Mayor Bass Announces Nearly 30,000 Homes Moving Forward in First Year of Landmark Housing Program

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The Citywide Housing Incentive Program unlocks the capacity to build nearly half a million new homes across Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES - Mayor Karen Bass today unveiled a new and promising progress report showing that nearly 30,000 new homes are moving forward across Los Angeles through the Citywide Housing Incentive Program (CHIP), one year after she signed the measure into effect.

CHIP, the largest local rezoning program in the country, was designed to cut red tape and make it easier, faster, and more affordable to build homes near jobs, public transit stops, and in the neighborhoods where Angelenos already live and work. With strong backing from Mayor Bass, the program was approved by the Los Angeles City Council last year with near-unanimous support.

"For decades, Los Angeles failed to build enough housing, and working families have paid the price through soaring rents and astronomical housing costs," said Mayor Karen Bass. "I came into City Hall to break that status quo, speed up construction, and make Los Angeles more affordable. One major step was launching the Citywide Housing Incentive Program, and today nearly 30,000 new homes are moving forward because of it. As Mayor, I will keep doing everything I can to build more housing so our kids and grandkids can still call these communities home."

Speaking at an active construction site for a CHIP-approved project, the Mayor-joined by Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martínez, City Planning Director Vince Bertoni, and Steven Scheibe of Generation Real Estate Partners-explained that the CHIP program has unlocked the capacity to build nearly half a million new homes across Los Angeles in the years ahead.

Today's progress report shows that the City is making real progress toward that goal at the one-year mark, including:

• Record Production: Nearly 30,000 new homes, including many larger multi-bedroom units, are moving forward as a result of CHIP.

• Deeper Affordability: Nearly 40% of all proposed units will be income-restricted for 99 years.

• Access to Opportunity: More than half of all proposed units are in higher-opportunity neighborhoods with better schools, stronger employment outcomes, improved transit, and cleaner air.

• Faster Approvals: 90% of CHIP projects are advancing through a streamlined approval process that reduces delays and speeds up housing construction.

During her remarks, Mayor Bass also reflected on the extent of City Hall's housing dysfunction when she took office. Over the past three years, the Mayor has focused on cutting red tape, speeding up housing production, and driving down costs across the city, including:

• Signing an executive directive to speed up 100% affordable housing, with 42,000+ units in the pipeline and 6,000+ currently under construction. Last December, this directive was codified into law.

• Expanding efforts beyond 100% affordable housing to also support housing for working families, middle-income Angelenos, and first-time homebuyers.

• Expanding the Adaptive Reuse Ordinance citywide to convert vacant office buildings and commercial spaces into housing, with current estimates showing it could create more than 43,000 new homes across the city.

• Implementing a sweeping set of reforms to cut delays, simplify permitting, and make it faster and easier to build homes and open businesses in Los Angeles.

• Signing into law the first update to Los Angeles' Rent Stabilization Ordinance in 40 years.

• Promoting innovative housing through LA4LA and increasing opportunities for affordable housing on City-owned land.

Mayor Bass' efforts to accelerate housing development have played a key role in reducing homelessness in the city. For the first time in Los Angeles history, homelessness has declined for two consecutive years. Under her leadership, street homelessness in Los Angeles has dropped by nearly 18%, even as it has increased by a similar percentage nationwide.

Read the full Citywide Housing Incentive Program progress report here.