INITIATIVE OVERVIEW: KEY DETAILS
This citizen’s led measure was written by LA’s not-for-profit homelessness and housing experts — not politicians — because we know what it takes to actually get tens of thousands of people off the streets and help hundreds of thousands of people keep their homes. As proposed, the measure would create the Los Angeles Program to Prevent Homelessness and Fund Affordable Housing, which funds a robust set of housing policies that the City of Los Angeles has consistently underfunded—thereby contributing to our homelessness crisis.
A key focus of the measure is on people experiencing homelessness and those who are most at risk of homelessness, which includes those who are acutely vulnerable with incomes less than 15% of median income and extremely low income people (not more than 30% of median income). The measure has the following core components:
1. Protection of existing affordable housing
2. Creation of new affordable housing
3. Supportive services for low income renters
Together we can prevent and reduce homelessness, build housing to keep LA affordable, help at-risk renters stay in their homes, and create jobs.
WHAT AM I VOTING FOR?
Coalition members of the United to House LA campaign urge voters to support this measure to generate about $875 million annually through an increase in the local real estate transfer assessment. So what does that mean? The measure would impose a new two-tier assessment on the sale of high value property in LA City. When we say high value, we mean high value, i.e. properties selling for over 5 million dollars; we're asking millionaires and billionaires to contribute their fair share. For example, based on March 2019-March 2020 property sales, 97% of property sales would not have been subjected to this one-time fee. While everyone would benefit from the new assessment, relatively few pay it.
Similar to progressive documentary transfer taxes in Culver City and many Bay Area cities, the measure will impose a new two-tier fee on the sale of high value property in the City of Los Angeles as follows:
-
The full value of the transfer of property from $5,000,001 to $10,000,000 will be taxed a
single time at 4%. -
The full value of the transfer of property of more than $10,000,001 will be taxed a single time at 5.5%.
The measure would generate $8 billion over 10 years, which is the largest long-term housing funding ever considered in the City of Los Angeles. If passed in November 2022, the funding from this ballot initiative will provide consistent financial support to build non-market-rate affordable housing and assist housing and homelessness organizations in the city of Los Angeles to operate their renter stability programs to keep more families in their homes and off the streets.
WHO WROTE THE MEASURE?
Organizations that led in writing the measure include:
The Alliance for Community Transit - Los Angeles / Southern California Association for Nonprofit Housing / MOVE LA / Strategic Actions for a Just Economy / LA-OC Building Trades Council