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A New Moment for Housing in LA

New Affordable Housing Initiatives in Los Angeles

In 2022, two major housing initiatives, Measure ULA and LACAHSA, were voted into law.  These initiatives are poised to change LA’s housing ecosystem in very significant ways by dramatically increasing the funding available for affordable housing and aligning housing development strategies across the entire Los Angeles County region.

Both of these changes were born out of housing justice movements and have been embraced by Los Angeles City and County leaders who are working hard to address the affordable housing shortage.

[36] LA County Board of Supervisors motion introduced by Supervisors Hilda Solis and Sheila Kuehl, March 1, 2022

[37] Iton,Ross,Tamber. Building Community Power To Dismantle Policy-Based Structural Inequity In Population Health. 10.1377/ hlthaff.2022.00540 HEALTH AFFAIRS 41, NO. 12 (2022): 1763–1771

[38] https://ncrc.org/holc-health/

In November 2022, the City of Los Angeles voters passed “Measure ULA,” a transfer tax on residential properties that sell for more than $5 million. This tax is estimated to generate between $670 million to $1 billion annually in new revenue for affordable housing which is a 500% increase over prior funding levels for affordable housing in Los Angeles. It is the first time Los Angeles voters have supported a permanent source of local funding for affordable housing. 

The United to House LA Coalition

In 2019, community-based organizations, labor unions, tenant rights leaders, affordable housing providers, and advocacy groups recognized that in order to truly end homelessness and make housing for all Angelenos possible, large revenue sources funding transformative housing programs would be necessary. The United to House LA (UHLA) coalition was established in 2021 to draft and file the citizens’ initiative and lead the campaign for its passage.
After a robust campaign led by the UHLA coalition, voters in the City of Los Angeles passed Measure ULA in November 2022 with over 58% of the vote, despite millions of dollars spent to oppose the measure. UHLA represents an unprecedented multi-sector housing and good jobs coalition that is now active in the implementation of ULA. 
United to House LA

Measure ULA Overview

Measure ULA began tax collection on April 1, 2023 and is estimated to raise between $670 million to $1 billion annually for eleven programs outlined in the measure. Seventy percent of the revenue goes towards affordable and social housing production; acquisition and rehabilitation of at-risk housing to ensure permanent affordability; and homeownership and cooperative ownership programs. Thirty percent of funds are devoted to homelessness prevention programs, including protections from tenant harassment, eviction defense, rental assistance, income support for low-income seniors and people with disabilities, and tenant rights outreach and education. A core component written into Measure ULA was the establishment of a Citizens Oversight Committee (COC) that creates guidelines and approves expenditure plans for the ULA programs. Additionally, a Tenant Council will be created, and an Inspector General hired to support the COC’s successful implementation of ULA.

The LA County Affordable Housing Solutions Agency (LACAHSA) is a regional housing agency that will align the housing goals for the Los Angeles County region’s 88 cities. LACAHSA started in April 2023 and held its first meeting on May 17, 2023. LACAHSA combines an important mix of powers and authorities under a single public agency to address the housing challenges faced by the 10 million residents in LA County. The independent agency can generate new revenue through new tax measures, aggregate state and federal dollars to facilitate a coordinated regional strategy; fund programs to protect tenants and preserve and produce affordable housing; and track data to inform its strategies.

Our Future LA Coalition

LACAHSA originated out of a coalition of organizations convened around housing justice. The Our Future LA (OFLA) coalition was formed in 2020 to focus on expanding production, preservation, and protection infrastructure in LA County. Comprising dozens of community organizations, affordable housing developers, and homeless services providers, OFLA immediately partnered with California Senator Sydney Kamlager to introduce its first major initiative, SB 697, that would establish the regional agency. After a two-year legislative cycle, the LACAHSA bill was passed by the legislature and signed by Governor Newsom in the fall of 2022. 

LACAHSA Overview

The 19-person LACAHSA board includes representatives from across LA County, including all 88-cities, the County, and City of LA, and tenant rights and affordable housing experts. LA County Supervisor Holly Mitchell serves as the inaugural Board Chair, City of Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson is the Board Vice Chair, and Miguel Santana, representing the City of Los Angeles, is the Second Vice Chair. In its first year of implementation, the Board is hiring its first CEO and discussing programmatic priorities. At the same time, committed leaders and OFLA are actively planning LACAHSA’s first revenue measure that will be placed on the November 2024 ballot. 
 

In Vienna at the beginning of the 20th Century, several social movements came together to push for social housing: A coalition of industrial workers seeking livable wages and better working conditions; war widows lacking property rights; Jews fleeing violent religious persecution; refugees displaced by war and famine; and houseless wild settlers living in makeshift shelters on vacant land, advocated for solutions to their dire circumstances. 

Like Vienna in 1918, LA’s new moment of housing was brought about by a vast housing justice movement active across the City and County. For decades, grassroots organizing by community- based organizations, affordable housing providers, labor unions, tenant unions, legal aid providers and people experiencing extreme housing burdens and houselessness, has shaped protections for tenants and the unhoused and led campaigns to increase funding for the creation of affordable housing. This long history of collaborative movement building and systems change work led to the formation of several powerful coalitions and networks. 

The UHLA coalition authored and led the campaign for Measure ULA. The OFLA coalition spearheaded the campaign to establish LACAHSA. An acceleration of tenant organizing in the region has been sparked by the formation of the LA Tenants’ Union (LATU) and local chapters. The Right to Counsel coalition, the Rent Control Solidarity Group, and the Keep LA Housed coalition have advanced groundbreaking tenant protections, including many essential interventions during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Alliance for Community Transit (ACT-LA) has been at the forefront of major affordable housing and, now, social housing campaigns. The LA Community Land Trust Coalition has generated a powerful movement for community control of land and housing led by BIPOC communities and now has five active CLTs throughout the region. CLTs have also ushered forward the opportunity to expand and deepen tenant governance efforts, including the planning of an LA Housing Training Hub.

Los Angeles Housing Movement Lab

In recognition of the need to support and expand the housing justice movement, a broad spectrum of groups formed the LA Housing Movement Lab in 2019. The Movement Lab complements and supports the many coalitions and campaigns by providing resources and strategic planning spaces devoted to developing a long-term strategy. The core goal of the Housing Movement Lab is to de-commodify a significant percentage of housing in Los Angeles and to ensure that residents have a meaningful role in the management of properties. Learning from and building on best practices in social housing around the world is an important part of the work of the Housing Movement Lab. 

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