IMPACT REPORT 2024: Celebrating Progress, Building Momentum, Advancing Housing Justice

Download the Report Here

Housing Now!’s first-ever bilingual Impact Report highlights the milestones achieved in 2024 and reflects on the work advancing housing justice statewide. The report includes:

📍 Key accomplishments from our advocacy, organizing, and coalition building work.

📍Policy and legislative wins from the coalition.

📍Insights into the challenges faced and the collective path forward for the housing justice movement.

Explore the report and share in the momentum we’re building for a more equitable California!

INFORME DE NUESTRO IMPACTO 2024: Celebrando el progreso, generando impulso, promoviendo la justicia en materia de vivienda

Baja el informe aquí

El primer Informe de Nuestro Impacto bilingüe de Housing Now! destaca los logros alcanzados en 2024 y refleja el trabajo para promover la justicia en materia de vivienda en todo el estado. El informe incluye:

📍Logros clave de nuestros esfuerzos en abogacía, movilización de comunidades de base y la creación de coaliciones.

📍Logros políticos y legislativos de la coalición.

📍Reflexiones sobre los desafíos que enfrentamos y el camino colectivo a seguir para el movimiento por la justicia habitacional.

¡Explora el informe y comparte el impulso que estamos construyendo para una California más equitativa!

For media/press inquiries, please reach out to Nathan Cheung, Communications Manager, at [email protected]

VOTER GUIDE, RESOURCES, AND ENDORSEMENTS

We are headed into elections in November! For those of you who are able to vote, we have prepared some resources for you to make sure that you are registered to vote and know how to vote. If you are not able to vote during this election, share the resources out with friends, family, and community members who can!

Housing Now! has also prepared a voter guide in multiple languages that was voted on by our coalition, representing our endorsements of key propositions and ballot measures around housing. A more detailed breakdown of the propositions is available below.

👆🏽 Get personalized voting information at VOTE 411 👆🏽

Our voter guide is available as a pdf with clickable links in English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Tagalog, and Chinese. Please refer to this guide when casting your vote, and share it out with your community members! Together, we have the power to move towards a California where all of us have access to healthy, stable, quality housing. In addition to the printable pdf versions, we also have social media tiles that you can use for your organization or your individual accounts.

PDF FILES IN ENGLISH, SPANISH, CHINESE, TAGALOG, VIETNAMESE, AND KOREAN (CLICK TO DOWNLOAD) 

SOCIAL MEDIA TILES IN ENGLISH, SPANISH, CHINESE, TAGALOG, VIETNAMESE, AND KOREAN (CLICK TO DOWNLOAD) 

• 📍 English
• 📍 Spanish
• 📍 Tagalog
• 📍 Chinese
• 📍 Vietnamese
• 📍 Korean

For a more detailed breakdown of the statewide ballot initiatives and endorsement links: 

✅ YES ON PROP 5: Safe, Affordable Communities: Endorse Prop 5 Here

Voting yes on Prop 5 would empower local voters to approve bonds for affordable housing, critical public infrastructure, and emergency response in our communities with a 55% vote – if those bonds have strict accountability and oversight, instead of the 66.7% that is currently required. Voting yes on Prop 5 would get California closer to a majority rule and allow more democratic decision making on key spending and taxing decisions that more accurately reflect majority will. Voting yes on Prop 5 would also make it easier for cities to raise more money to fund affordable housing, and build or update public infrastructure. 

• • Prop 5 Fact Sheet
• • LA Times Endorsement - Yes on Prop 5
• • Text of Prop 5
• • State Voter Guide
• • From PICO CA: Slide Deck on Prop 5 & 36

✅ YES ON PROP 33: Justice for Renters Act: Endorse Prop 33 here

Voting yes on Prop 33 would restore the right of local communities to expand rent control by repealing the Pete Wilson-signed Costa-Hawkins Act of 1995, a law that created loopholes in local rent stabilization laws. Rent control will limit how much a landlord can increase rent year after year and protect thousands of tenants across the state and provide stabilized rent/lower rent increases, stable housing, and protection from unregulated rent hikes. There are currently many limits placed on local governments dictating what types of housing can be subject to rent control. Voting yes on Prop 33 would remove these regulations and give local governments the power to establish and regulate rent control. 

• • YouTube Channel: Yes on 33
• • Housing Now! Slide Deck on Prop 33
• • Campaign Email List
• • Volunteer Sign Up
• • State Voter Guide

✅ YES ON PROP 6: End Slavery: Support Prop 6 here

Voting yes on Prop 6 would eliminate involuntary servitude or slavery of any form as a criminal punishment that can be used by the state.

• • LA Times Endorsement - Yes on Prop 6

✅ YES ON PROP 32 

Voting yes on Prop 32 would increase California’s minimum wage to $18 an hour for all employees by 2026. This would help millions of Californians who are struggling to make ends meet and support their households' basic needs, and reduce income inequality.

• • LA Times Endorsement - Yes on Prop 32

❌ NO ON PROP 34: Oppose Prop 34 here

Prop 34 is a revenge initiative funded by corporate landlords and billionaires through the California Apartment Association (CAA). They want to strip AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) of its nonprofit status and disrupt its global lifesaving work—all because AHF supports rent control in California.4

• • LA Times Endorsement - No on Prop 34

❌ NO ON PROP 36: Stop Prison Spending Scam & Cuts to Local Safety Programs: Oppose Prop 36 here

Despite claiming to provide treatment, Prop 36 would actually CUT dedicated funding for treatment and victims services. It is a dangerous ballot initiative that offers no solutions, only punishment, refocusing on mass incarceration instead of community investments in mental health services, substance use treatment, and diversion programs. 

• • Fact Sheet
• • Social Media Toolkit
• • Talking Points
• • State Voter Guide
• • LA Times Endorsement - No on Prop 36
• • From CA Budget & Policy Center: Understanding Prop. 36

✅ YES ON MEASURE A (LOS ANGELES COUNTY)

Voting yes on Measure A would generate revenue to fund affordable housing, homelessness prevention programs, mental health programs, more safe streets, and create more accountability on county spending through audits and citizen oversight.

• • Website and Endorsement Link
• • Social Media Toolkit
• • LA Times Endorsement - Yes on Measure A
• • Volunteer to Phone Bank Here

ADDITIONAL VOTER RESOURCES:

Below are some more voter resources for those who may be experiencing homelessness, not have an ID, or have language barriers to understanding what you might need to vote:

• • VoterRiders Website: You can check information about voting laws in California.
• • VoteRiders ID Toolkit: Information to understand your state's voter ID laws.
• • Voter Toolkit for People Experiencing Homelessness: National Alliance to End Homelessness created this to ensure folks experiencing homelessness can still exercise their right to vote. 
• • Rideshare for People Facing Obstacles Getting to Polling Stations: RideShare2Vote created this for those without a permanent address in California who face an obstacle getting to the polls to cast their ballot. You can book it for yourself or on behalf of someone else. 
• • "The Do's and Don'ts of Election Misinformation" one-pager: Created in English and Spanish.
• • Join the Civic Listening Corps: A volunteer network of individuals trained to monitor, critically evaluate, and report misinformation on topics central to our civic life.

For any additional questions, please get in touch with Nathan Cheung at [email protected].

Soaring housing costs and continual economic instability across the country are striking at the core of our communities’ well-being and social fabric. Corporate landlords driven by profit have expanded their control over our homes. And Wall Street investors are gambling on real estate at unprecedented levels, unleashing gentrification, flipping for a profit, and vacancy alongside homelessness in our neighborhoods.

