Affordable Senior Housing
Overview
Housing is a basic human need and social determinant of health. However, a growing number of older adults and people with disabilities do not have access to housing they can afford. LeadingAge California and our members are the chief statewide advocates for affordable housing for older adults. We believe that every older adult should have access to housing they can afford and the health care and services they need to stay successfully housed.
California is in an unprecedented housing crisis. LeadingAge California is working with the Governor and the Legislature on innovative solutions to ensure the housing needs of older adults are met. As the voice of the nonprofit continuum, LeadingAge advocates to expand and preserve the supply of affordable housing connected to health and wellness services. As the path of the coronavirus takes on its own iterations, LeadingAge is here to help affordable housing provider members sustain and excel in serving older adults.
Events and Education for Housing Providers
Tailored Education and Trainings for Housing Providers. LeadingAge California staff will work to design and execute an education and training curriculum for your staff. For more information, contact Melanie Ripley by email at members@leadingageca.org.
Senior Housing Now — Each year, LeadingAge California hosts a special day of advocacy for residents of affordable senior housing. Residents enjoy networking and learning about current housing policy issues over lunch, then head to the Capitol to meet with Legislators.
Five Workgroups of the LeadingAge Housing Advisory Group
For the safety of our residents during the COVID-19 crisis, this event will not be held in 2021. For more information, contact Ryan Van Brummelen by email at policy@leadingageca.org.
Resources
New Laws
In 2021, the California Legislature passed the following measures into law:
SB 591 (Becker) – Intergenerational Housing
LeadingAge California Position: Support
This bill authorizes the establishment of an intergenerational housing development that includes senior citizens along with caregivers and transition age youth, if specified conditions are satisfied. The bill requires at least 80% of the occupied dwelling units in an intergenerational housing development to be occupied by at least one senior citizen, and up to 20% of the occupied dwelling units in the development to be occupied by at least one caregiver or transition age youth.
SB 10 (Wiener) – Housing Development Density
LeadingAge California Position: Neutral
This bill authorizes a city or county to pass an ordinance to zone any parcel for up to 10 units of residential density, at a height specified by the local government in the ordinance, if the parcel is located in a transit-rich area or an urban infill site, as specified.
AB 491 (Ward) – Affordable and Market Rate Units
LeadingAge California Position: Neutral
This bill requires that a mixed-income multifamily structure provide the same access to the common entrances, common areas, and amenities of the structure to occupants of the affordable housing units in the structure as is provided to occupants of the market-rate housing units. The bill would also prohibit a mixed-income multifamily structure from isolating the affordable housing units within the structure to a specific floor or an area on a specific floor.
AB 571 (Mayes) – Density Bonuses Affordable Housing
LeadingAge California Position: Neutral
This new law prohibits a local government from charging affordable housing impact fees, including inclusionary zoning fees, public benefit fees, and in-lieu fees on deed-restricted affordable units that are part of a project eligible for a density bonus under Density Bonus Law (DBL).
AB 721 (Bloom) – Covenants and Restrictions
LeadingAge California Position: Support
This bill makes covenants and other recorded documents that restrict the number or size of the residences or the number of persons who may reside on the property unenforceable if the property is going to be developed into 100% affordable housing. To qualify, a developer must enter into an agreement with a local government to deed restrict the affordable housing units to 55 years. Developers can record a modification document provided by the county recorder if they choose. The county counsel is required to review the convent to confirm that it limits the number and size of units on a property and that the modification document can be recorded.
AB 816 (Chiu) – Housing Trust Fund
LeadingAge California Position: Support
This new law requires HCD to allocate National Housing Trust Fund (NHTF) monies to projects serving individuals experiencing homelessness, to the extent that a sufficient number of projects exist and authorizes HCD to alter priority for funding in order to align eligibility for benefits, such as Medi-Cal, that are intended to fund services for individuals experiencing homelessness.
AB 1043 (Bryan) – Housing Programs: Rental Housing Developments
LeadingAge California Position: Neutral
AB 1043 would add a definition of “acutely low income households” to state law to increase access to affordable housing and critical social programs for needy families. This new definition would be comprised of families living within the 0-15% AMI bracket. This bill establishes an additional category for the lowest income households in California, and sets a formula to calculate affordable housing costs for individuals with incomes less than 15% AMI.
AB 1174 (Grayson) – Planning and Zoning
LeadingAge California Position: Support
Makes changes to the streamlined, ministerial process created by SB 35 (Wiener), Chapter 366, Statutes of 2017.
This year, a number of priority housing bills were stalled, and are now two-year bills. This was largely due to the influx of federal funding coming into the state in the form of COVID relief funds. Below are the two-year bills we will be following in 2022:
AB 1083 (Nazarian) – RN Coaching Bill
LeadingAge California Position: Co-Sponsored
Would require the California Department of Aging to establish and administer the Housing Plus Services Nursing Pilot Program in the Counties of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, Sacramento, and Sonoma. The program would provide grant funds to qualified nonprofit organizations that specialize in resident services for the purposes of hiring one full-time registered nurse to work at 3 senior citizen housing developments in each county to provide health education, navigation, coaching, and care to residents.
SB 5 (Atkins) – Affordable Housing Bond Act of 2022
LeadingAge California Position: Support
Would enact the Affordable Housing Bond Act of 2022, which, if adopted, would authorize $6,500,000,000 in general obligation bonds. Proceeds from the sale of these bonds would be used to fund affordable rental housing and homeownership programs. This bill would provide for submission of the bond act to the voters at the November 8, 2022 statewide general election.
SB 6 (Caballero) – Local Planning: Housing in Commercial Zones
LeadingAge California Position: Support
This bill, the Neighborhood Homes Act, would allow a housing development project as an allowable use on a neighborhood lot, which is defined as a parcel within an office or retail commercial zone that is not adjacent to an industrial use. The bill would require the density for a housing development under these provisions to meet or exceed the density deemed appropriate to accommodate housing for lower income households according to the type of local jurisdiction, including a density of at least 20 units per acre for a suburban jurisdiction.
AB 71 (Rivas) – Bring CA Home Act
LeadingAge California Position: Support
AB 71 proposes taxing California’s share of multinational corporations’ Global Intangible Low Taxed Income (GILTI) and using the revenue to fund homeless housing and services.
AB 1176 (Garcia) – Communications: universal broadband service: California Connect Fund
LeadingAge California Position: Support
Would establish the California Connect Fund in the State Treasury The bill would require the Public Utilities Commission to develop, implement, and administer the California Connect Program to ensure that high-speed broadband service is available to every household in the state at affordable rates.
Member Benefits
Be Heard
Grow Your Knowledge
Generate New Ideas
Stay In The Know
- Serve on committees, boards and cabinets to grow your professional skillset and influence stakeholders; LeadingAge is "member-driven."
- Access LeadingAge staff experts on the topics on Medicare, Medicaid, VA payment, and more.
- Get technical assistance from LeadingAge staff on Alternative Payment Models and other issues.
- Save on hundreds of products or services such as elevator maintenance, cleaning supplies, retrofit, and rehabilitation through our group purchasing program, Value First.
- Increase your organizational efficiency with technology toolkits offered through the LeadingAge Center for Aging Services Technologies (CAST).