Bulletins & Policies
Last Updated: 07/22/2026

Housing Crisis Act and Section 317.2 Housing Replacement and Existing Occupant Protections Matrix

The following matrix lists development project and tenancy scenarios to show how they would shape housing replacement and tenant protection outcomes. Under state law, all projects must create at least as many housing units as will be demolished, regardless of protected status. Housing units, including protected units, are replaced as shown below. Existing buildings may have units that fall under more than one category on the table; each unit's most restrictive protected status will determine the replacement requirement, and the most restrictive requirement will apply. All replacement units must be Comparable units, and are required to provide same number of bedrooms, full bathrooms, and at least 90% of square footage as the existing unit. The Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy (CHAS) data is used to establish how many units need to be replaced as affordable when tenant incomes are unknown. Currently, the CHAS requires that 51% of the replacement units must be provided as affordable units. This data is produced by the U.S. Census periodically.

This matrix is for informational purposes only and may not cover all situations. Please contact us with questions on how these controls will be applied to specific projects.

Protected Units: Units Occupied by Lower-Income Households

Project ScenariosReplacement RequirementsTenant Protection Requirements
Tenancy of Existing UnitProposed DevelopmentNumber of Rent-Controlled Replacement UnitsNumber of Deed-Restricted Affordable Replacement UnitsRight of First RefusalRight to RemainRelocation Benefits
Lower-income tenant in single-family dwellingSingle-family dwelling01NoYes (3 months prior)Ellis Act relocation payments plus additional relocation benefits
Lower-income tenant in any unit typeMultifamily housing (rental or ownership)0Same number of Protected Units that are demolishedYes (prior rental rate or affordable rent, or affordable cost)Yes (3 months prior)Ellis Act relocation payments plus additional relocation benefits

Protected Units: Rent-Controlled Units

Project ScenariosReplacement RequirementsTenant Protection Requirements
Tenancy of Existing UnitProposed DevelopmentNumber of Rent-Controlled Replacement UnitsNumber of Deed-Restricted Affordable Replacement UnitsRight of First RefusalRight to RemainRelocation Benefits
Above-lower-income tenantMultifamily housing (rental)Same number of Protected Units that are demolished0Yes (market rate)Yes (6 months prior)Ellis Act relocation payments
Above-lower-income tenantMultifamily housing (ownership)0Same number of Protected Units that are demolishedNoYes (6 months prior)Ellis Act relocation payments
Owner-occupied or no occupancy in past 5 yearsMultifamily housing (rental)Same number of Protected Units that are demolished0N/AN/AN/A
Owner-occupied or no occupancy in past 5 yearsMultifamily housing (ownership)0Same number of Protected Units that are demolishedN/AN/AN/A

 

Single-Family Homes

Project ScenariosReplacement RequirementsTenant Protection Requirements
Tenancy of Existing UnitProposed DevelopmentNumber of Rent-Controlled Replacement UnitsNumber of Deed-Restricted Affordable Replacement UnitsRight of First RefusalRight to RemainRelocation Benefits
Above-lower-income tenantSingle-family dwelling or multifamily housing (rental or ownership)00NoYes (6 months prior)Ellis Act relocation payments
Owner occupied or no occupancy in the past 5 yearsSingle-family dwelling or multifamily housing (rental or ownership)00N/AN/AN/A
Tenant occupied within the last five years, but income of tenant(s) is unknownMultifamily housing (rental or ownership)0Application of current CHAS ratio will determine the required % of deed-restricted affordable replacement unitsN/AYes (6 months prior)Ellis Act relocation payments

 

Other Multifamily Units

Project ScenariosReplacement RequirementsTenant Protection Requirements
Tenancy of Existing UnitProposed DevelopmentNumber of Rent-Controlled Replacement UnitsNumber of Deed-Restricted Affordable Replacement UnitsRight of First RefusalRight to RemainRelocation Benefits
Above-lower-income tenantMultifamily housing (rental or ownership)00NoYes (6 months prior)Ellis Act relocation payments
Tenant occupied within the last five years, but income of tenant(s) is unknownMultifamily housing (rental or ownership)Replacement units remaining after CHAS applied will be market rate unitsApplication of current CHAS ratio will determine the required % of deed-restricted affordable replacement unitsN/AYes (6 months prior)Ellis Act relocation payments
No occupancy in the past 5 years Multifamily housing (rental or ownership)00N/AN/AN/A

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