Today, millions face the daunting reality of skyrocketing costs and the constant threat of eviction and displacement. The increasing use of housing as a wealth and investment vehicle, the concentration of profit-driven corporate control of housing, and the political and financial retreat of the state are key drivers of our housing affordability crisis.

This report, "Building Our Future: Grassroots Reflections on Social Housing," delves into the urgent need for social housing as a radical, transformative, and common-sense solution to our housing crisis. A growing movement of organizers is advocating for permanently and deeply affordable social housing, that is publicly, collectively or non- profit owned and under democratic resident or community control. Through tenant unions, rent strikes, and policy campaigns, groups are demanding public, government intervention to overcome catastrophic market failures and ensure housingfor everyone.

As the report makes clear, campaigns for social housing are underway across various regions, for example: in California, organizers claim legislative victories such as SB 555, which mandates a government study on social housing; in Seattle, the establishment of the Seattle Social Housing Developer (SSHD) to build publicly owned, permanently affordable housing; and in Kansas City, Missouri, organizers secured a $50 million bond for affordable housing and through mass tenant organizing are shifting towards campaigns for building municipal social housing.

This report, crafted by Housing Now!, local and national partner organizations, policy analysts, and educators rooted in housing, racial, and climate justice movements, is intended to serve as a rallying cry and blueprint for transformational housing futures.

We CAN end the housing crisis!

¡Sí podemos terminar con la falta de viviendas! 

This year, through a collaborative grant with other statewide and regional housing justice orgs, we conducted some research in order to create a slate of civic education materials to help educate Californian voters across the state to vote YES for Housing Justice in this year's primary election on November 8.  Below find resources and links to support your civic engagement work this year!

Let's get out the vote and educate California voters to vote YES on Housing Justice! 

Este año, a través de una subvención colaborativa con otras organizaciones estatales y regionales de justicia de vivienda, realizamos una investigación para crear materiales de educación cívica y educar a los votantes de California a traves del estado que voten SÍ por una vivienda justa en las elecciones primarias de este año el 8 de noviembre. A continuación, encuentre recursos y enlaces para apoyar su trabajo de compromiso cívico este año.

¡Salgamos a votar y eduquemos a los votantes de California para que voten SÍ por una vivienda justa !

Resources for Voter Engagement/Recursos para la Participación de los Votantes

Recording of National Low Income Housing Coalition Webinar for Housing Now! CA

Slides from Webinar

Register to Vote/Regístrate Para Votar   

Find Your Polling Place /Donde Votar

Voter Pledges/Promesas de los Votantes

Our Homes, Our Votes Voter Engagement Resource Toolkit

Messages/ Mensajes:

These are popular messages in our initial ad testing.  Use this housing narrative and framework to educate voters on valuing and understanding housing as a public good and human need.

Every child in California should have the right to a home! Look for candidates committed to lowering the cost of housing, not candidates looking out for big corporate landlord interests. Your vote in the primary election will impact housing decisions in your neighborhood and your city.

By treating housing as a public good, like the water we drink or the roads we drive on, we can end this housing crisis and ensure everyone has a stable place to call home.

Este mensaje resulto popular en nuestra prueba de publicidad inicial. Usa estos temas para educar a los votantes sobre la valoración y comprensión de la vivienda como un bien público y una necesidad humana.

La vivienda económica permanente es un derecho a un hogar para todos, sin importar tus ingresos o antecedentes. Estamos votando juntos A FAVOR de viviendas asequibles y EN CONTRA de la codicia de las grandes corporaciones de la industria de bienes y raíces. ¡Ya basta!

Headlines/ Titulares 

Use these popular short texts to mobilize your community to vote in this year's election! 

We can’t wait to vote!

Be a voter, raise a voter!

Usa estos titulares cortos populares para movilizar a tu comunidad a votar en las elecciones de este año.

¡No podemos esperar para votar!

¡Se un votante, cría un votante!

