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Measure ULA, better known as the city’s “mansion tax,” raises money for affordable housing and homelessness prevention programs in the city of Los Angeles by taxing real estate that sells for more than $5.4 million.
Proposition TE asks voters to cancel that tax for victims of the Palisades Fire who decide to sell their residential property in the wake of the disaster.
What’s at stake
As Palisades residents weigh the high cost and convoluted process of rebuilding against their payouts from insurance companies, some will decide to sell their land and live elsewhere.
But if their property is worth more than $5.4 million, they could be hit with a 4% tax under Measure ULA. Properties worth more than $10.9 million would face a 5.5% tax.
Prop. TE would only apply to residential properties sold by the owner of record as of Jan. 7, 2025, the day the Palisades Fire began. The exemption would be available until Jan. 6, 2030, five years from the date of the fire.
Official title on the ballot: TE: Property transfer tax exemption for victims of January 2025 fire disaster
Language you’ll see on your ballot:
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Shall an ordinance be adopted to provide a one-time exemption from the City’s special documentary transfer tax (Proposition ULA) for residential properties that were damaged or destroyed in the Palisades Fire and are sold within five years of the date of the Fire?
What your vote means
- A “yes” vote means: You want sales of residential properties over $5 million (as adjusted for inflation) that were damaged or destroyed by the Palisades Fire to qualify for a one-time refund or exemption from the Proposition ULA tax if sold within five years from the date the Fire began.
- A “no” vote means: You do not want sales of residential properties over $5 million (as adjusted for inflation) that were damaged or destroyed by the Palisades Fire to qualify for a one-time refund or exemption from the Proposition ULA tax if sold within five years from the date the Fire began.
Understanding Proposition TE
The push to cancel Measure ULA for Pacific Palisades homeowners began last year, after the January 2025 fire destroyed thousands of homes in the neighborhood. When the L.A. City Council voted in July to advance Prop. TE to the November ballot, Councilmember Traci Park, who represents the Palisades, said her constituents are not selling “because they want to.”
“They’re selling because they have already lost everything and there’s nothing left,” Park said. “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 unspeakably cruel.”
The proposed Palisades exemption emerged amid heated debate over the broader effects of the city’s mansion tax. Citing recent economic studies, reformers have argued the tax — which also applies to sales of apartment buildings and other commercial properties — has hindered development at a time when L.A. needs to encourage more housing construction.
Measure ULA’s defenders dispute that and say the revenue funds eviction defense, rent relief and new apartment construction for L.A.’s low-income renters. They beat back state and local efforts to reduce or eliminate the tax on new apartment buildings. Among the handful of ballot initiatives that sought to alter Measure ULA, only the Palisades exemption will go before voters.
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Here’s what supporters say
- Proponents argue that when nearly 58% of the city’s voters approved Measure ULA in 2022, they did so because they wanted to reduce homelessness and address the housing crisis — not because they wanted to punish survivors of disasters who are left with little choice but to sell their properties.
- Notable endorsements: L.A. Mayor Karen Bass, City Councilmember Traci Park, the Los Angeles / Orange Counties Building & Construction Trades Council and the Pacific Palisades Community Council are among the supporters of Prop. TE.
What opponents say
No one has submitted an official argument against Prop. TE, according to the City Clerk. However, one City Council member voted against placing the proposition on the ballot.
Eunisses Hernandez, who represents Highland Park and other neighborhoods bordering Downtown L.A., said the council was willing to “bend over backwards” to help wealthy homeowners, but shot down her previous motion to pass eviction protections for workers who lost income because of the fires. Hernandez said the exemption should not apply to “LLCs, investors or people with a portfolio of properties.” She said the council “had the opportunity to write those protections into this ordinance, and we didn’t.”
Potential financial impact
According to Matthew Szabo, L.A.’s city administrative officer, Prop. TE could reduce Measure ULA revenues from $35 million to $66 million. For comparison, Measure ULA raised close to $548 million in the last fiscal year.
Follow the money
LAist’s Voter Game Plan will include more campaign financing information as we get closer to Election Day.
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What questions do you have about this election?
You ask, and we'll answer: Whether it's about who's funding the campaigns or how to track your ballot, we're here to help you understand the 2026 election.
What questions do you have about this election?
You ask, and we'll answer: Whether it's about who's funding the campaigns or how to track your ballot, we're here to help you understand the 2026 election.