Council passes Measure ULA programs to increase renter protections

The Los Angeles City Council Monday approved final guidelines for the expansion Measure ULA programs in a 12-0 decision. 

Council members Traci Park and Monica Rodriguez were not present during the vote.

An amendment introduced by Councilman Bob Blumenfeld was also passed. The amendment requests a report on the ways in which the city might lighten the financial burden on nonprofits which build or acquire affordable housing for seniors.

Measure ULA was approved by voters in a ballot initiative April 2023. The bill places a so-called “mansion tax” on the sale of properties over $5 million.

Funds raised are meant to contribute to the expansion of affordable housing and the prevention of homelessness. Programs which can help prevent current renters from becoming unhoused, such as legal defense for those facing eviction, are covered by the measure.

However, due to legal challenges and a ballot measure intended to roll back ULA, only $150 million of the funds has been available so far.

The California Supreme Court this year ruled that the Taxpayer Protection and Government Accountability Act could not appear on the November ballot. The act would have called for a referendum on any local special tax increases passed in 2022 or later, and required a two-thirds majority for such taxes to pass. As such, it would have blocked the ULA from coming into effect.

With that out of the way, only a pending lawsuit remains in the way of the full deployment of ULA funds. The Housing Department has speculated that the legal challenge could be resolved by the end of the year.

The Housing Department estimates that it will be able to allocate $167.9 million to ULA programs this fiscal year, and $301.1 million in the next.

Some groups have criticized measure ULA on the grounds that it may harm the city’s luxury housing market. The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association and the Apartment Association of Greater L.A.backed the Taxpayer Protection and Government Accountability Act in an attempt to reverse the measure’s effects.