Occidental College Urban & Environmental Policy Institute: Measuring LA’s Mansion Tax

In November 2022, 58% of Los Angeles City voters approved Measure ULA to increase the City’s existing real estate transfer tax on property sales over $5 million. The law went into effect on April 1, 2023. In its first year, Measure ULA is on track to raise hundreds of millions of dollars and spend the funds to build more affordable housing, provide emergency rental assistance, protect tenants from eviction, and prevent homelessness. This is all despite efforts by the real estate industry to undermine the new law and a significant shortage of Los Angeles Housing Department (LAHD) staff to carry out the unprecedented program. Measure ULA has nevertheless proven itself effective in improving housing conditions in Los Angeles, and the city has now joined 16 other cities and counties across the nation that have enacted progressive taxes on high-price real estate sales (i.e. “mansion taxes”).

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