Category: Policy

Who Can Afford to Rent in California’s Many Regions in 2021?

As California’s housing crisis has deepened in recent years, more and more families have been affected, leading some state and local leaders to consider investing scarce resources to help the households earning at (or even above) the area median income (AMI). But what does the data show concerning the ability of moderate-income households to afford market rents in different parts Read More


New Research: Rents Increase For Low-Income Californians During COVID-19 Pandemic

The prevailing narrative across much of California during the pandemic has been that rents have fallen dramatically in the state’s most populated urban centers, as residents fled in search of more space, causing rents in suburban and ex-urban areas to increase in turn. New research from the California Housing Partnership, as described in this policy brief, challenges the ubiquity of Read More


Housing Experts Caution Local Governments on JPA Proposals to Convert Luxury Apartments to Government-Owned Middle-Income Housing

The California Housing Partnership joins CSG Advisors and HR&A Advisors, Inc. in highlighting the urgent need for local governments to carefully weigh the potential pitfalls and opportunity costs associated with using property tax exemptions to finance the conversion of luxury apartments into government-owned middle-income housing in California. Joint powers authorities (“JPAs”) acting on behalf of profit-seeking private investors have been asking many local governments across the Read More


New Program Provides Energy Burden Relief for Tenants in LA

This blog was co-authored by Agustin Cabrera (LAANE), Blanca De La Cruz (California Housing Partnership), Michele Hasson (NRDC), Kate Heller (EEFA), and Braxton Bridgers (AEA). The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) Board voted to approve implementation of the Comprehensive Affordable Multifamily Retrofit Program (CAMR) recently. The largest municipal utility in the country has worked with advocates to Read More


Where Are California’s Affordable Homes and How Do They Benefit Local Communities?

The California Housing Partnership is pleased to announce the launch of the next phase of our Affordable Housing Map & Benefits Calculator! The newly expanded data tool serves as a comprehensive inventory of California’s state- and federally-subsidized affordable housing and now includes a forward-looking Benefits Calculator that enables policymakers, planners, affordable housing providers and advocates to estimate the social, economic, Read More


Leading housing advocates call for Build Back Better investment in affordable housing

For Immediate Release: Friday, October 8, 2021 Contact: Adam Bink | abink@spitfirestrategies.com | 716-725-4569 (cell) Leading housing advocates call for Build Back Better investment in affordable housing As Congress and the White House continue to negotiate infrastructure package, advocates note once-in-a-lifetime investment opportunity Sacramento, CA – Amid surging rent prices and a startling increase in the number of Californians experiencing homelessness, Housing California, Read More


Affordable Housing Decarbonization Summit 2021

The California Housing Partnership is pleased to announce that we will hold our second annual Affordable Housing Decarbonization Summit on October 12-14, 2021!   Scheduled on three consecutive mornings, the summit will discuss the practical challenges and public policy implications of electrifying new and existing affordable housing buildings. The first session each morning will be open to the general public. Read More


Los Angeles County Makes Progress in Addressing Affordable Housing Needs

The California Housing Partnership is pleased to announce the release of Los Angeles County’s 2021 Affordable Housing Outcomes Report. Significantly, the report finds that Los Angeles County’s investments (including almost $600,000,000 in NOFA awards since 2014) and policies over the past five years have led to a gradually expanding inventory of affordable homes and rental assistance programs in Los Angeles County Read More


Statement on Gov. Newsom’s Enactment of the 2021/22 State Budget

The California Housing Partnership applauds the historic investment of state resources to help address the dire housing needs of California’s low-income families, including those experiencing homelessness. The enacted state budget for the 2021/2022 fiscal year includes more than $5 billion to increase and preserve the supply of affordable homes as well as critical additional funding to house and provide services to persons Read More


56 of California’s 58 Counties Lacked Enough Affordable Homes Even Before the Pandemic

RELEASE: New 2021 Affordable Housing Needs Reports from the California Housing Partnership Every spring, the Partnership publishes Housing Needs Reports assessing the failure of California’s housing markets to meet the needs of low-income families. Highlights from this year’s reports include:   Even before the pandemic, low-income renter households lacked access to an affordable home in 56 of California’s 58 counties. In every one of California’s 58 Read More