While there is no magic cure for the current housing dilemma – there are steps we can take to ensure that more homes and apartments are affordable to working people and other low-income people in Los Angeles.
Increase the supply of homes and apartments. Since the lack of supply and growing demand for housing are some of the main reasons for the high cost of housing in Los Angeles — building a significant number of new homes and apartments is critical. It is important to find creative ways of building new apartments and homes without negatively impacting the quality of life in neighborhoods or the region as a whole as Los Angeles continues to grow.
» Find out how many homes and apartments are needed in L.A.
Plan for smarter growth. While building more homes and apartments is a major part of the solution for creating more affordable places to live, badly planned development could exacerbate some problems — such as traffic congestion and air pollution. Rather than building new homes and apartments on the outskirts of the region, new development should occur in areas that are close to jobs and are well served by transit. By creating "urban villages" that allow people to work and shop without depending on a car, we can accommodate growth while improving the quality of life in Los Angeles.
» Learn more about smart growth and sustainable development
Preserve the stock of affordable apartments. Los Angeles' older apartment buildings provide much of the city's most affordable housing. Tens of thousands of existing apartments are kept at below market rents with federal subsidies, and most apartments built before 1978 are governed by the City’s Rent Stabilization Ordinance, which prevents large and arbitrary rent increases. Because of the high cost of land and construction, it is more cost effective to preserve these buildings, rather than replacing them with new ones. It is therefore crucial that we maintain existing buildings in good condition and try to preserve the local, state and federal subsidies in privately owned affordable apartments.
» Learn about: Rent Stabilization | Preservation | Code Enforcement
Create more affordable places to live. To ensure that working families in our communities can afford a decent place to live, we need to make certain that a significant portion of new residential developments are made affordable to people of low- and moderate income. Successful models of creating new affordable homes and apartments using public- private partnerships already exist and could be expanded to meet the need for new housing.
» Find out how affordable housing is built and financed
What will growth and development mean for my neighborhood? »
