Social Housing Legislation Introduced To Create Mixed-Income Housing

Assemblymember Alex Lee has introduced legislation to create social housing in California, publicly developed and owned homes that will be affordable to Californians of mixed incomes. AB 11, The Social Housing Act, will establish a state authority with the goal of developing social housing to tackle California's chronic housing shortage. 

“Since my first day in office, I have been pushing relentlessly to bring social housing to California,” said Assemblymember Lee. “It’s a missing piece in our toolbox to tackle the housing crisis. Social housing can actualize housing as a human right. I’m proud to introduce AB 11 to build on my work and achieve this vision. California home and rent prices are among the highest in the nation, and I’ll keep fighting for social housing policy as a solution.” 

Roughly 40% of households, including over half of all renters, are rent-burdened in California, spending more than 30% of their income on housing. The median sale price of a home in San Jose, California, was $1.5 million in August 2024 — a price tag that’s unaffordable for most Bay Area residents. Existing strategies to address the lack of affordable housing have not produced nearly enough to meet demand. California has to build at least 2.5 million more housing units by 2030. Between 2018 to 2022, however, the state built just roughly 85,000 housing units annually. 

Assemblymember Lee has been at the forefront of advancing social housing policy — a model that’s proven successful both in the U.S. and globally. He was the first California state legislator to propose social housing legislation in 2021. Since then, states like Hawaii and localities such as Seattle and Montgomery County, Maryland, have developed their own social housing policies. Recently, federal lawmakers have proposed legislation with the potential to build over 1.25 million social housing units. Stakeholders like the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development and the Sanders Institute have also engaged in the issue to explore social housing as a solution to the national housing crisis. 

Social housing will complement California’s ongoing efforts to address the state's housing shortage. Unlike the current model of affordable housing, social housing is financially self-sustaining given that people with higher incomes will subsidize low-income units. Social housing avoids the problem of concentrated poverty by creating mixed-income neighborhoods. This strategy fosters economic opportunities, while preserving affordability in communities as seen in Singapore and Vienna, the international gold standards of social housing. Roughly 80% of Singaporeans live in social housing, and 75% of the Viennese population qualify for social housing. Both places have successfully housed their population via publicly developed, mixed-income homes. 

“Social housing has seen wide success internationally. By embracing social housing at scale, we can resolve our housing crisis that’s made the American dream impossible for too many,” said Assemblymember Lee. “I will continue to champion common sense, proven policy that provides housing as a human right.”