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CITY COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
City of Anaheim
HOUSING & COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
DEPARTMENT
DATE: AUGUST 25, 2026
FROM: HOUSING & COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT
SUBJECT: ANAHEIM LOCAL HOUSING TRUST FUND FISCAL YEAR
2025/2026 ANNUAL REPORT
ATTACHMENT (Y/N): YES ITEM # 11
GOVERNMENT CODE § 84308 APPLIES: NO
RECOMMENDATION:
That the City Council, by Motion, receive and file the Anaheim Local Housing Trust Fund Fiscal Year (FY) 2025/2026 Annual Report.
DISCUSSION:
In August 2024, the City Council established the Anaheim Local Housing Trust Fund (A-LHTF or Trust Fund) to serve as a flexible, locally controlled vehicle for receiving and investing funds in affordable housing and related programs. Establishment of the Trust Fund created the legal and administrative framework for future housing resources but did not, by itself, provide funding. The Trust Fund was created in anticipation of the Affordable Housing Payment required under the DisneylandForward Development Agreement, along with other potential local, state, and federal funding sources.
The City received the first $15 million installment of the DisneylandForward Affordable Housing Payment in May 2025, providing the Trust Fund's initial local capitalization.
The remaining $15 million is required by June 2029. The Trust Fund provided the opportunity to consolidate legacy city funds dedicated to housing programs including previous voluntary developer contributions to affordable housing and the Federal PRO Housing Grant. In May 2025, the City Council adopted the Trust Fund Program Guidelines and Fund Allocation Plan, establishing three investment areas: the Build More Homes Initiative, the First-Time Homebuyer Program, and the Housing Stability Program. The Guidelines require staff to present an annual report to the City Council describing activities undertaken with Trust Fund resources during the prior fiscal year.
Attachment 1 is the first such annual report and provides a visual summary of program implementation, households served, investments, funding sources, expenditures, and year-end balances. The discussion below highlights the principal accomplishments and lessons from the Trust Fund's first year of funded implementation.
Fiscal Year 2025/2026 represents the Trust Fund's first year of funded program implementation and the first annual report required by the Program Guidelines. The year Anaheim Local Housing Trust Fund FY 2025/2026 Annual Report August 25, 2026
involved substantial administrative work to move the Trust Fund from an approved framework to functioning programs. Staff developed program requirements and procedures, established application and review processes, coordinated legal, fiscal, information technology, and program functions, created systems for tracking expenditures and outcomes, conducted outreach, and built relationships with the outside professionals and community partners needed to deliver assistance. This foundational work enabled the City to launch two new direct-assistance programs while also investing in affordable housing production and securing additional resources for future development.
Launching Direct Assistance Programs
My Anaheim Home
The My Anaheim Home Program launched in December 2025 as the City's first citywide homeownership program in more than 15 years. Launching the program required staff to translate the Trust Fund Guidelines into an operational downpayment-assistance program, including application and eligibility procedures, underwriting and loan-review processes, deferred-payment loan documents, closing and funding procedures, and coordination protocols with lenders, real estate professionals, brokers, and escrow companies. Staff launched a new First-Time Homebuyers Interest List portal and resource page on the city website to track interest and provide resources to other city programs including Density Bonus For-Sale units. Staff also developed an outreach and applicant-support approach centered on one-on-one assessments and referrals to homebuyer counseling so interested households could understand the program and improve their readiness to purchase a home.
Implementation of My Anaheim Home also generated important practical learning about what families need to become successful homeowners. Staff found that many interested households need more than downpayment assistance; they also need individualized financial education and support to address credit, savings, debt, budgeting, and other barriers to mortgage readiness. Staff completed in-depth financial-readiness assessments with more than 390 households. More than 160 households are being actively tracked and supported through biweekly check-ins, individualized referrals, and connections to homebuyer counseling and other resources. This hands-on work is helping staff better understand where households encounter barriers and how the program and its partnerships can evolve to improve the likelihood of successful homeownership.
