Simple Explanation of RHNA and Housing Mandates

Posted by: Amy Kalish – June 10, 2023 – 6:10pm

https://marinpost.org/blog/2023/6/10/rhna-and-housing-mandates-made-easy

WHAT IS RHNA?

RHNA is the Regional Housing Needs Assessment — the number of housing units (a place for at least one person to live) assigned to an area by the state. This happens in eight-year housing cycles, and the allocation numbers are determined by the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD).

WHERE DOES IT COME FROM?

The total number is supposed to represent California’s current and projected housing needs over the next eight years. This is the 6th RHNA cycle, covering 2023-2031. The HCD says California is short 2.5 million housing units. (Walked back from Newsom’s unsubstantiated campaign assertion of 3.5 million). The numbers have been questioned. I am using Marin County as an example, but this can be expanded to any city or county in California. Here is the Marin County 6th Cycle RHNA (previous cycle numbers in last column):

DID RHNA FAIL AN AUDIT?

Yes. The 2.5-million-unit requirement was not in line with projected population growth even before the pandemic. An emergency state audit was requested. The result of the audit: The California State Auditor found that the numbers were not reliable or reproducible, and the methodology was opaque. All documentation is available at citizenmarin.org on the AUDIT page. The audit result was ignored by HCD, and the 2.5 million wasn’t adjusted. It was chunked out into regions. Ours — the Bay Area — was assigned 441,000 new units to be distributed over each city and the unincorporated area.

Read the full story

Note: This is a simplified explanation that has resonated with people new to the issues. Marin Post is full of excellent resources for more in-depth understanding. Here are some backup resources for the topics covered above:

RHNA NUMBERS QUESTIONED:

Regional Housing Needs Determination Process (Sen. Glazer).pdf (ca.gov)

Report 2021-125 (ca.gov)

Double Counting in the Latest Housing Needs Assessment – Embarcadero Institute

The Marin Post

LAWSUIT INFORMATION:

Litigation Resources | Catalysts for Local Control (catalystsca.org)

HCD DASHBOARD:

Housing Element Review and Compliance Report | California Department of Housing and Community Development

STRIKE FORCE:

Attorney General Bonta Launches Housing Strike Force, Announces Convening of Tenant Roundtables Across the State | State of California – Department of Justice – Office of the Attorney General

MORE INFO: