LA continues to fall far short of reaching state-mandated housing goals, city report shows

The city of Los Angeles permitted more than 17,200 housing units last year, according to a new annual progress report issued by city planning officials. That’s about 30% of what the city needs to produce every year in order to reach the housing goals handed down by state regulators.

Under state law, L.A. is required to plan for more than 456,000 new homes between 2021 and 2029. About 185,000 of those homes must be affordable to residents earning incomes that qualify as “low” or “very low.”

The goals reflect the reality that L.A. housing costs are increasingly untenable for many residents. A majority of L.A. renters put more than 30% of their income toward housing costs, a level considered unaffordable by federal government standards.

But across the board — for low-income as well as market-rate housing — L.A. is nowhere near keeping pace toward reaching its goals. Proponents for increased housing production said the latest numbers were disappointing, but not surprising.

“Housing advocates citywide have seen this coming for the last several years,” said Azeen Khanmalek, executive director of Abundant Housing L.A. “We have not seen fundamental change in the way we regulate housing and land use in the city of Los Angeles.”

Clara Karger, a spokesperson for L.A. Mayor Karen Bass, said the city is facing broad economic pressures that limit new housing growth. But she said the mayor has implemented programs, such as Executive Directive 1, to speed up city approvals of new low-income housing projects.

"The mayor has taken executive action to accelerate the building of affordable housing, dropping project application wait times for these projects by 75% and expediting the approval of more than 30,000 units,” Karger said in an email to LAist.

Progress report was delayed by fires

To comply with state housing law, cities must submit annual progress reports to California housing officials. L.A.’s latest progress report was originally due April 1, but the city was granted an extension because of January’s historically destructive fires.

The L.A. City Planning Department has now submitted the city’s numbers for 2024. And they’re far short of what’s needed to reach the city’s target. Of the 17,217 new homes permitted last year, about 3,000 were affordable to Angelenos who qualify as low-income.

Permitting levels in 2024 were slightly down from the 18,618 new homes the city permitted in 2023. Looking farther back, the city permitted 23,422 new homes in 2022.

What’s driving the low numbers?

Part of the downward trend has to do with high interest rates, rising material and labor costs and other economic factors that are largely out of the city’s control. But housing advocates attribute much of the development slowdown to local policy decisions.

The city’s Measure ULA, often called the “mansion tax,” is levied on real estate sales of more than $5 million. The revenue goes toward tenant assistance programs and new affordable housing development. But housing advocates argue it’s discouraging new development.

“Why are we putting new taxes on multi-family apartments where people like me could potentially afford to live?” said Zennon Ulyate-Crow, a volunteer with YIMBY Los Angeles who said he recently moved back into his parents’ home after graduating college because of L.A.’s lack of affordable housing.

A recent study found that if the tax did not apply to newly constructed apartment buildings, the city would likely have more affordable housing units on balance.

“I support the idea of wanting to have a mansion tax, but let's make sure that's a tax on mansions — not a tax on multi-family, affordable homes,” Ulyate-Crow.

What could move the needle?

Housing advocates said there is some cause for optimism about future development in the city.

Khanmalek with Abundant Housing L.A. said he’s encouraged by the city’s moves toward a self-certification program, which could allow builders of smaller housing projects to attest that their plans are construction-ready and cut down on permitting times. He also praised the City Council’s efforts to change building codes to allow single-stairway buildings that reserve more square footage for apartments.

“There are these little things that are really heartening,” Khanmalek said.

Advocates said pending state legislation could also open up more L.A. neighborhoods to apartment development. Senate Bill 79 seeks to allow denser housing projects near transit, which could make apartment development possible in parts of L.A. where it is now restricted.

Currently, about 72% of the city’s residential land is reserved for single-family homes.