By AmyLinda Nevarez, Director of Organizing and Advocacy
June 16, 2026
Join us at L.A. City Hall tomorrow (Wednesday, June 17) at 9 a.m. to advocate for L.A. City Council to NOT put a measure on L.A.’s November ballot to weaken ULA. A ballot measure related to “fixing” Measure ULA will significantly reduce revenue we need to build, confuse voters, and give more fuel to the effort to repeal it all together. Plus, according to the City Administrative Officer, Measure ULA is just too early in its implementation to draw any real conclusions from available data.
We need to be united in this moment against the existential state threat to Measure ULA and other transfer taxes. L.A. voters made their choice when they passed ULA in 2022—we want affordable housing and homelessness prevention services, not tax breaks for wealthy developers!
Can’t make it? Take 2 minutes to email lawmakers at bit.ly/emailactionula.
On Thursday, June 4, SAJE hosted the Keep LA Housed and Right to Counsel coalitions as they convened community members with staffers from city and state-level political offices for a town hall discussing Measure ULA, the largest local housing and homelessness-prevention initiative in the United States.
If you live in Los Angeles—and especially if you rent—it doesn’t take much to realize that we need an ambitious, long-term plan to address our severe lack of affordable housing. Approved by voters in 2022, ULA levies a one-time transfer tax on properties that sell for over $5.3 million to create a permanent funding stream that can create a lot of housing quickly—capital we’ve lacked, until now. Seventy percent of the money ULA raises goes towards housing production, and the remaining 30 percent toward homelessness prevention.
During the Town Hall, coalition members educated the public and field staff about the threats the measure is currently facing, including the Local Taxpayer Protection Act (aka the Taxpayer Deception Act). Funded by corporate real estate interests, the Local Taxpayer Protection Act is a misleading scheme to cut taxes for wealthy real estate corporations, gut local services, and override decisions California voters have already made at the ballot box. Not only does it seek to eliminate or cap real estate transfer taxes—stripping billions from local budgets—but it could also eradicate existing voter-enacted taxes that don’t meet the strict approval thresholds it’d simultaneously enact. Together, these changes would drastically reduce revenue that funds critical services across the state, including not just affordable housing and homelessness prevention, but also fire departments, emergency medical services, schools, parks, libraries, and so much more.
Attendees strategized about making sure the voices and experiences of the many community members who have benefitted from Measure ULA are heard throughout Los Angeles and across California. We know that ULA is already delivering real housing by funding the construction of new affordable homes, preservation of existing ones, and operating support that market forces would not otherwise provide. Not only has construction started on nearly 800 affordable homes since its inception, but Round 1 of L.A. Housing Department’s recent Homes for LA NOFA (Notice of Funding Availability) process is moving an additional 4,800+ units forward.
ULA is transformational, allowing L.A. to build housing at the scale and speed we need to ensure all Angelenos have a safe and affordable place to call home. Having the better part of $1 billion and counting to fund affordable housing construction is unprecedented, and ULA funds can be leveraged with other state and federal funds to produce more affordable units overall.
After the event, one thing was clear: Los Angeles renters want to protect Measure ULA from corporate interests and unjustified measures to repeal transfer taxes that fund affordable housing construction. Yes to the People’s Billion! No to ballot measures that hand out even more tax cuts to wealthy developers!
Join us at L.A. City Hall tomorrow (Wednesday, June 17) at 9 a.m. to advocate for L.A. City Council to NOT put a measure on L.A.’s November ballot to weaken ULA. A ballot measure related to “fixing” Measure ULA will significantly reduce revenue we need to build, confuse voters, and give more fuel to the effort to repeal it all together. Plus, according to the City Administrative Officer, Measure ULA is just too early in its implementation to draw any real conclusions from available data.
We need to be united in this moment against the existential state threat to Measure ULA and other transfer taxes. L.A. voters made their choice when they passed ULA in 2022—we want affordable housing and homelessness prevention services, not tax breaks for wealthy developers!
Can’t make it? Take 2 minutes to email lawmakers at bit.ly/emailactionula.
