Press Release

State Senator Dr. Aisha Wahab Delivers Welcome Remarks to SB 555 Advisory Committee

State Senator Dr. Aisha Wahab Delivers Welcome Remarks to SB 555 Advisory Committee

Sacramento, CA — State Senator Dr. Aisha Wahab (D-Silicon Valley) delivered welcome remarks on Tuesday morning to the SB 555 Advisory Committee.

"We are leading the country on how social housing is defined,” said Dr. Wahab referring to the Homes Act of 2024—introduced by Senator Tina Smith and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez—which uses the definitions from SB 555. “So, as you all embark on this process to help shape the model for social housing in California, let this definition be your guidepost, because the overarching purpose for this work, is to house low-income and middle-income Californians.”

Dr. Wahab also emphasized the core work of the committee is to devise a model of social housing that can leverage partnerships across the state to house those low- and middle-income Californians, because our reliance on the private market isn’t working.

SB 555, The Stable Affordable Housing Act of 2023—signed into law on October 7, 2022—lays out a very specific definition for social housing in California:

  • The housing units are owned and managed by a public agency, a local authority, a limited-equity housing cooperative, or a mission-driven nonprofit entity solely for the benefit of residents and households unable to afford market rent.
  • Each social housing development contains housing units that accommodate a mix of household income ranges, including extremely low, very low, low-, and moderate-income households unable to afford market rent.
  • Residents of the housing units enjoy full protection against termination without just cause or for any discriminatory, retaliatory, or other arbitrary reason, and shall be afforded due process prior to being subject to eviction procedures
  • The housing units are protected for the duration of their useful life, and the land associated with the housing units is protected permanently, from being sold or transferred to any private person or for-profit entity or a public-private partnership.
  • Residents have the right to participate directly and meaningfully in decisionmaking affecting the operation and management of the housing units in which they reside.

The SB 555 Advisory Committee, convened by the California Department of Housing and Community Development, will use this definition—in conjunction with statewide community outreach and an analysis of various social housing models led by the Terner Center for Housing Innovation at the University of California at Berkeley—to determine the models of social housing for California.

The advisory committee is comprised of 21 individuals working in housing across California representing public agencies, non-profit and for-profit developers, housing finance and research organizations, advocacy groups, and the bill sponsors: Housing Now!, Tenants Together, and Public Advocates.