California Bill Signed Into Law Protecting Tenants and Housing Providers From HUD Cuts
SAN FRANCISCO, CA—The National Housing Law Project (NHLP) today released the following statement by Staff Attorney Lila Gitesatani in celebration of the a newly-signed law that will protect HUD-assisted tenants in California from federal policies that would take away housing assistance:
“Whether we receive rental assistance or pay out of pocket, all Californians deserve the safety and stability of a place to call home. The Trump administration wants to kick families out of their homes by imposing harsh work requirements and time limits on HUD-assisted residents. We fought back in California to prevent these burdensome and ineffective policies from putting families at risk – and now, thanks to Asm. Haney and Gov. Newsom, we have a new law that will protect tenants across California from threats to their ability to stay housed.
“Policies that add new requirements to housing benefits threaten the stability of working families, caretakers, and people across the state trying to make ends meet, while harming the self-sufficiency, employment prospects, and economic mobility of entire communities.”
“The true purpose behind policies like work requirements and time limits is to destroy the federal housing programs, which will worsen the housing crisis for all of us. We hope other states follow California’s example and protect federally-assisted tenants from housing instability and homelessness.”
AB 2128 was signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom on September 30th.
The bill, which was authored by Assembly Member Matt Haney and sponsored by NHLP, will proactively shield Californians from a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) proposal that would put millions at risk of losing their homes. The proposal would permit public housing authorities (PHAs) and other HUD housing providers to impose harsh work requirements and time limits on tenants in HUD housing.
Research uniformly shows that harsh and inflexible work requirements and time limits in public benefits programs lead to economic precarity without a corresponding increase in employment, causing families to lose access to desperately needed assistance.
The National Housing Law Project is a sponsor and co-author of AB 2128, and has advocated for its passage since its introduction in February of this year.