Last November, about 58 percent of Los Angeles voters voted yes on Proposition ULA, according to Ballotpedia. The resulting “ULA Tax” (also known as the United to House L.A. and the Homelessness and Housing Solutions Tax) takes effect on April 1, according to Los Angeles Business Journal. It imposes an additional real property transfer tax of four percent on all real property sales (residential or commercial) priced or valued from $5 million up to $10 million and a 5.5 percent tax on real property sales priced or valued at $10 million or greater, according to Mayer Brown. About 70 percent of offices, 62 percent of multifamily and 64 percent of industrial property sales would be subject to the seller-side tax, according to The Real Deal (citing data from CBRE).

On December 22, 2022, the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association and the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles filed a joint lawsuit against the City of Los Angeles seeking to overturn the ULA Tax. According to Mayer Brown, the plaintiffs argue that the ULA Tax is a “specific tax” prohibited by the California Constitution on the grounds that the revenue from the tax must be used for specific purposes.

Last Updated on February 1, 2023 by Ramin Seddiq