Housing & Community Development Department
Michelle Starratt, Housing Director
HCD announced the release of a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the Scalable Housing Investment Funding Toolkit (SHIFT) initiative, a pilot program designed to pioneer the production of affordable housing through: This RFP seeks qualified architecture firms to develop design proposals optimized for small-scale developments on irregular infill lots throughout the county. View the RFP. … Read more
Rental Mediation Services provides fast, free, and confidential mediation in person or online to help people come together to talk about and potentially solve their disputes in a controlled environment, provided FREE for Alameda County’s Unincorporated Neighborhoods: Ashland, Castlewood, Castro Valley, Cherryland, Fairview, Happy Valley, Hillcrest Knolls, San Lorenzo and Sunol. This free and confidential Program … Read more
On August 1, 2024, The Alameda County Housing and Community Development Department released the 10-Year Housing Plan. The Plan is the result of more than two years of work to gather data and community feedback and will drive the County’s investments in housing affordability for the next decade, guiding the County’s efforts to produce new … Read more
On February 4, 2025, the Alameda County Board of Supervisors passed a Just Cause for Eviction ordinance on second read. This ordinance will take effect on March 6, and covers all unincorporated areas of Alameda County. Just Cause eviction protections limit the allowable reasons a landlord can evict their tenant. Read the Ordinance here. The … Read more
Every five years the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requires participating jurisdictions to provide an Analysis of Impediments (AI) to Fair Housing Choice. For the 2025-29 AI, Alameda County has collaborated with all of the cities in Alameda County, and the housing authorities of City of Alameda, City of Berkeley, City of Livermore, City … Read more
Tax-Defaulted Property Development Loan (TDPD) Program HCD announces the release of up to $3,000,000 in Measure A1 Innovation and Opportunity funds available to provide acquisition funding for transforming vacant and abandoned properties into new affordable housing. In Alameda County, the Alameda County Treasurer-Tax Collector administers the Chapter 8 tax-defaulted property purchase process and determines and … Read more
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By Christine Mai-Duc, Wall Street Journal Only a few dozen people have built housing under a law allowing them to construct duplexes alongside single-family houses When California legislators voted in 2021 to eliminate zoning laws that require neighborhoods to have only single family homes, supporters celebrated it as a tool to alleviate the state’s crippling housing shortage. Opponents … Read more
By Paulette Perhach, New York Times Either by choice or because they are priced out of the market, many people plan to never stop renting. Building wealth without home equity requires a different mind-set. As in any other market, predicting the future of rent charges is impossible. Rents could deflate as they did during the pandemic … Read more
Running the numbers It is the biggest financial decision for many younger adults: Should I rent a home or buy one? The decision is especially difficult these days, with both interest rates and rents having risen in the past few years. To help people understand the trade-offs, The Times has just relaunched its popular rent-versus-buy … Read more