The program provides eligible households with a $50,000 deferred-payment second mortgage. During the reporting period, two households completed home purchases and five additional households received conditional approvals to support their home search.
Staff also conducted outreach through community events and specialized workshops for Anaheim residents, employees working in Anaheim, lenders, real estate professionals, brokers, escrow professionals, and other housing stakeholders. Staff continues to evaluate the assistance amount and the complementary financial-readiness support needed to help households advance from interest to purchase. To date, the $50,000 loan has generally served as effective last-mile financing for households that are otherwise mortgage-ready.
Anaheim Local Housing Trust Fund FY 2025/2026 Annual Report August 25, 2026
Stay Housed Anaheim
The Stay Housed Anaheim Program launched in April 2026 to provide one-time emergency financial assistance to eligible low-income households facing an unexpected hardship that places them at immediate risk of housing instability, eviction, or homelessness. To establish the program, staff developed eligibility and documentation standards, an application and intake process, review and payment controls, applicant communications, and the administrative systems needed to issue assistance promptly while maintaining appropriate oversight of Trust Fund resources.
During the program’s first three months, Stay Housed Anaheim provided assistance to 65 households. This early activity reflects both the level of need among Anaheim renters and the significant implementation work completed during the fiscal year to move a new housing-stability concept from adopted guidelines to direct assistance for residents.
The Housing Stability investment area also supports eligible eviction-prevention assistance provided through the Senior Safety Net Program and Contigo, a new City initiative serving households affected by federal immigration enforcement actions.
Because the eviction-prevention components of these initiatives are funded through the Housing Stability allocation, related expenditures are included in the Trust Fund’s financial reporting. Assistance provided through Senior Safety Net and Contigo is separate from the 65 households assisted through Stay Housed Anaheim during the reporting period.
Trust Fund Financial Position and Use of Funds
As of June 30, 2026, the Trust Fund, including the separately tracked ATID Housing Fund, had a combined ending balance of $18,157,364 after $2,120,511 in program and administrative expenditures.
The Trust Fund began FY 2025/2026 with $16,672,483, consisting of the $15 million DisneylandForward payment received in May 2025, $1 million in HUD PRO Housing Grant funds, and $547,837 from prior voluntary developer contributions and accrued interest. During FY 2025/2026, the Trust Fund received $2,374,905 in revenue, including reimbursements from the HUD PRO Housing Grant, a developer contribution from the middle-income refinancing of 1818 Platinum Triangle, and accrued interest.
The separately tracked ATID Housing Fund accrued $1,230,487, including accrued interest. The financial summary reflects only funds received and expenditures incurred through June 30, 2026; therefore, the $5 million REAP 2.0 award is not included in the table. A detailed financial summary is provided in Attachment 1 and summarized below.
FY 25/26 Beginning Balance $ 16,672,483
Funding Received in FY 25/26 $ 2,374,905
ATID Housing Fund Accrual FY 25/26 $ 1,230,487
Expenditures Allocated Expended Remaining
Anaheim Local Housing Trust Fund FY 2025/2026 Annual Report August 25, 2026
FY 25/26 Beginning Balance $ 16,672,483
Funding Received in FY 25/26 $ 2,374,905
ATID Housing Fund Accrual FY 25/26 $ 1,230,487
Expenditures Allocated Expended Remaining
Build More Homes Initiative $ 5,000,000 $ 1,000,000 $ 4,000,000 First-Time Homebuyer Program $ 5,000,000 $ 100,000 $ 4,900,000 Housing Stability Program $ 1,000,000 $ 370,483 $ 629,517 HUD PRO Housing – Livability Lab $ 547,837
Administration $ 500,000 $ 102,191 $ 397,809 Reserve Account $ 4,500,000 - $ 4,500,000
Sub Total $ 16,000,000 $ 2,120,511 $ 14,427,326
Unprogrammed Funds $ 2,499,551 $ 2,499,551
FY 25/26 Restricted Funds Ending Balance $ 16,926,877 ATID Housing Fund $ 1,230,487 - $ 1,230,487
Total FY 25/26 Ending Balance $ 18,157,364
Notes: Accrued interest is included in FY 25/26 funding received totals. The City was awarded $5 million in REAP 2.0 funds during FY 2025/2026. The funds had not been received as of June 30, 2026 and are therefore excluded from the financial summary. Receipt is anticipated in August 2026, when the funds will be added to the Build More Homes Initiative. Expenditures include two transactions (the second My Anaheim Home loan closing on July 9, 2026 and gap financing loan closing in the Build More Homes Initiative in May 2024) slightly outside of the reporting period but included in the Annual Report due to being major milestones.