Education Resources/ Recursos Educativos

Use these popular messages, graphics, and videos to educate voters on corporate greed and its role in determining elections and legislation.  Mobilize voters to vote for housing justice and for candidates who say no to corporate real estate money and yes to tenant protections and truly affordable, stable homes for families.

Usa estos mensajes, gráficos y videos populares para educar a los votantes sobre la codicia corporativa y su papel en la determinación de las elecciones y la legislación. Moviliza a los votantes para que voten por una vivienda justa y por candidatos que digan no al dinero inmobiliario corporativo y sí a la protección de los inquilinos y hogares verdaderamente asequibles y estables para las familias.

Images and Graphics/ Imágenes y Gráficos                 Videos

Social Media Posts and YouTube/ Compartir en Redes Sociales y YouTube

Repost these popular and tested social media posts and YouTube videos

Vuelva a publicar estas comentarios populares en las redes sociales y videos de YouTube 

Español:          Image               Video                  YouTube (Español)

English:           Image               Video                  YouTube (English)

Questions or Comments? Contact Rae Huang, Senior Organizer at [email protected].  

Everyone deserves a place to call home. 

If you are worried about paying rent, know:

- You have the right to fight an eviction in court.

- There's billions of dollars in rental assistance in California. Apply at Housing is Key.

- You may be eligible for a free lawyer to help you. Visit Law Help CA. 

(Messaging above courtesy of Eviction Lab)

Learn Your COVID Eviction Protections

Updated factsheets are available in English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Chinese, Russian, Armenian, Farsi, Khmer, Korean

Money is Available for Rent and Utilities 

- The state has promised to pay 100% of unpaid rent for low-income renters who have COVID-19 related financial impacts for unpaid rent accrued from April 1, 2020. Renters can apply for that assistance if the landlord does not apply. There is also money to help renters pay utility bills.

Renters can still apply for 100% rental assistance even after October 1, 2021. 

- To qualify for assistance, the renter must (1) have income at or below 80% of the Area Median Income, (2) have experienced COVID-19 related financial impacts (lost income, increased expenses, etc.), and (3) be at risk of homelessness or housing instability. 

- Renters are eligible for 18 months of total rental assistance and 12 months of utility assistance, including both past due rent and upcoming rent. 

- If a renter has already moved out of their unit and has unpaid rent, they are still eligible for assistance for that unpaid rent.  

- Applying for rental assistance may provide some valuable defenses in an eviction case. Please encourage renters to apply!

Here's a letter to share with your landlord stating that you have applied for rental assistance. (Download it to be able to edit. Courtesy of the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment-ACCE). 

For help getting rental assistance call 1- 833-430-2122 or visit Housing is Key.

CA COVID-19 Renter Protections from October 1, 2021, Onward

The State of California has decided to end most protections for renters due to COVID-19 on September 30, 2021, BUT renters still have important legal protections.  If you cannot pay your rent, are worried about eviction, or have received an eviction notice, you should consult with a lawyer. Visit www.lawhelpca.org to find a free or low-cost lawyer to help you.

Renters Still Have Protections After Oct. 1

- For rent due between March 1, 2020, and August 31, 2020, a renter who completes a specific declaration that they have “COVID-19 related financial distress” (lost income, increased expenses,  etc.) can never be evicted because they did not pay that rent. 

- For rent due between September 1, 2020, and September 30, 2021, a renter who completes a specific declaration that they have “COVID-19 related financial distress” AND pays 25% of the rent due for this period by September 30, 2021, can never be evicted because they did not pay the rest of that rent. 

- A landlord may bring a court case to collect the remaining unpaid rent but cannot evict the renter based on the debt.

- The renter MUST SIGN the financial distress declaration and return it to the landlord EACH TIME the renter is given a 15-day notice.  

- Renters who have not been able to pay the 25% rent, who have not returned a declaration of COVID financial impacts, or who otherwise have unpaid rent for the period from March 2020 to September 2021 still have protections in the eviction process. 

