Housing affordability and availability have become critical challenges for communities across California. Comprehensive housing needs assessments have become essential for municipalities, counties, and housing authorities as the housing shortage continues. These assessments provide crucial data and insights for housing policies, development priorities, and funding allocations.
A housing needs assessment is a systematic evaluation that:
- Analyzes the current housing stock, conditions, and affordability
- Identifies gaps between existing housing and community needs
- Projects future housing demands based on demographic and economic trends
- Assesses special housing needs for vulnerable populations
- Informs housing elements and strategic planning processes
With the recent announcement that the Behavioral Health Services Act (BHSA) will expand to include funding for housing services, California is taking significant steps to address the intersection of behavioral health and housing instability. As such, these assessments have become increasingly vital for communities aiming to tackle housing insecurity and homelessness.
Whe
California has one of the nation’s most structured housing planning frameworks, with state-mandated housing assessments and planning requirements at the regional and local levels.
Understanding the Differences: Regional Housing Needs Assessments vs. Local Housing Needs Assessments
Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) and Local Housing Needs Assessments serve distinct but complementary functions in California’s housing planning process.
In simple terms, RHNA tells a city how many housing units it needs to plan for, while a local housing needs assessment helps determine what types of housing are required, where they should be located, and how they can be developed given local conditions and constraints.
RHNA is a state-mandated process that:
- Sets quantitative housing targets that each jurisdiction must plan for
- Allocates housing units across four income categories (very low, low, moderate, and above-moderate)
- Follows a prescribed methodology based on projected population growth, employment trends, and transit accessibility
- Operates on an 8-year cycle aligned with Housing Element updates
- Represents a “top-down” approach where regional bodies allocate housing responsibilities to local jurisdictions
RHNA are conducted by regional Councils of Governments (COGs) such as the Southern California Association of Governments, the Association of Bay Area Governments, and the San Diego Association of Governments.
Local Housing Needs Assessments are:
- Detailed analyses conducted by individual cities or counties
- Required components of a jurisdiction’s Housing Element
- Focused on specific local housing conditions, challenges, and opportunities
- Used to inform policies and strategies for meeting RHNA allocations
- More qualitative and contextual, examining factors like housing conditions, overcrowding, and affordability
- A “bottom-up” approach that examines the unique housing landscape within a specific community
This is also in contrast to general community needs assessments, which broadly identify a community’s overall health and social service needs. These assessments typically:
- Cover multiple sectors, including healthcare, education, employment, and social services
- Focus on general population well-being and quality of life indicators
- Identify service gaps across various community systems
- Inform strategic planning for diverse community organizations and agencies
EVALCORP’s expertise in community needs assessments provides a strong foundation for conducting practical housing needs assessments. Both require similar skills in data collection, stakeholder engagement, and policy analysis.
Key Considerations for Effective Housing Needs Assessments
The integration of housing support services into BHSA represents a significant shift in California’s approach to addressing interrelated housing insecurity and behavioral health challenges. This policy change recognizes the fundamental connection between stable housing and positive health outcomes.
Housing needs assessment services are crucial for several reasons:
Consideration #1: Comprehensive and Diverse Data Collection
Housing Needs Assessments require multiple data sources to create a complete picture of community housing needs. This typically includes:
- Census and American Community Survey data
- Local real estate market information
- Building permit and development pipeline data (if possible)
- Homelessness counts and service utilization data
- Qualitative input from residents, developers, and service providers
We employ various data collection tools, such as surveys, focus groups, stakeholder interviews, and others, to gather comprehensive information about residents and their housing needs.
A recent report from the California Department of Housing and Community Development indicates that communities that utilize diverse data sources in their assessments create more effective and targeted housing strategies.
Consideration #2: Equity-Centered Analysis
Housing assessments must explicitly examine disparities in housing access, affordability, and quality across demographic groups. This includes analyzing:
- Racial and ethnic disparities in homeownership and housing cost burden
- Geographic patterns of segregation and opportunity
- Historically vulnerable populations, including seniors, people with disabilities, justice-impacted individuals, and those who are experiencing or may face homelessness
- Access to transportation, employment, and essential services
An equity-centered approach ensures that housing strategies address historical patterns of discrimination and promote inclusive communities.
Consideration #3: Behavioral Health Integration
With BHSA’s expanded housing coverage, it will become more and more important to integrate behavioral health considerations into housing assessments. This includes:
- Estimating housing needs for individuals with mental health conditions and those with substance use disorders (SUDs)
- Assessing the availability of supportive housing options and the need for wraparound services
- Identifying gaps in the continuum of housing with behavioral health supports
- Analyzing barriers to housing stability for those with behavioral health challenges
EVALCORP’s experience in community needs assessment and behavioral health evaluation positions us to provide this integrated perspective.
Consideration #4: Community Engagement and Participatory Processes
Successful Housing Needs Assessments incorporate meaningful community engagement throughout the process:
- Diverse Stakeholder Input: Engaging residents from all backgrounds, housing providers, developers, service agencies, and advocacy groups
- Multilingual Outreach: Ensuring language is not a barrier to participation
- Multiple Engagement Methods: Using surveys, focus groups, public workshops, and digital platforms to reach different populations
- Prioritizing Lived Experience: Centering the voices of those most affected by housing challenges
- Transparency: Sharing findings and draft recommendations for community feedback before finalization
Communities prioritizing robust engagement often identify unique housing challenges and innovative solutions that might be missed in purely data-driven approaches.
Implementing Housing Needs Assessment Findings
The ultimate value of a Housing Needs Assessment lies in its implementation. Practical implementation strategies include:
Policy Development
- Zoning updates to facilitate diverse housing types
- Inclusionary housing requirements
- Streamlined approval processes for affordable housing
- Anti-displacement protections
- Incentives for affordable housing development
Resource Allocation
- Targeted use of state and federal funding
- Local housing trust funds
- Impact fee structures that support affordable housing
- Bond measures for affordable housing development
- Public-private partnerships
Monitoring and Evaluation
- Regular progress tracking against housing production goals
- Affordability monitoring
- Program effectiveness evaluation
- Periodic assessment updates to reflect changing conditions
- Continuous improvement processes
Looking Ahead
With our extensive experience in community assessments and our expanding expertise in housing analysis, EVALCORP offers communities the support they need to understand their housing landscape and develop targeted strategies for improvement.
Our team’s commitment to rigorous methods, stakeholder engagement, and actionable recommendations ensures that our housing needs assessments provide meaningful guidance for addressing one of California’s most pressing challenges.
Contact EVALCORP today to learn how we can support your community’s housing assessment needs.