Learn how to apply for an Assembly Bill (AB) 2556 Determination. If you do not find what you are looking for, please contact us at (213) 808-8843 or LAHD-landuse@lacity.org.
On September 27, 2014, Governor Jerry Brown signed AB 2222 as amended by AB 2556 on August 19, 2016, to amend sections of California’s Density Bonus Law (Gov. Code §§ 65915). Major changes to the law are applicable to new density bonus developments resulting in a loss in existing affordable units or rent-stabilized units. The law aims to replace units and ensure rental affordability periods for 55 years.
AB 2556 APPLICATION INFORMATION
The first step is to complete an application for an Affordable Unit Determination to find if you have potential affordable units. According to AB 2556, all rental dwelling units that exist at the time of application, or have been vacated or demolished in the five-year period preceding the application date shall be replaced on a one-for-one basis.
We will need tenant income information, among other items, to determine if affordable units need to be replaced. It is the responsibility of the owner to obtain all the required documentation verifying the tenant income and the project’s rental and occupancy.
The existing property’s affordability status must be fully supported by reliable documentary evidence such as employer pay stubs. In the absence of income documentation: (1) For density bonus projects, the Land Use staff will make a determination that rental units were last occupied by 49% very low income and 20% low income households pursuant to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy (CHAS) database. (2) For transit oriented communities (TOC) projects, the determination breakdown will be 31% extremely low income, 18% very low income, and 20% low income. All replacement calculations resulting in fractional units shall be rounded up to the next whole number. The bedroom size of the existing units and the proportionality of the bedroom sizes of the new units will be considered to determine the bedroom types of the replacement units.
- Download application checklist
- Download application
- Download tenant income packet
- Land use application fees
Please note: Once the AB 2556 determination has been issued, the next step is to apply for a Land Use Covenant. The completion of a Covenant is a requirement to issuance of the building permit. The fee for the preparation and filing of a Land Use Covenant is $5,813 per project. Additionally, there is an annual monitoring fee of $173 per restricted unit upon receipt of the CofO (all fees are subject to change). It takes approximately 16 to 24 weeks upon receipt of all the required documents to prepare and execute a Covenant, although a complex project may take longer.
HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATIONS
Please submit your applications to:
ONLINE: https://housingbill.lacity.org/LandUse
E-MAIL: LAHD-landuse@lacity.org
MAIL: Los Angeles Housing Department (LAHD)
ATTN: Land Use Section
1910 Sunset Boulevard, Suite 300
Los Angeles, CA 90026
To speak with LAHD staff about your AB 2556 application, please call (213) 808-8843, or 3-1-1 for TTY.
