City Council Approves Mayors Funding Plan to Provide Tenant Protections, Build Affordable Housing

LOS ANGELES —  The Los Angeles City Council Aug. 30 unanimously approved Mayor Karen Bass’ proposed funding plan to use Measure ULA dollars to fund tenant protection programs including rental assistance and new construction of more affordable housing. This approval comes at a critical time when tenants across Los Angeles are facing eviction. 

With this approval, the Los Angeles Housing Department is planning to launch the short-term emergency assistance program to prevent as many potential evictions as possible in mid-September. Tenant outreach and education will also be funded by Measure ULA to help ensure that tenants are aware of upcoming deadlines for back rent to be repaid and their rights. This funding plan will also support the eviction defense/prevention program to provide eligible at-risk households with legal support.

The Measure ULA expenditure plan includes:

• $18,400,000 for a short-term emergency assistance program that will allow eligible low-income tenant households to apply for up to six months owed back rent due to a one time economic hardship. Priority eligibility shall be established for lower-income households.

• $23,000,000 for the eviction defense/prevention program, to continue and expand the stay housed LA or SHLA program, a partnership with the county, legal service providers and community organizations, that provides tenant households at risk of eviction, with legal support, “know your rights” education, and in limited cases, rental assistance through settlements with their landlords.
• $5,520,000 for a tenant outreach and education program and campaign to provide broad and targeted tenant education outreach services, including workshops, legal clinics, paid and earned media, and targeted social media.

• $11,219,694 for a protections from tenant harassment program. Funds will be allocated for infrastructure, technology, and community outreach, to educate tenants, as well as landlords, about their rights and obligations, and to enforce protections against tenant harassment. The city adopted the tenant anti-harassment ordinance or TAHO (effective Aug. 6, 2021) to protect tenants from harassment by landlords.
• $23,000,000 to provide rental subsidies and move-in assistance to low income seniors and people with disabilities, who are experiencing or at imminent risk of homelessness.
• $56,860,306 for multifamily affordable housing development to increase affordable housing units in the city with an initiative called “Accelerator Plus.” The program will fund “shovel-ready” affordable housing projects that are ready to quickly start or complete construction with an additional loan of no more than $12 million to close a financing gap.