The United to House LA (ULA) initiative has raised its first $1 billion to address the housing and homelessness crises in Los Angeles, marking a major step forward in the city’s efforts to expand affordable housing, protect renters, and prevent homelessness. Since its passage in 2022, the voter-approved measure, funded by a one-time real estate transfer tax on property sales exceeding $5 million (now adjusted upward to $5.3 million), has already changed thousands of lives across Los Angeles, by providing new housing, renter protections, and good-paying jobs.
“At a time when so many Angelenos are struggling with rising rents and economic hardship, Measure ULA is proving that local action can make a real difference, building homes, keeping families housed and creating good, stable jobs,” said Joe Donlin, director of the United to House LA coalition. “A billion dollars raised means a billion dollars working for the people of Los Angeles. This is the people’s billion.”
Since voters approved Measure ULA in 2022, the initiative has:
• Raised $1,032,880,148.93 (through November 2025) to expand affordable housing and prevent homelessness.
• Accelerated the development of nearly 800 affordable homes, with thousands more expected following the recent ULA-supported $387 million funding round.
• Helped thousands of renters remain housed through emergency rental assistance, eviction defense, and tenant-protection programs.
• Created good-paying union construction jobs for local workers building affordable housing in their own communities.
With more than $1 billion raised and programs that have already helped over 11,000 renters stay in their homes, ULA is now the largest local housing and homelessness- prevention initiative in the United States. This milestone demonstrates that community-driven, voter-backed funding can deliver lasting solutions to the housing crisis.
ULA’s initial “Accelerator Plus” round funded 795 affordable homes in ten different buildings across LA. As of November 2025, 187 are open at Santa Monica & Vermont, 177 are about to open at the three Enlightenment Plaza apartment buildings in East Hollywood, and ground has broken at Peak Plaza (104 units) and Grace Villas (48 units). On the way are Alveare Family (105 units), The Main (64 units), and Chavez Gardens (110 units).
“I lived for six years without housing and began to lose hope—it’s exhausting to have to live that way,” said Phoebe Valencia, a tenant in the ULA-funded Santa Monica-Vermont apartments built by the Little Tokyo Service Center. “I would say the most special thing about this place is having the sense of security that I did not have before.”
Accompanying that round were programs that helped pay back rent and offer income support to 10,000 renters — homelessness prevention programs that unfolded over the same two years that the Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count reported its first-ever consistent drop in homelessness.
ULA began funding the Stay Housed partnership with the City of LA in June 2024 and has already reached 154,669 tenants through texts, calls, and in-person events.
A $425 million spending plan passed in 2025 includes support for the largest affordable housing funding round in Los Angeles history by a factor of five, as well as renewed programs to protect renters, issue rent support payments to prevent homelessness, help first-time homebuyers, and launch social housing programs.