Single-room occupancy units: demolition and replacement: housing assistance programs: eligibility for homeless individuals and families.

(1) Existing law, known as the Housing Crisis Act of 2019, among other things, prohibits an affected city or an affected county, as defined, from approving a housing development project that will require the demolition of occupied or vacant protected units, as defined, or that is located on a site where protected units were demolished in the previous 5 years unless specified requirements are met. Among these requirements, existing law requires that the project replace all existing protected units and protected units demolished on or after January 1, 2020, and, if the project is a housing development project, as defined, it will include at least as many residential dwelling units as the greatest number of residential dwelling units that existed on the project site within the last 5 years. Existing law requires that specified protected units replaced under these provisions be considered in determining whether the housing development project satisfies certain state and local requirements that the project provide a certain percentage of residential rental units affordable to, and occupied by, households with incomes that do not exceed the limits for moderate-income, lower income, very low income, or extremely low income households, as specified. This bill would additionally require that the above-described replaced protected units be considered in determining whether the housing development project satisfies requirements that the project provide a certain percentage of residential rental units affordable to, and occupied by, households with incomes that do not exceed the limits for acutely low income households, as specified. This bill, notwithstanding the above-described requirements, in the case of rehabilitation or replacement of an existing single-room occupancy building that meets prescribed criteria, would permit an affected city or an affected county to reduce the number of replacement units required if the project meets specified requirements, including, among others, that the reduction in replacement units is necessary to accommodate the conversion of single-room occupancy units, as provided, and that the converted units will be rental units with affordable rents, as specified. The bill would include specified findings declaring legislative intent with respect to these provisions. The bill would permit a borrower to conduct a market study to support the unit sizes proposed in the replacement housing plan, as provided. (2) Existing law establishes the Department of Housing and Community Development and requires it to administer various programs intended to promote the development of housing, including, among others, the Multifamily Housing Program, pursuant to which the department provides financial assistance in the form of deferred payment loans to pay for the eligible costs of development of specified types of housing projects. Existing law sets forth various general powers of the department in implementing these programs, including authorizing the department to enter into long-term contracts or agreements of up to 30 years for the purpose of servicing loans or grants or enforcing regulatory agreements or other security documents. This bill, for purposes of determining eligibility for an individual displaced from or returning to a single-room occupancy unit undergoing rehabilitation or a replacement unit that received funds from the department and is for a homeless individual or family, would (A) specify that an individual is deemed homeless if they meet certain criteria and (B) prohibit an individual or family meeting these criteria from being subject to a requirement that the unit be filled through a referral from a coordinated entry system, as defined, or a similar referral system.