In a disappointing turn of events for tenants and affordable housing advocates across California, a state program that pledged $500 million to preserve affordable housing has been scrapped without distributing a single dollar. The Foreclosure Intervention Housing Preservation Program, created in 2021, was meant to be a lifeline for community land trusts and low-income residents facing displacement. However, bureaucratic delays and recent budget cuts have left many Californians in limbo.
A Promising Start
The program was designed to offer loans and grants over five years to help purchase financially distressed buildings of up to 25 units. For community land trusts—nonprofits that buy land to maintain as permanently affordable housing—this funding was seen as a game-changer. These organizations have been growing in number across California but often struggle to compete with private developers due to limited resources.
Hopes Dashed
Luke Johnson, an 85-year-old resident of Silver Lake, Los Angeles, exemplifies the human cost of the program's failure. Johnson and his neighbors had pinned their hopes on the state funding to help a community land trust purchase their fourplex, ensuring they could remain in their homes at affordable rents. With the program's collapse, Johnson now faces uncertainty about his future in the apartment he's called home for nearly 50 years.
Bureaucratic Bottleneck
Despite its promise, the Department of Housing and Community Development failed to distribute any of the allocated funds over three years. This inaction raised concerns among lawmakers, with Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel expressing frustration at the lack of progress despite the significant resources allocated.
Budget Cuts and Consequences
Facing a projected $56 billion budget deficit, California lawmakers made the decision to scrap the program entirely in June 2023. While other state spending also faced cuts, advocates argue that the slow rollout of this particular program left it vulnerable to elimination before it could demonstrate any successes.
Looking Ahead
The disappearance of this funding has left many questioning California's commitment to preserving existing affordable housing. Community land trust advocates are now scrambling to find alternative funding sources to continue their work in preventing displacement and maintaining affordable housing options across the state.
As California grapples with its ongoing housing crisis, the failure of this program serves as a stark reminder of the challenges in translating good intentions into effective action. For residents like Luke Johnson, the consequences are all too real, leaving them to face an uncertain future in an increasingly unaffordable housing market.