This week in affordable housing news…:

State update:

• In a major story this week, CalMatters asks the big question hanging over this legislative session: Are union labor requirements in the way of easing California’s affordable housing crisis? With the state facing a widespread construction labor shortage and a daunting shortfall of at least 1.2 million affordable homes, the story details how the Legislature has nonetheless sidelined a wide range of bills aiming to accelerate housing production—and only allowed legislation to move forward if it includes onerous new hiring requirements. The piece notes the many flaws in this approach, from the lack of workers meeting these new requirements in rural and inland areas to the high pay of thousands of workers already building affordable housing. CHC’s Ray Pearl is quoted in the piece, explaining affordable housing advocates’ opposition to these new rules—and the dire impact they could have on affordable development.

• Bloomberg CityLab published a story on the same subject, outlining the potential consequences of a wholesale adoption of new hiring requirements on all affordable housing projects: “Given a shortage of union construction workers,” the story notes, “the mandate could not only increase costs; it could also make affordable housing impossible to build in less populated areas that may not be able to draw enough union workers.” As Larry Florin of Burbank Housing puts it: “There’s just not enough construction workers to fill the need out there. And so why now, when there’s a housing crisis, would you attempt to impose a program that has a potential implication for causing major disruption in the production of housing?”

• As CHC looks for ways to continue expanding access to affordable housing, a new Terner Center report released today showcases how one of our members, Eden Housing, has been supporting thousands of its residents during the pandemic—raising money for rent relief, providing much-needed broadband services, and delivering food to the neediest households. “Eden’s mission-driven orientation may have contributed to the better-than-anticipated trends the organization has experienced during the pandemic,” the study concludes, noting Eden’s policies, paired with state and federal relief funds, allowed 95% of tenants to continue paying rent throughout the pandemic. While COVID remains a threat and many residents are still wrestling with financial insecurity, the study is a sterling example of how safety net programs and committed service providers can support vulnerable groups during even the most trying times.

ICYMI – Top news stories:

Is California still facing an eviction tsunami when the moratorium ends?
CalMatters
California’s eviction moratorium is coming to an end June 30. Since the earliest days of the pandemic, housing analysts have worried about a tsunami of evictions whenever the state lifts protections for renters. Will there be an eviction tsunami when the moratorium ends? Or a smaller wave? CalMatters asked Carolina Reid, associate professor of city and regional planning at the University of California, Berkeley.

Millions fear eviction as housing crisis worsens
Associated Press
More than 4 million people say they fear being evicted or foreclosed upon in the coming months just as two studies released Wednesday have found that the nation’s housing availability and affordability crisis is expected to worsen significantly following the pandemic. The studies come as a federal eviction moratorium is set to expire at the end of the month. The moratorium has kept many tenants owing back rent housed. Making matters worse, tens of billions of dollars in federal emergency rental assistance — intended to solve the problem — have not reached most tenants. The housing crisis, the studies found, risks widening the gap between Black and Latino households and white households, as well as putting homeownership out of the reach of lower-income Americans.

City of L.A. asks court to toss out lawsuit seeking skid row clearance
Los Angeles Times
The city of Los Angeles filed a motion on Wednesday seeking dismissal of what it called a “misguided” lawsuit that attempts to compel local government to provide shelter to thousands of homeless people living on downtown sidewalks and next to freeways. Lawyers for the city argue that while homelessness is “among the greatest challenges facing our region,” efforts to address it through the lawsuit filed in federal court last year against the city and county are misplaced. A hearing is scheduled for Aug. 9 in Los Angeles federal court to discuss the city’s dismissal motion.