Preserving affordable housing in East LA

Affordable housing and homelessness

East LA

Expand existing project, program, or initiative (expanding and continuing ongoing, successful work)

East Los Angeles is a significant resource of naturally occurring affordable housing. However, this housing is at risk. Speculators and investors with no ties to the neighborhood are on the hunt for these properties to increase their fortunes. These buyers scoop up the cheaper older housing, evict the tenants, demolish it and build expensive market-rate housing in its place. In addition, landlords are displacing long-term existing tenants to take advantage of rising rents. These problems are affecting the long-standing residents of East Los Angeles. They are predominantly Latino and with low-incomes who pay 30% to 50% of their income on rent. Gentrification and rising rents are pushing these residents out of their neighborhood. The lack of affordable housing options in LA leaves them with nowhere to go. 450,000 affordable housing units are needed in LA County to keep up with the rate of homelessness. Losing current affordable housing in East Los Angeles will only make the issue worse.

Fideicomiso Comunitario Tierra Libre (FCTL) is a new community land trust in East Los Angeles. FCTL’s goal is to remove land from the speculative market and own it for the benefit of the community including preserving naturally occurring affordable housing. Little Tokyo Service Center (LTSC) has built over 1000 units of affordable housing in LA. Because of LTSC’s expertise, FCTL asked LTSC to partner with it on its first housing project and together they purchased and completed rehabilitation of an 11-unit affordable apartment building in 2024. Currently, LTSC is overseeing the property and asset management of the building. In order for FCTL to achieve its goal of owning and managing affordable housing, it needs to take the next step and learn how to do to it for itself. For this project, LTSC and FCTL will engage the services of a consultant to help develop a self-sustaining property and asset management system that ensures effective management and proper building maintenance. Because LTSC is currently managing the property, it has the knowledge to ensure the new plan addresses the needs of FCTL. The residents of the building will also be engaged in the plan development so that it meets their needs as well. When the plan is finalized FCTL will implement the plan. At the end of the project, FCTL will be able to independently assume responsibility for managing its current building and be confident when it takes on new projects and expands its affordable housing portfolio.

The project will be successful when FCTL gains the capacity to independently assume responsibility of its first affordable housing project. FCTL will be able to coordinate with the resident manager for rent collection, oversee property maintenance requests, lead conflict resolution among tenants, and steward self-sustaining property and asset management systems. The project will allow FCTL to achieve long-term financial stability. Los Angeles County will be different because it will have another community land trust with the ability and capacity to manage its own affordable housing. In the long-term, affordable housing will be preserved and increased in East Los Angeles. Further, the community will have control over assets and land and have a say in what happens in their neighborhood. Less displacement will occur in this low-income neighborhood and eventually, wealth will be generated for community members.