New Report Reveals How Moving Patterns Contribute to Segregation

Residential segregation reproduces racial and economic inequality by creating separate and unequal neighborhood environments. The depth and intractable nature of this longstanding problem has inspired renewed efforts in California to reform state and local policies, such as by making changes to affordable housing funding programs and local land use rules.  A new analysis from the California Housing Partnership and colleagues Read More


Where Can You Afford to Rent in 2025?

The California Housing Partnership (Partnership) regularly publishes the “Who Can Afford to Rent” policy brief to give a snapshot of affordability in California and provide recommendations to policymakers on how to best address the pressing housing needs of the state’s lowest income renters. This year, for the first time, we also published the “Where Can You Afford to Rent in Read More


Tiyesha Watts Succeeds Mark Stivers as Lead Policy Advocate

I am pleased to announce that Tiyesha Watts has joined the California Housing Partnership as our new Associate Director of Policy Advocacy. Tiyesha previously directed government relations strategy for the 11,000-member California Academy of Family Physicians and worked as a legislative aide to former Senator Dr. Richard Pan. Tiyesha holds a bachelor’s in political science from UC Davis and a Read More


Here’s How the State of California Can Save $463 Million Annually

The California Housing Partnership and the nonprofit and local government housing agencies we work with are among the biggest users of the state’s affordable housing finance programs and know all too well the delays, costs, and inefficiencies of the current fractured system. New research by the Partnership has now put a price tag to those inefficiencies. Using a comprehensive multiple Read More


How Wildfires Threaten California’s Affordable Housing

In early January, multiple wildfires erupted across Los Angeles County causing devastating losses. More than 50,000 acres of land have burned, thousands of homes and businesses have been damaged or completely destroyed, and at least 29 people have lost their lives to these fires, with more than 180,000 people forced to evacuate.  As communities continue on the long path towards Read More


The Road to Decarbonizing Affordable Housing and the Importance of Utility Allowances and Electricity Rates

A little known schedule of estimated utility costs paid by renters and published by public housing authorities (PHAs) is threatening California’s progress in decarbonizing affordable rental housing, a goal that is important not only because of its climate benefits but also because of the need to lower renter utility costs. Utility allowances, or UAs as we call them, are supposed Read More


Why Proposition 5 is Important for Californians

Proposition 5 on California’s November 2024 statewide ballot would set the voter threshold to approve local general obligation (GO) bonds for public infrastructure and affordable housing investments at 55%, provided those bonds include strong accountability and transparency requirements.  The same was done for school bonds when voters approved Proposition 39 in 2000. The California Housing Partnership cares about this measure Read More


Proposition 36 Impacts on Homelessness

Proponents of California Proposition 36, which would undo many of the reforms brought by voter approval of Proposition 47 in 2014, are claiming that voter approval of this new measure would reduce homelessness in our state. As a Sociologist with the California Housing Partnership, I can tell you these claims are patently false. Here’s why:  What Did Proposition 47 Do Read More


Governor Signs/Vetoes Key Affordable Housing Bills

Photo collage: Gov Newsom signing bills, Gov Newsom alongside Partnership CEO Matt Schwartz

While state leaders ultimately decided not to approve any new long-term funding for affordable housing production this year beyond the narrowly-focused resources included in Proposition 1 approved by voters in March, they did pass more than a dozen laws that should be helpful to affordable housing providers and low-income renters to varying degrees in the coming years. The California Housing Read More