The California Apartment Association is urging Los Angeles officials to exempt multifamily housing from Measure ULA and shift money away from tenant right-to-counsel programs and into direct rental assistance as city hearings continue and officials take feedback on possible changes to the tax.
In a letter to the Measure ULA Committee, Fred Sutton, CAA’s senior vice president of local public affairs, urged the city, if it moves toward amendments for voter consideration, to exempt multifamily properties from the tax and to “eliminate the ordinance’s right to counsel elements,” redirecting those funds to a direct rental subsidy program.
The letter represents CAA’s formal position as the city’s hearing process continues and officials weigh whether to advance any amendments for voter consideration.
Measure ULA, approved by Los Angeles voters in 2022, added a transfer tax on high-value property sales to fund affordable housing and tenant-assistance programs. Although it is often described politically as a “mansion tax,” critics have argued that it also affects multifamily and commercial real estate transactions, not just luxury home sales.
That broader impact helps explain why changes are back in discussion. Earlier this year, a City Council effort to revise the transfer tax stalled. At the same time, Los Angeles has continued rolling out ULA-funded programs, including rental assistance and tenant legal-services efforts, keeping attention on both the tax’s market effects and how the money is being spent.
CAA has focused its criticism on two points: the tax’s effect on multifamily housing and the use of ULA revenue for right-to-counsel programs. Sutton has previously argued that direct rental assistance would do more to prevent displacement and stabilize tenancies than spending those dollars on litigation.
At this stage, however, the city has not introduced a formal amendment package tied to CAA’s recommendations. Sutton said the association’s goal is to put its position on the record while hearings continue and before any future changes are drafted.
Should Los Angeles move to reopen Measure ULA, CAA’s stated priorities are a full exemption for multifamily properties and a reallocation of right-to-counsel funding toward direct rental assistance.
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