The Brief

Measure ULA was pitched to Los Angeles voters two years ago under a much more catchy moniker — the "mansion tax." More than a year since it took effect, most of the money raised so far is not coming from pricey single-family homes.

The measure voters passed in 2022 funds housing and homelessness efforts in the city through a new tax on real estate selling for more than $5 million.

From the start, despite being widely described as a “mansion tax,” the measure has applied to most real estate transactions that meet the $5 million threshold. That includes apartment buildings, offices and retail centers. Recent data show most of the measure’s revenue so far is coming from buildings that are not mansions.

A report last month from the L.A. Office of Finance estimated that since the tax took effect in April 2023, about 46% of revenue has come from the sale of pricey single-family homes. About 54% has come from the sale of other types of real estate, such as offices, retail and apartment buildings.

Is “mansion tax” a misnomer?

Critics say the tax has broad effects beyond real estate deals involving millionaires and billionaires buying and selling lavish estates in the Hollywood Hills.

“Calling it a mansion tax is a misnomer, given the true economics involved,” said Eric Sussman, an adjunct professor in accounting and real estate at UCLA’s Anderson School of Management.

Some have argued the measure could be deterring the development of new apartment buildings, which are also subject to the tax.

“When you already have a sort of slowdown in the economy and in real estate transactions, layering on taxes is just probably the last thing that you want to do,” Sussman said. “It's going to further exacerbate the slowdown and result in fewer transactions.”

Proponents say the tax is doing what it promised

Proponents defend the “mansion tax” moniker, arguing a large chunk of revenue does come from mansions, and it’s a pithy way to underscore the goal of requiring wealthy households to pay more to address the region’s housing and homelessness crisis.

“Mansion sales far and away are the single largest portion of the revenues that Measure ULA directs towards making housing affordable and protecting Angelenos from eviction,” said Joe Donlin, director of United to House L.A., the coalition that backed the measure.

Commercial and multi-family properties are the second and third largest money-raisers.

“The nickname captures the importance of putting the overheated market for the wealthiest Angelenos in service of those who are experiencing homelessness or living on its edge,” Donlin said.

Where’s the money going?

City finance officials say the tax has now raised more than $375 million. That’s far lower than the original revenue projections of up to $1.1 billion annually.

The money is being allocated to new rent relief efforts to compensate landlords with tenants behind on payments, an expansion of eviction defense programs, stronger enforcement of the city’s anti-harassment rules and the production of new affordable housing.

A federal judge on Tuesday held the Department of Homeland Security in contempt for allegedly slow-rolling an order to create digital copies of communications from personal and government cell phones used by immigration agents during operations in the Los Angeles area last year.

U.S. District Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong in the Central District of California previously ordered the federal government in January to expedite imaging the personal cell phones of more than 800 agents involved in controversial immigration raids in Los Angeles in 2025.

Judge Frimpong imposed a fine of $500 per day on the federal government until it complies with the order to turn over phones as part of discovery and reimburse plaintiffs’ attorneys for the legal costs of getting the records.

Attorneys for DHS admitted in court in June that the agency had not provided the records. They told the judge they were processing the government devices at a rate of three phones every two weeks, which plaintiffs noted would take nearly four years to complete.

Attorneys representing immigrants caught up in Operation At Large — the name given to the Trump administration’s Los Angeles immigration crackdown last year — argue the phones may contain evidence of a pattern of racial profiling by federal agents.

Attorneys from the American Civil Liberties Union wrote in May that the Department of Homeland Security “simply proceeded to thwart” Frompong’s order “by dragging their feet on imaging government-issued cell phones and by openly defying the order as to personal phones.”

Last month, ACLU attorneys asked Frimpong to issue another order that would prohibit agents from detaining people based on their race. They cited text messages and body camera footage in which agents used racial slurs, including “wet and “tonks,” to identify working-class Latinos to stop, according to court records.

“Not only are federal agents violating the Constitution on the streets, the government is violating court orders by intentionally withholding critical evidence about its immigration enforcement operations.” said Mayra Joachin with the ACLU of Southern California.

The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

L.A. City Councilmember Ysabel Jurado introduced seven motions Tuesday, all geared toward providing immediate and long-term relief for community members who’ve been hurt by the aftermath of the Lineage warehouse fire in Boyle Heights.

According to Jurado, the legislative package is centered around three priorities:

• “Immediate relief and cleanup”
• "Accountability, transparency and site safeguards”
• “Long-term oversight and community power”

Jurado is calling for a Mitigation Response Fund of up to $10 million to provide aid for affected residents and small businesses that have lost revenue as the neighborhood continues dealing with foul odors, flies, rats and other vermin. Jurado also wants to see higher penalties for corporate negligence, and create a commission to advise L.A.’s city leadership on environmental justice policy.

After the fire in mid-June, tons of food at the cold storage warehouse were left to rot. Now, more than a month later, community members are still dealing with odors and pests, which have disrupted local businesses, community spaces and everyday quality of life.

Local activists and community members say the Lineage fire aftermath is part of a long legacy of environmental injustice in Boyle Heights. In recent decades, residents have also dealt with pungent smells from rendering plants in the neighboring city of Vernon. And up until 2015, Vernon was also home to Exide, a battery recycling facility that contaminated the soil of thousands of homes in surrounding communities with lead. The taxpayer-funded cleanup for that issue is still ongoing. Lineage also has several facilities in the city of Vernon.

