About

The Housing Readiness Report was developed by the San Francisco Foundation’s Partnership for the Bay’s Future in collaboration with housing justice advocates, policy experts, and regional partners. It was originally created to support greater transparency and public participation during the 6th Cycle Housing Element process across Bay Area jurisdictions.

Today, the tool continues to evolve—helping advocates, government staff, and funders monitor implementation, track equity-centered progress, and identify where more action is needed to meet local housing goals.

RHNA is a state-mandated process that determines how much housing—at all income levels—each region in California must plan for every eight years. The California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) sets overall housing goals for each region, and in the Bay Area, the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) distributes those goals across cities and counties.

Each jurisdiction is then required to update its Housing Element to show how it will accommodate its share of the RHNA target. While RHNA doesn’t require cities to build homes directly, it holds them accountable for creating realistic, equitable plans—and jurisdictions that fall short can face penalties, including loss of eligibility for certain state grants and legal challenges under the Housing Accountability Act.

Housing Elements are local housing plans that every city and county in California must adopt to show how they will meet their RHNA goals. These plans identify where housing can be built, set policy priorities, and commit to specific programs to promote housing production, preservation, and tenant protections. They must also include strategies to affirmatively further fair housing and address historic patterns of exclusion.

While certification is required by the state, local implementation is key. The Housing Readiness Report helps track whether jurisdictions are following through—and supports advocates, officials, and community members in holding those plans accountable.

AFFH is a legal requirement under California and federal law that requires cities and counties to proactively address patterns of segregation and expand access to opportunity. In the Bay Area, this means that Housing Elements must go beyond planning for housing production—they must also include concrete strategies to undo historic racial and economic exclusion.

The Housing Readiness Report highlights whether jurisdictions have adopted AFFH programs and tracks their implementation. This transparency helps assess whether cities are taking meaningful steps to dismantle segregation, prevent displacement, and ensure that all communities—especially those historically excluded—have access to stable, affordable housing in neighborhoods rich with opportunity.

To learn more, read Public Advocates' Fair Housing and the Bay Area Housing Element Process