The Los Angeles City Council Tuesday commissioned reports to understand impacts of Measure ULA, amid ongoing efforts to update the so-called mansion tax over concerns it has harmed affordable housing production.
On Tuesday, the council unanimously approved three separate but related motions instructing staff to produce data on various elements of Measure ULA.
Council members instructed the Los Angeles Housing Department to detail outcomes of the measure’s tenant outreach and education program. Housing staff are expected to create an online dashboard and heat map using data to track how funding is distributed, geographic areas where outreach and services are being provided, and a breakdown of where such services are being provided in-person or virtually by council district.
The council also OK’d a plan to contract with a consultant for public engagement services. The city is looking to receive feedback from residents and developers about the results of Measure ULA so far, in particular how it has affected development in the city.
The motion further asked the Measure ULA Citizens Oversight Committee to evaluate the impacts of the tax, examining financial and program outcomes.
Additionally, council members requested independent studies on the impact of Measure ULA on housing production, and to review any proposed or enacted changes to ordinances in other jurisdictions that are similar to Measure ULA, such as Proposition 1 in San Francisco and Measure RE in Culver City.
San Francisco’s Proposition 1, approved in November 2020, authorized an increase to the city’s transfer tax rate on real estate sales and leases of 35 years or more, applying a 5.5% tax on transactions of $10 million to $25 million and 6% on transactions of $25 million or more.
Meanwhile, Culver City’s Measure RE — also approved by voters in November 2020 — placed an approximately 2% tax on real property sales on transactions of $1.5 million to nearly $3 million, a 3% on transactions of $3 million to nearly $10 million, and a 4% tax on transactions of $10 million and above. The measure exempted sales under $1.5 million, affordable housing and first transfer of new multi-family properties.
Lastly, the City Council requested a report for an analysis of Measure ULA revenues, expenditures and program outcomes from April 1, 2024, through Jan. 31, 2026.
The City Council’s actions come amid an effort to amend the 2022-voter approved measure, which placed a 4% tax on sales of properties above $5.3 million and a 5.5% tax on the sales of properties above $10 million.
Council members established an ad hoc committee to review and recommend changes to Measure ULA, with the intent of doing so before the November ballot.
Proponents of the measure celebrated the first $1 billion raised by the tax in early January. Money from Measure ULA funds programs supporting affordable housing production and homelessness prevention.
The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association has submitted signatures for a state measure, called the Local Taxpayer Protection Act to Save Proposition 13, which aims to repeal Measure ULA and other real estate transfer taxes higher than 0.11%.