Housing Los Angeles

Housing LA (HLA)

From 1994 through 1999, the LA Working Group led SCANPH’s LA City Policy agenda. In 1999 the LAWG folded into the Housing LA campaign. The campaign succeeded in winning the Trust Fund in 2001, but the struggle continues…so the LA Working Group reconvened as the Housing LA Working Group in early 2003.

Why Join Housing LA?

Housing LA, the broad coalition that fought for and won Los Angeles’ Housing Trust Fund, is now working to significantly increase the supply of safe, decent homes that people can afford. Our current housing crisis is tearing at the social and economic fabric of many Los Angeles neighborhoods. For many people - school teachers, health care workers, bus drivers, security officers, and many middle class professionals - our city’s sky high rents and home prices are out of reach. To make ends meet, many employees live hours away from where they work. In the midst of great wealth, 48,000 homeless men, women and children sleep on the streets each night.

The housing market is broken. Most developers are only building expensive new apartments and houses. Some owners are also evicting poor and middle-class renters to convert their apartments to high-priced condominiums. The gap between the rich and the working poor - those who can afford housing and those who cannot - continues to widen. Hardworking people should be able to afford housing and still have enough money for groceries and other basic necessities. Creating more affordable housing that people can afford is necessary if we are to restore the middle class in Los Angeles.

It’s time for our City Council to approve a comprehensive plan that gives everyone from all walks of life more housing choices: the choice of a home that meets your budget, the choice to stay in your neighborhood, the choice to live near your work, the choice to get off the street. With strong leadership, we can build many more homes that people can afford, as well as protect the ones we have.

In November 2006, we sent a clear message that we want the Mayor and Council Members to address the city’s housing crisis. In 13 out of 15 council districts, strong majorities voted for new housing bonds, state Proposition 1C and local Proposition H. We know reliable and practical ways to increase housing choices do exist - if only the Mayor and City Council will take action.

Housing LA's 3-Point Plan

1. Dedicate Funding for the Housing Trust Fund We need to take the next steps to ensure the continued building of homes people can afford. To do this, the Housing Trust Fund must be taken out of the annual budget wrangling by dedicating permanent sources of local funds. Each dollar spent from the Housing Trust Fund will bring about $4 in other public and private moneys into the City. These funds will also create good construction jobs within the City.

2. Build Mixed Income Housing More than 170 cities and counties in California have programs that create mixed-income homes – including San Francisco, San Diego, Pasadena, and Santa Monica. It’s time for Los Angeles to adopt this strategy. Housing LA supports a balanced mixed-income housing program where developers get some incentives to build moderate and low income homes and we preserve our single family neighborhoods. In-lieu fees from the ordinance would go the Housing Trust Fund.

3. Preserve What We Have We are losing homes people can afford faster than we can build them. We need to protect residential hotels and apartments from both demolition and conversion to condominiums. Housing LA also supports strong enforcement of rent-control laws to ensure that people who live in rent-controlled apartments are not illegally forced out.