Getting Inclusionary Housing Right

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Cities across Santa Clara County are considering this powerful tool to build more new affordable homes without subsidy.

But done wrong it can fall short, or even stop the development of new homes in its tracks. Learn how it works, and how to get it right!

Many of our local cities are joining forces right now in a shared nexus study, the wonky and in-depth analysis that assesses the feasibility of local residential development and the potential for developers of market-rate housing to add a share of affordable homes to their buildings.

If cities require too few affordable homes or affordability that’s too shallow, they leave public benefits on the table. Too much, and developers can’t build any housing at all.

Come hear about local cities that are getting it right: successfully using inclusionary housing policies to achieve mixed-income communities, generate funding to subsidize deeper levels of affordability, and gain valuable land for affordable homes!

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July 30, 2025

Take Action: Help Advance Social Housing in California

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Image Source: California Social Housing Description: Fenton Silver Spring, one of several large social housing developments recently constructed in Maryland.

Social Housing holds promise to deliver housing affordability for lower- and moderate-income families and individuals in California… if we get it right. Make sure your voice is heard in this important study!

In 2023, the California Legislature passed SB 555, which set a ten-year goal of creating 1.2 million units of Social Housing to support lower- and moderate-income residents unable to afford market rents in California. 

Social Housing refers to homes that: 

  • are owned by a public agency, co-operative, or mission-driven nonprofit; 
  • that are permanently affordable;
  • that maintain protections for tenants and residents; and 
  • that tenants and residents have a meaningful role in managing and governing.

The Stable Affordable Housing Act of 2023 (SB 555) did not provide a specific pathway for this Social Housing to be created in California, instead only directing the Department of Housing and Community Development to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the opportunities, resources, obstacles, and recommendations for the creation of social housing. The results of this study will shape the State legislature’s debate on Social Housing moving forward and may determine how the legislature defines Social Housing, how it gets built, how it gets funded, and whether it ever gets built.

The authors of the study have included a community feedback period for all community members to give their thoughts on what role Social Housing should play in California’s future. We need to make our voices heard and let the study authors know what Social Housing could mean to our communities.

It is also important that we continue to reinforce the definition of Social Housing, as changes to the definition could redirect funding intended to meet the needs of lower-income residents to market-rate housing developments instead. Click here to access the survey, and click here for a useful survey response guide from our friends at Public Advocates and Housing Now!

Survey responses are due by August 8.

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