Los Angeles has imposed an additional tax on luxury home sales to generate millions for housing efforts in the city. Shelterforce checks in on where the money has gone, and what’s to come.
Los Angeles's Measure ULA, a real estate transfer tax on properties over $5.15 million passed in 2022, has funded 800 affordable housing units and provided rental assistance to over 4,000 households. While revenue fell short of initial projections due to market conditions and legal challenges, the tax generated $40 million in November 2024 alone - its highest monthly total to date.
The city is now expanding the program's scope to include social housing initiatives like community land trusts, guaranteed income support for seniors, and a right-to-counsel program for tenants facing eviction. These expansions come as legal challenges to the measure appear to be resolving and market conditions improve.
"The big millionaire and billionaire interests continue to complain about ULA, but meanwhile, it's doing exactly what it's intended to do," says Joe Donlin of United to House LA. The program is expected to create 10,000 construction jobs while addressing housing affordability through multiple interventions.
With recent zoning reforms encouraging development and monthly revenues reaching new highs, officials expect the program's impact to grow in 2025. The first residents will move into ULA-funded units this year.
FULL STORY: What has Measure ULA Done so Far?
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Economic & Planning Systems, Inc.
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research