California will put housing and homelessness programs under one agency
California is forming a new housing and homelessness agency on July 1 to consolidate affordable housing funding programs. Developers see a chance to shorten financing delays, but proposed budget cuts leave no new money attached.
California's new California Housing and Homelessness Agency is set to bring multiple departments that handle state and federal housing money into one structure. Affordable housing developers now often have to seek tax credits, bonds, grants and subsidies from different places, a process that can take years before construction can start.
Supporters hope the change can create a simpler application process and reduce costs in expensive regions such as the Bay Area. The concern is that the reorganization is arriving without added funding, while some developers and former state housing officials question how existing programs and local dollars will be handled.