September 29, 2025
Where wildfires and raids wreak havoc, ULA steps up
Measure ULA made a dramatic cameo appearance in the news recently, when a backroom deal to slash its funding was announced — and then promptly fell apart.
What hasn’t gotten as much coverage, but probably should, are the important ways that ULA funds have been making it possible for Los Angeles to respond to the crises that have hit our city in 2025 — the January wildfires and the federal raids attacking immigrants — by supporting our neighbors to keep them safely housed.
Wildfires — Rental assistance and rebuilding
The January fires made Los Angeles’s housing crisis even worse — thousands of people in Pacific Palisades (and, outside of L.A., Altadena) lost their homes, and another nearly 200,000 homeowners and renters have been forced to evacuate their homes due to toxic ash, soot, and smoke that made them unsafe for occupancy. All of these people were thrown into the overcrowded, undersupplied housing market.
In addition, many low-wage workers employed by homeowners (as housekeepers, gardeners, child caregivers, and others) and by local businesses destroyed by both fires have been left without jobs.
Fortunately, Los Angeles now has the revenues from Measures ULA to add new affordable housing, protect vulnerable tenants from rent increases and illegal evictions, and provide rental assistance to those having trouble meeting their monthly rent payments. The ULA Disaster Relief Interim Income Support Program is set to provide urgently needed assistance to up to 1,000 families affected by the wildfires. (A delay in the rollout owing to LA’s budget shortfalls was reported last week — happily, ULA itself will be part of fixing this, supporting the staff the city needs to keep affordable housing and tenant protection on track.)
ULA is bringing more local money than ever before into new affordable housing production.
ULA is bringing more local money than ever before into new affordable housing production, including through accelerator funds that help bring existing projects online more quickly. ULA-funded tenant anti-harassment programs have also played an important role in keeping tenants informed about their rights in the face of pressure tactics by landlords looking to cash in on the flood of demand by displaced residents. ULA-funded rental assistance checks are going to seniors and others who are being squeezed by higher rents supercharged by the additional housing crunch the fires have caused.
In the longer term, ULA funds are a key part of any rebuilding strategy. ULA’s revenues will be a key funding stream for any new affordable housing projects as the city works to bring its housing market into balance. And ULA funding for conventional and new homeownership models such as social housing will be a key piece of the puzzle in the region’s broader housing strategy. In ULA’s first round of funding for homeownership opportunities launched in July, 10 households have already received downpayment assistance helping them become first-time homebuyers, with another 36 estimated to receive assistance in the coming months.
Federal Raids — income support
The United to House L.A. coalition is working to make sure that Measure ULA funds go to help immigrant families who are being impacted by federal raids.
In a letter to the ULA Citizens Oversight Committee, the coalition’s director, Joe Donlin noted that these raids “have torn families apart, forced workers and business owners into hiding and put the income and housing stability for tens of thousands of families at risk.” The letter goes on to recommend that the City of L.A. use funds from the ULA Disaster Relief Income Support Program to “support families deeply harmed” by “the immigration raids.”
LAist covered these efforts to put ULA dollars to work on behalf of immigrant Angelenos and their families as part of a broader look at efforts across the region to raise funds to assist those impacted by the federal raids without compromising their safety and privacy.
The article quoted Estuardo Mazariegos, co-director of the L.A. Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment, as saying, “We have the opportunity to extend [assistance] to the people that are directly impacted by this crisis, just like we extended it to people directly impacted by the fires.”
UHLA will always remain laser-focused on making sure that ULA funds are working to address our ongoing housing and homelessness crisis. And within those parameters, we will always work to provide the maximum assistance to those who need it most. That combination of structure and flexibility is one of ULA’s great strengths, and we will continue to ensure that it continues to work on behalf of all of our fellow Angelenos.
ULA Resources
- LA Housing Department’s ULA Dashboards
- ULA Citizens Oversight Committee (COC)
- United to House LA Coalition
This newsletter is produced by the United to House LA (UHLA) Coalition that includes over 240 local nonprofit social service providers, community and tenant organizations, labor unions, affordable housing developers, faith-based organizations, and other groups that came together to craft Measure ULA and who have stayed together to make sure that its implementation is carried out effectively and efficiently by the City government.
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