Policy News :: Member Update for March 19, 2021

This week in affordable housing news…:

State update:

  • Applications opened this week for the first $2.6 billion of federal renter relief funds passed in December as part of the COVID stimulus bill. The San Jose Mercury News has a helpful summary of the program, which is open to both tenants and landlords impacted by the pandemic—allowing qualified applicants to receive 80% of unpaid rent from April 1, 2020 to March 31, 2021. HCD has created a website with information about eligibility and applications. The $1.9 trillion COVID relief bill passed in March is expected to bring an additional $2.2 billion in renter assistance funding to California.
  • A new report from the National Low Income Housing Coalition finds a national shortage of seven million affordable homes for extremely low-income renters across the country—and an ongoing shortage of California of at least 1.3 million homes affordable to households at or below 50% of area median income. No state has an adequate supply of affordable housing for all of its residents, NLIHC found. “The crisis created by COVID-19 has made it clearer than ever that stable, affordable housing for all is an imperative for public health, individual well-being, and our country,” said NLIHC President and CEO Diane Yentel.
  • California’s homeless population climbed 24.3% between 2018 and 2020, according to a report released this week by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. HUD’s annual point-in-time report estimates that more than 161,000 people in the state were homeless in January 2020—before the pandemic and economic issues swept the state. That number was up 7% from the year before. According tothe report, California accounted for more than half of all unsheltered people in the country—and also had the highest share (70%) of homeless residents who are “unsheltered,” meaning they live on sidewalks or tent encampments, as opposed to emergency shelters or in transitional housing.

Federal update:

  • Fudge also highlighted the need to expand use of housing vouchers and increase affordable housing supplies, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer. “We know that we have the tools,” said Fudge. “I think it was just a matter of making sure that we have the will to use them. We now have the will.” The Affordable Housing Tax Credit Coalition’s summary of the affordable housing provisions in the COVID relief bill can be found here.

ICYMI – Top news stories:

COVID rent relief program opens. Here’s how it works.
San Jose Mercury News
After months of lingering unemployment and missed rent payments, federal relief is on the way for struggling landlords and tenants. A complex hybrid of state and local programs designed to distribute $2.6 billion in federal aid will begin accepting applications Monday. The program is kicking into gear as fallout from government-mandated business closings continues to hit the state, with low-income workers suffering the heaviest job losses. Even with eviction moratoriums extended during the coronavirus pandemic, back rent will need to be paid. Assemblymember David Chiu, D-San Francisco, said state and local officials will have to be especially vigilant in providing clear information about their programs to ensure reaching the most needy. “We’re excited this day has come,” Chiu said. “We’re hopeful that the monies will go out quickly and efficiently.”

Is government-run ‘social housing’ the solution to the Bay Area’s affordability crisis?
San Francisco Chronicle
Public Housing 2.0 could be coming to California. For decades cities across the United States have been moving away from public housing, tearing down or privatizing federally-owned developments that are often isolated, mismanaged and deteriorating from lack of investment. Now there is a growing movement to get the government back into the housing development game. Except this time the model is called “social housing,” and advocates say it has more in common with European or Asian models than the checkered legacy of U.S. public housing.

Together, the Coachella Valley is ready to solve our affordable housing challenge
CalMatters – Oped: Assemblymembers Eduardo Garcia and Chad Mayes
An affordable housing crisis has long afflicted the Coachella Valley. Even before the pandemic devastated our local economy, more than a third of renters spent more than half their income keeping a roof over their heads. Top-down approaches cannot always provide the results our regions require. While California has taken steps to meet urgent housing needs, more direct actions are needed. Convened by Lift to Rise and in partnership with Riverside County’s Housing Authority and all nine Coachella Valley cities, a group of 50-plus stakeholders united to do just that. Together, this Housing Stability Collaborative Action Network has put forward a bold vision of producing 10,000 affordable housing units over the next 10 years. 

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