California lawmakers are preparing for a historic surge in federal funding for affordable housing construction, a tsunami of subsidy that advocates say could as much as double the number of low-rent units produced by the state over the next decade.
It comes from an unlikely source.
Buried deep among the cuts to social services in President Donald Trump’s signature spending package, the One Big Beautiful Bill, is an increase in support for the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit that affordable housing advocates have sought for years. Those tax credits are the most important federal funding available for affordable housing, and they’re used in low-income projects throughout California.
Exactly how much difference this boost will make in the Golden State depends on many factors, including tariffs, labor costs, state funding, and more. But experts agree the change could help California build thousands more affordable homes each year.
“It’s a very big deal,” said Matt Schwartz, president and CEO of the affordable housing nonprofit California Housing Partnership. “These provisions are a huge shot in the arm for an affordable housing field that has been suffering under exhausted state resources.”
