A new pilot program for would-be Long Beach renters is designed to cover the bills that often come before the first rent payment is due.

California landlords are allowed to charge fees of about $49 to cover the costs of credit checks for prospective tenants, according to people backing the pilot program. If a family seeking a new home has several adult members, or applies for several apartments before making a deal, the application fees alone can add up.

“When they apply again, they have to come up with the fees all over again, and that can be a heavy burden for folks that don’t have much in the first place,” Long Beach Community Action Partnership Executive Director Darick Simpson said.

The Long Beach Community Action Partnership, part of a national network of nonprofit social service providers, has taken on the task of managing the new Rental Application Assistance Program. A tenants advocacy group called Long Beach Residents Empowered, or LiBRE, is in charge of referring eligible applicants.

The program goes into effect Friday, June 1 and is open to people applying to rent inside the city of Long Beach, said Marisa Semense, chief operating officer of LBCAP. Eligibility is determined by Department of Housing and Urban Development income limits.

In Los Angeles County, a family of four with a household income of $77,500 can be considered low income and thus eligible for the program.

LiBRE will provide application materials in English, Spanish and Khmer, LiBRE program director Jorge Rivera said. He said the assistance will cover the full costs of application fees. He expects demand for the assistance to be high.

“We’re going to help out as many people as we can until we run out of funding,” he said.

Other key supporters are Councilwoman Jeannine Pearce, whose office announced the program, local lobbyist Mike Murchison, and former councilman Gary DeLong. A private foundation, of which Murchison is a trustee, and DeLong contributed $25,000 and $1,000, respectively, in seed money. Pearce’s office said she will attempt to secure more financing.

DeLong, chairman of the Long Beach Community Foundation, said in an email the nonprofit’s “grants committee could certainly take a look at this one” for consideration of additional funding.

The pilot program followed a meeting that took place about a year ago that included DeLong, Murchison and LiBRE, Pearce said. City Hall officials had also considered other ideas to aid prospective renters, such as keeping applicants’ credit checks on file, but Pearce said that proposal ran into legal concerns.

Another tenants’ advocacy group that’s not participating in this program, Housing Long Beach, has about two months to left to go in its effort to gather signatures for a ballot measure that would enact rent control in Long Beach. The rent application pilot program is one area where people with differing views on the broader rent control debate have found some common ground.

Murchison, who was not available for detailed comment, has worked with landlords who are opposed to rent control, saying the measure would have the unintended consequence of reducing the availability of rental housing in Long Beach.

On the other hand, Pearce said she is supportive of rent control in concept, and signed Housing Long Beach’s petition despite her reservations over adopting a complicated law at the ballot box. She suggested Long Beach instead institute a rent freeze while the issue can be put up for debate, with any final decision being made by the city council.

LiBRE’s Rivera also said he generally supports rent control, but thought 2020 would be a better year for a campaign. LiBRE is not part of Housing Long Beach’s petition drive.

“We gave them the thumbs up and good luck,” Rivera said.

Housing Long Beach has until July 30 to gather enough signatures to qualify for their rent control petition for the November ballot. Proponents need to gather more than 27,000 signatures. Community organizer Jordan Wynne said the group has already distributed forms for 30,000 signatures and has ordered additional forms with the intention of gathering as many as 40,000 signatures to ensure their measure qualifies for a public vote.

As for the new program, Housing Long Beach Executive Director Josh Butler called it a noble effort before going on to say he thinks rent control would prevent renters from having to find new places to live after steep rent hikes.

“It’s addressing the symptoms, and we’re looking for a cure to the cause,” he said.

More information on the Rental Application Assistance Program can be found by calling 562-444-5147 or wearelbre.org/raap.html.