2005 California Health and Safety Code Sections 52535 CHAPTER 1. GENERAL PROVISONS

52535.  The Legislature finds and declares as follows:
   (a) A significant amount of housing built to serve lower income
households and very low income households and families is starting to
disappear from the housing market.  This phenomenon is due to
government policies that allow prepayment of mortgages or nonrenewal
of subsidy contracts after short periods of time and to changes in
market forces which increase property values and create pressure to
convert to middle or upper income housing or office or commercial
use.  In many neighborhoods, these conversions displace low-income
and very low income tenants who have very limited options for
relocating in comparable housing.
   (b) Replacing this resource will be so expensive as to make it a
practical impossibility.  Scarce public resources make it extremely
difficult to finance acquisition of the existing low- and very low
income housing that could prevent some of this loss.
   (c) There is an inadequate supply of private capital and investors
committed to preserving existing low- and very low income housing
for the useful life of the buildings, particularly for inner-city,
troubled, small, and scattered-site housing developments.  Many of
the changes in the 1986 Federal Tax Reform Act have increased the
difficulties of raising equity capital for lower income housing.
These economic pressures will add to the depletion of the low-income
and very low income housing stock.
   (d) It is the policy of this state to encourage the widest
possible joint participation by local and state government and
nonprofit and private enterprise in the preservation and expansion of
housing for low-income households and very low income households.
   (e) It is in the public interest that one or more organizations
should be created to encourage maximum participation by private
investors and the public sector in programs and projects to preserve
and expand the existing supply of low-income housing and very low
income housing serving California residents.
   (f) It is, additionally, in the public interest to permit a
nonprofit corporation to be formed for the purpose of raising private
equity capital for syndication of projects sponsored by nonprofit
housing development corporations.  The equity capital raised will go
toward the acquisition, rehabilitation, acquisition and
rehabilitation, or construction of housing and related facilities,
primarily for the benefit of low-income households and very low
income households.