Sequence, which you will need to complete the
transaction. Each credit/debit card transaction is limited to $99,999.99, including a cost,
currently 2.22 percent of the transaction amount.

BY MAIL – Please use the envelope enclosed in your Annual Secured Property Tax Bill and include the second installment payment stub from the tax bill. Do not attach staples, clips, tape, or correspondence. You must mail property tax payments to the Los Angeles County Treasurer and Tax Collector, Post Office Box 54018, Los Angeles, CA 90054-0018. Do not mail your payments to any other address. Property tax payments must be received or USPS postmarked by the delinquency date to avoid penalties. If we receive your payment after the delinquency date, with no postmark, the payment is late and we will impose penalties, in accordance with State law. We caution taxpayers who send their payments by mail that the USPS only postmarks certain mail depending on the type of postage used and may not postmark mail on the same day taxpayers deposit envelopes. To assist taxpayers in understanding how to avoid penalties that could result from postmark issues, we have compiled important information on how to “Avoid Penalties by Understanding Postmarks.”
Visit our website at ttc.lacounty.gov/avoid-penalties-by-understanding-postmarks.
You may use an Internal Revenue Service designated delivery service (DHL Express, FedEx, or UPS) to mail your payment, properly addressed with the required fee prepaid, delivery of which shall not be later than 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time on the next business day after the effective delinquency date (Monday, April 11, 2022). Mail payments to Los Angeles County Tax Collector, Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration, 225 North Hill Street, Room 137, Los Angeles, CA 90012. Do not mail your payments to any other address. The remittance shall be deemed received on the date shown on the packing slip or air bill attached to the outside of the envelope or package containing the remittance.

PAY IN PERSON – We accept cash, check, money order, cashier’s check, and major credit cards and debit cards at 225 North Hill Street, First Floor Lobby, Los Angeles, CA 90012, between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time, Monday through Friday, excluding Los Angeles County holidays. Each credit/debit card transaction is limited to $75,000.00, including a cost, currently 2.22 percent of the transaction amount.

ONLINE BANKING OR BILL PAYMENT SERVICES – We DO NOT recommend using
these services to pay property taxes. The USPS does not postmark the envelopes
these firms use to mail us the payment. In the absence of a postmark, we determine
penalties based exclusively on the date we receive payment. For more information on
how to “Avoid Penalties by Understanding Postmarks,” visit our website at
ttc.lacounty.gov/avoid-penalties-by-understanding-postmarks.

EMAIL NOTIFICATION SERVICE
Property owners can subscribe to receive property tax related emails from the Treasurer and Tax Collector regarding special notices and upcoming events, such as annual property tax deadline reminders, office location updates and other news. To subscribe, taxpayers may go to Email Notification Service at ttc.lacounty.gov/eNotify.