SCALING UP Equitable Housing on public land in Los Angeles

Demand More Section 8 Rent Subsidies
Rent subsidies from the Federal government, such as Section 8 rent vouchers, are essential to ending
homelessness and Scaling up <strong>Equitable</strong> <strong>Housing</strong> for the very poor. Rental subsidies enable extremely lowincome
residents to retain housing and prevent them from falling into homelessness by ensuring they pay
no more than 30% of their income for rent. Rent subsidies are critically important to part of the financial
strategy for scaling because they underwrite at fair market rents for 15-20 year terms. But Los Angeles
needs far more Section 8 than we currently have. The <strong>Housing</strong> Authority of Los Angeles has 62,000 eligible
households on the Section 8 waitlist, and hundreds of thousands eligible applicants didn’t make it on to the
waiting list. Los Angeles is one of the most rent burdened cities in the US, and must demand significantly
bigger allocation of Section 8 rental vouchers to Scale Up <strong>Equitable</strong> <strong>Housing</strong> for extremely low-income
households at risk of homelessness.
Support Mixed Affordable & Workforce <strong>Housing</strong>
Rather than focus solely on homeless housing, the Scaling Up <strong>Equitable</strong> <strong>Housing</strong> on Public Land proposes
to create housing for a mix of incomes that ranges from extremely low-income housing (30% of AMI) to
moderate income workforce housing at (150% of AMI) including both rental and homeownership
opportunities. These income targets are broader than the traditional Low-Income <strong>Housing</strong> Tax Credit
housing models but offer distinct advantages over housing that serves a narrower income group. Although
results differ by location, there is substantial evidence that mixed income communities promote social
interaction that leads to improved outcomes for people – especially children – living in poverty.
In addition, a broader income mix increases project cash flow, which in turn enables developers to leverage
more private debt and use fewer subsidies, and simplifies the financial stack. A more streamlined financing
approach will benefit scalability and speed in the development process.
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