A declaration that complies with the law is available here (Courtesy of the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment-ACCE).

- Between October 1, 2021, and March 30, 2022, a landlord cannot get a summons to evict a renter based on nonpayment of rent unless they file:

• A signed statement that the landlord completed a rental assistance application
that was denied and a copy of the final denial; OR

• A signed statement that (1) the landlord submitted a completed application, (2) more than 20 days have passed since the landlord submitted the application or served a 3-day notice of nonpayment of rent, (3) the landlord has not received notice from the rental assistance program that the renter has submitted a completed application, and (4) the landlord has not heard that the renter has applied; OR

• A signed statement that the renter moved in on or after October 1, 2021.

Here's a letter to share with your landlord stating that you have applied for rental assistance. (Download it to be able to edit. Courtesy of the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment-ACCE).

Renters Have Additional Defenses in Court

- The renter can dispute the landlord’s claim that they were denied rental assistance, or that the landlord completed a rental assistance application but the renter did not. The renter can file a court form called an Answer to tell the court their side of the story.  

- If the landlord says that the renter did not submit a COVID-19 financial hardship declaration, the renter can still submit one after the court case starts to show they should be protected from eviction.

- If a renter can show that (1) the eviction case demands rent that accumulated due to COVID-19 financial hardship, (2) the renter has an APPROVED rental assistance application and proof of the  approval, and (3) the approved rental assistance along with payments that the renter made equal full payment of the rent demanded in the eviction case, then the court must dismiss the case (or set aside the judgment if one has been entered). Renters should seek help from a lawyer. 

- If a renter was approved for assistance, but the landlord has not yet received payment, the court should pause the eviction case for 15 days to obtain  proof of payment. If a renter receives payment directly from a rental assistance program but does not pay it to the landlord within 15 days of receiving it, the court may still evict the renter. Renters should seek help from a lawyer. 

- Rent due on or after October 1, 2021, is subject to the normal 3-day notice to “pay or quit (move out).” The notice must include the amount of rent demanded, the date each amount became due, the telephone number and website for the local/state rental assistance program, and instructions to apply for rental assistance within 15 days. 

- Renters who move into a new home on or after October 1, 2021, do not have these additional protections. A landlord may evict with a 3-day notice and does not have to verify that they have applied for rental assistance. 

You can find information about eviction cases and court forms here. 

Renters Also Have Other COVID-19 Rights

- Landlords cannot charge late fees or interest for nonpayment of rent that came due between March 1, 2020, and September 30, 2021. 

- Landlords must use a rental payment for the current month’s rent unless the renter agrees in writing the landlord can use it for past due rent. 

- Landlords cannot use a renter’s security deposit to cover COVID-19 rental debt unless the renter agrees in writing. 

- Landlords face increased penalties if they illegally lock out renters, shut off utilities like hot water, remove outside doors or windows, or engage in other extreme harassing behavior if the renter has provided the landlord a signed declaration that they have “COVID-19 related financial distress.” 

- Landlords and landlord screening companies are prohibited from considering rental debt accrued between March 1, 2020, and September 30, 2021, as a negative factor when evaluating a renter’s qualifications to rent. Landlords cannot sell rental debt from this period. Some COVID-19 debt recovery actions are shielded from public view. 

- If a landlord wants to evict a renter for rent that was not paid between March 2020 and September 2021, the landlord must give the renter a 15-day notice to “pay rent or quit (move out)” that explains the eviction protections AND a blank declaration form the renter can sign that says the renter has financial impacts from COVID. 

There May Be Stronger Local Protections

- Some cities and counties have laws that give a tenant more time to pay rent before a landlord can try to collect it, or that prohibit landlords from evicting tenants except for serious violations.

- The interaction between state law and local laws can be complex and renters should consult a lawyer for help.

Legal Resources

You can find legal services organizations in your area here or check out Tenant's Together Local Resource Directory here.