LOS ANGELES — A Los Angeles City committee Thursday approved permanent program guidelines for homeless prevention and affordable housing under Measure ULA, a real-estate transfer tax.

The United to House LA Citizen Oversight Committee unanimously voted in favor of the permanent guidelines, which will now be forwarded to City Council and Mayor Karen Bass for further consideration.

"Los Angeles' housing crisis hurts all of us, and it requires us to work harder and look farther ahead than we have so far," Laura Raymond, a member of the committee, said in a statement. "Experts say that the commodification of housing drives homelessness in Los Angeles, and the ULA blueprint is an alternative to that, built on proven approaches, and ready to put into practice today."

In November 2022, LA voters passed Measure ULA, also known colloquially as the "mansion tax," which placed a 4% tax on all properties that sell for more than $5 million and a 5.5% charge on sales above $10 million. It took effect on April 1, 2023, and generated revenue totaling $340 million, according to the LA Housing Department.

Funding from the tax supports various housing programs. Members finalized permanent guidelines with the goal of making them general enough or "evergreen" so they do not have to be updated constantly while also providing directives that achieve certain objectives, according to Cecilia Estolano, an executive assistant to the committee.

Committee members approved the guidelines, which have been discussed since the measure passed, for the following programs:

• Income support for rent-burdened at-risk seniors and persons with disabilities;
• Short-term emergency assistance;
• Homeowner opportunities;
• Capacity-building;
• Operating assistance;
• Multifamily affordable housing;
• Acquisition and rehabilitation of affordable housing; and
• Alternative models for permanent affordable housing.

Other programs that the city of Los Angeles administers under the program are eviction defense/protection, tenant outreach and education, and protections from tenant harassment.

The measure directs that 10% of ULA funds be allocated toward income assistance for seniors and people with disabilities. Estolano noted these funds are meant to "uplift" the city's most vulnerable residents out of poverty while connecting them to a network of housing resources. Short-term assistance will receive 5% of ULA funding to assist low-income tenants at risk of losing their homes due to one-time economic shocks. Funds may cover the entirety of rent payments for a period up to six months.

Members agreed that the short-time assistance would include disbursement minimums based on market factors, available resources and be adjusted at least every three years. Additionally, landlords who do not accept these funds will be investigated by the City Attorney's Office, and any documentation from their work can be used as an affirmative defense in court in the case the tenant fights an eviction.

A capacity-building program will receive 10% of ULA funds for proposals such as community land trusts. These funds are intended to advance different models of housing and help train participants in property management, among other skills. 

Also receiving 10% of ULA funds is the operating assistance program, which would support new construction, acquisition or rehabilitation of existing housing in the form of project-based multi-year rental, operating or service subsidies. Projects that provide housing to residents at or below 80% of the area median income would be eligible for these funds.

One commissioner noted that these guidelines will be "transformative," in particular the alternative models of housing program, which would give LA residents a permanent place to call home and create new relationships between tenants and their own buildings.

During public comment more than 25 people spoke in support of the guidelines. Several of these individuals are members of various organizations such as the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment, the United to House LA coalition, LA/OC Building Trades union, SEIU 2015 and the Koreatown Immigrant Workers Alliance, who also held a rally prior to the meeting.

"In under two years, ULA has gone from the brainchild of an unprecedented coalition to an integral part of the city's budget and programs and the most powerful tool we have to end the housing crisis," Joe Donlin, director of the United to House LA coalition, said in a statement. "ULA is already funding comprehensive, permanent solutions to Los Angeles' housing and homelessness crisis, and with this blueprint we'll see a new housing reality even faster."