Investing in Housing and Expanding Available Resources
Build More Homes Initiative
Under the Build More Homes Initiative, the Trust Fund invested $1 million in gap financing, using funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) PRO Housing Grant, to support the 47-unit intergenerational affordable housing development under construction at Beach Boulevard and Lincoln Avenue. This investment demonstrates the Trust Fund's role as a flexible financing vehicle that can combine local and outside resources to advance projects in the City's affordable housing pipeline.
REAP 2.0 Grant Award
A major accomplishment during FY 2025/2026 was securing a $5 million Regional Early Action Planning (REAP) 2.0 Grant through the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG). This new funding substantially expands the resources available for future affordable housing investments and strengthens the Trust Fund beyond its initial capitalization. Because the grant funds had not been received as of June 30, 2026, the award is not reflected as revenue or in the year-end balances presented in the Financial Summary. Receipt is anticipated in August 2026, at which time the $5 million will be added to the Build More Homes Initiative allocation to support gap financing for eligible affordable housing developments, including future developments along Beach Boulevard and at Harbor Boulevard and Karcher Way.
Anaheim Local Housing Trust Fund FY 2025/2026 Annual Report August 25, 2026
ATID Housing Fund
The City also established the Anaheim Tourism Improvement District (ATID) Housing Fund as a separately tracked, recurring fund within the Trust Fund to expand workforce housing opportunities for employees of Assessed Facilities within the ATID. The fund receives 9% of the ATID hotel assessment. The five-member ATID Housing Committee, comprising four hotel representatives and one City representative, was appointed in April 2026 and held its first two meetings during the fiscal year to assess housing needs and begin developing potential programs. Establishing the fund, committee, governance process, and initial program-development work created the foundation for an ongoing source of locally controlled housing revenue.
Looking Ahead
Looking ahead to FY 2026/2027, staff anticipates increased utilization across the Trust Fund programs. Demand for Stay Housed Anaheim assistance is expected to remain strong as renters continue to face housing affordability and cost-of-living pressures. Staff will continue marketing My Anaheim Home, maintaining contact with interested households, and connecting applicants with homebuyer counseling to improve readiness.
Under the Build More Homes Initiative, staff expects to complete its review of proposals for the Harbor Boulevard and Karcher Way development site in November 2026.
Following selection of a preferred proposal, staff will evaluate the project's financing needs and return to the City Council with any recommended Trust Fund commitment.
Implementation of the Anaheim Local Housing Trust Fund aligns with Anaheim’s Strategic Plan Goal B – Enhance Livability by fostering inclusive communities, expanding housing opportunities for all income levels, supporting economic stability, and promoting long-term sustainable growth.
IMPACT ON BUDGET:
Receiving and filing the annual report has no impact on the budget. As of June 30, 2026, the Trust Fund, including the separately tracked ATID Housing Fund, had a combined ending balance of $18,157,364. Any future modification to the Fund Allocation Plan or commitment of gap financing for an affordable housing development will be presented to the City Council for consideration.
Respectfully submitted,
Grace Ruiz-Stepter
Housing & Community Development Director
Attachment:
1. Anaheim Local Housing Trust Fund FY 2025/2026 Annual Report