Bay Area Housing Finance Authority (BAHFA)
The Bay Area Housing Finance Authority (BAHFA) is a regional housing finance agency working to create a Bay Area where there is enough safe and affordable housing for all residents.
Immediate Housing Benefits for the Region
Currently, the Bay Area’s nine counties and 101 cities and towns address most housing issues individually, and often with limited staff and financial resources. BAHFA works to transform the way affordable housing is financed in the region and encourages collaboration across all cities and counties to solve the Bay Area’s affordable housing challenges together.
BAHFA's current initiatives include:
- Doorway, an online affordable housing search and application portal that serves the nine counties, to simplify the process of finding affordable homes in the Bay Area.
- A rental assistance subsidy program in Napa to prevent extremely low-income seniors and people with disabilities from becoming homeless.
- One-time state grants for affordable housing preservation and production projects.
- A Bay Area affordable housing pipeline to provide a comprehensive inventory of affordable housing projects in pre-development in the region.
- BAHFA helps administer the Priority Sites Program, which provides technical assistance to advance affordable housing development on sites nominated by local governments and affordable housing developers.
The 3Ps Framework - Solutions for the Bay Area
The 3Ps drive BAHFA’s strategy for creating systemic change in the way the Bay Area addresses its housing challenges. The framework includes:
- Production of new housing at all income levels, especially affordable housing
- Preservation of existing housing affordable to lower- and middle-income residents
- Protection for current residents to avoid eviction and displacement from their communities
The goal of this framework is to make sure housing is available for all Bay Area residents, no matter their income. Read more about BAHFA’s 3Ps Framework.
Governance
The BAHFA Board of Directors is composed of the same members as the Metropolitan Transportation Commission. Learn more about BAHFA’s governance structure and how to get involved.
Staff Contact
Daniel Saver, Deputy Executive Director for Housing & Energy
Email: BAHFA@BayAreaMetro.gov
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As stated by the Chair of the BAHFA Board and President of the ABAG Executive Board, this difficult decision will not deter BAHFA from continuing its ongoing work to produce and preserve affordable housing and protect vulnerable residents across the Bay Area.
- Jamie Almanza, Executive Director, Bay Area Community Services
- Aissia Ashoori, Housing Manager, City of El Cerrito
- Efrén Carrillo, CEO, Gallaher Community Housing
- Consuelo Hernandez, Deputy County Executive, County of Santa Clara
- Nevada V. Merriman, Director of Policy, MidPen Housing Corporation
- Hugo Ramírez, Deputy Director of Community Development, City of Oakland Department of Housing and Community Development
- Leelee Thomas, Deputy Director, Housing & Grants Division, Community Development Agency, County of Marin
- Michelle Whitman, Executive Director, Sonoma County Community Development Commission
The following resources provide some history and context for BAHFA’s programs and potential housing bond.
History of BAHFA
Resources about Pilot Programs
BAHFA was established by California State Legislature AB 1487 (2019, Chiu) to support the production and preservation of affordable housing by placing new revenue options on the ballot. (Due to the economic disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the decision was made not to place a revenue measure on the November 2020 ballot.)
Any new revenue source to be placed on the ballot would require voter approval by a two-thirds vote. Possible future options include:
- General obligation bond backed by property tax receipts (also known as a GO bond)
- Parcel tax
- Gross receipts tax
- Per-employee corporate “head tax”
- Commercial linkage fee (only authorized after voters approve a GO bond or parcel tax)
BAHFA shares decision-making with the ABAG Executive Board related to raising revenues or expenditure of funds.