Jurado’s proposed commission “can serve as an interdisciplinary body to identify and start to protect our communities from historical harms that continue to function as standard practice today,” said mark! Lopez, a community organizer at East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice.

Community members will have a chance to provide public comment on Jurado’s motions before they move to a full council vote.

In a statement, Jurado said recovery "cannot mean removing debris and moving on.” In her view, it must also involve the “aggressive pursuit of every recoverable dollar from responsible parties” and "give communities that have carried Los Angeles' environmental burdens real power over what happens next."

Lineage President and CEO Greg Lehmkuhl previously said in a statement that he cannot estimate how long the cleanup will take. “What we can tell you is this: there are people on site working on this recovery 24/7,” he added.

L.A. County will provide assistance grants to small businesses that suffered financial loss from the Lineage warehouse fire that burned for a week in June in Boyle Heights. The fire's aftermath has many in the community seeking help to recover.

Why it matters

The county surveyed business owners in the area who said they are continuing to face a loss of customers and revenue amid persisting odor from food in the Boyle Heights warehouse that continues to rot in the summer heat. The fire started June 17 and burned until June 24. It initially generated significant air quality hazards and prompted evacuations.

About the funds

The grants from Supervisor Hilda Solis’ discretionary budget will be disbursed within 45 days — and then draw from countywide funds if needed. The county will also seek reimbursement for the grants from Lineage. The Department of Public Health and County Counsel will also evaluate new fees and penalties for businesses that pose environmental or health risks in L.A. County. Some fee increases could fund county assistance for future economic disasters.

Who is eligible

Small businesses within the affected area will be able to apply for the grants. The county is looking to prioritize initial funding for businesses that have not already received emergency financial support from other organizations.

More details to come

The Board of Supervisors and Department of Economic Opportunity will announce more about the amount of assistance and how to apply when those details are made final. Affected business owners and residents can find more information on the L.A. County Recovers website.

What to have ready

Existing documentation from L.A. County recommends you collect the following documentation of any damage.

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Courtesy L.A. Department of Economic Opportunity

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Courtesy L.A. Department of Economic Opportunity

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The Los Angeles City Council voted 13-1 on Tuesday to put a measure on the November ballot that will ask voters whether homes affected by the Palisades Fire should be exempt from the city’s controversial “mansion tax.”

If passed, the exemption would apply to the sale of homes damaged or destroyed by the fire. The exemption would last until early 2030, five years from the date of the fire.

This could potentially reduce the tax’s revenue up to 6% — or $32 million each year — according to a May 2026 report from the L.A. Housing Department.

How the ‘mansion tax’ works 

The “mansion tax,” officially called Measure ULA, is a tiered tax on real estate selling for $5.4 million or more. The tax, which was passed by voters in 2022, funds programs such as rental assistance, eviction defense and affordable housing construction in the city.

The measure has fierce defenders, as well as staunch critics. A statewide ballot measure sought to kill the tax before it was pulled by supporters earlier this year in exchange for a legislative deal in Sacramento.

State and local lawmakers have considered reducing the tax or exempting newly constructed apartment buildings. Their ideas have been guided by economic studies that found the tax was slowing down housing development in the city. So far, none of those reforms have mustered enough support to pass.

Where council members stand

Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez, whose district includes Highland Park, Chinatown and Westlake, previously spoke against the measure’s scope at a City Council meeting on July 1.

“Any exemption should only be for homeowners whose primary residence was destroyed, and people who genuinely need help rebuilding, not LLCs, investors or people with a portfolio of properties,” Hernandez said. “We had the opportunity to write those protections into this ordinance, and we didn’t.”

Hernandez criticized her colleagues for shooting down the post-fire eviction protections she proposed after tenants living in her district lost work as gardeners and nannies in the Pacific Palisades.

“When wealthy property owners need relief, we’re willing to bend over backwards,” she said. “But when working class people and tenants need protection, suddenly our hands are tied and the political will is not there.”

Councilmember Traci Park, who represents the Pacific Palisades, voiced support for the measure at the same meeting.

“Putting this tax on these folks who are trying to recover and reckoning with the fact that some of them just aren’t coming home, is just unspeakably cruel,” Park said. “It’s an exemption that applies in very narrow circumstances to original owners and first transactions for five years, only for residential properties. This is the least we can do as this community continues to recover.”

In Tuesday’s meeting, Hernandez cast the lone vote against placing the measure on the November ballot. Thirteen council members supported the move. Councilmember Curren Price was not present for the vote.

What happens next 

L.A. voters will have the final say on whether Palisades homeowners will be exempt from the tax. The proposal needs a simple majority of support from voters in the upcoming November general election to pass.

How to keep tabs on the L.A. City Council

The L.A. City Council tends to meet Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Meetings typically start at 10 a.m.

Here’s how you can follow along:

• Attend in person: The council typically meets at City Hall, Council Chambers, 200 N. Spring St., Los Angeles
• Watch the live broadcast
• Here’s how to submit a comment or contact the council