Oakland City Council
May 16, 2023

Staff Contact: Zachariah Oquenda: [email protected] or 909-450-9214 Senate Bill 555
As introduced February 15, 2023
Stable Affordable Housing Act
Senator Aisha Wahab, D-Hayward

SB 555
SB 555 sets 5- and 10-year goals for the
creation of 1.2 million below-market rate
housing units, with an emphasis on the
lowest-income residents.

SB 555 requires the Department of Housing
and Community Development to develop a
master plan, with Legislative
recommendations, to achieve the state’s stable
affordable housing goals—both through
acquisition and preservation of existing
housing and production of new stable
affordable housing.

ISSUE
According to the February 2023 report
provided during the joint Assembly and
Senate hearing on housing production:
 California needs 140,000 affordable
units to be developed annually over
the next eight years to meet the needs
of lower-income Californians.
 It is estimated that California needs to
spend $18 billion annually to meet this
demand for low-income affordable
housing.
 In the last few years, production of
Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs)
have rocketed to 10,000 a year, and
development of deed-restricted low-
income affordable units still remain
below 20,000 per year.
 Today, more than one-quarter of
California renters are severely rent

burdened, spending over one-half of
their income on rent alone.
 Rent burden hits lower-income
residents hardest of all, and the
unaffordability of rents is a major
driver of homelessness.

A report by Justice in Aging shows the
affordable housing crisis affects seniors and
persons with disabilities most.
 46 percent of all extremely low-
income households are seniors or
people with disabilities.
 Older adults are the fastest growing
age segment of the homeless
population, as the number of 65 year-
olds who experience homelessness is
estimated to triple by 2030.

The private housing market has failed to meet
the demand of millions of California residents
to have access to housing they can afford.

SOLUTION
SB 555’s solution is to create housing
sheltered from these market forces.

SB 555 will put us on a realistic path to
creating 1.2 million units of stable affordable
housing, meeting the needs of lower- and
middle-income residents, including seniors,
people with disabilities, veterans, and foster
youth.

Staff Contact: Zachariah Oquenda: [email protected] or 909-450-9214

SUPPORT
 Housing Now! (Co-Sponsor)
 Public Advocates (Co-Sponsor)
 Tenants Together (Co-Sponsor)
 Affordable Housing Network of Santa
Clara County
 AFSCME California
 Aids Healthcare Foundation
 Alliance for Community Transit - Los
Angeles (ACT- LA)
 Alliance of Californians for
Community Empowerment (ACCE)
 Bend the Arc: Jewish Action,
Southern California
 Berkeley Tenants Union
 Beverly-Vermont Community Land
Trust
 California Community Land Trust
Network
 California Democratic Party Renters
Council
 California Federation of Teachers
 California Green New Deal Coalition
 California Labor Federation, AFL-
CIO
 Canal Alliance
 CAUSE
 CEJA Action
 Central Valley Empowerment
Alliance
 Chispa
 City of Santa Monica
 Community Coalition
 Community Power Collective
 Congregations Organized for
Prophetic Engagement
 Council of California
 East Bay Alliance for A Sustainable
Economy (EBASE)
 Evolve California
 Faith in The Valley
 Glad Tidings Community
Development
 Healing Justice
 Housing Land Trust of The North Bay
 Human Impact Partners
 LA Forward
 Latino Health Access
 Legal Aid of Sonoma County
 Long Beach Residents Empowered
 Los Angeles Neighborhood Land
Trust
 Mi Familia Vota
 National Association of Social
Workers, California Chapter
 National Housing Law Project
 Natural Resources Defense Council
(NRDC)
 Oakland Tenants Union
 Pasadena Tenant Union
 PolicyLink
 Power California
 PowerCa Action
 Public Counsel
 Sacramento Regional Coalition to End
Homelessness
 San Luis Obispo County Democratic
Party
 Santa Clara Valley Water District
 SEIU California
 SF Council of Community Housing
Organizations
 Sonoma Valley Housing Group
 Starting Over INC.
 State Building & Construction Trades
Council of California
 Strategic Actions for A Just Economy
(SAJE)
 Thai Community Development Center
 The Children's Partnership
 Trust South LA