AAGLA and HJTA File Legal Challenge to Measure ULA, LA’s New Tax on Real Estate Sales and Transfers

The Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles and the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association File Lawsuit Against the City of Los Angeles Seeking to Overturn Measure ULA, the City’s New 4%-5.5% Real Estate Transfer Tax

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 recently passed Measure ULA, which is the city’s new transfer tax on real estate assessed on transactions over $5 million.

The new Measure ULA transfer tax, which is set to take effect on April 1, 2023, is to be levied at the time of sale of a real property at the rate of 4% for properties sold between $5 million and $10 million, and 5.5% for real property sales above $10 million or above. For example, if an owner of real property is selling the property for $10 million, the owner will now be responsible for an additional $555,000 of tax on the sale. The money raised by this measure is designated for the production and acquisition of affordable housing, as well as homelessness prevention measures in the form of rent relief, income support for rent-burdened seniors, and legal counsel for tenants facing eviction. 

You can read the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association and Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles joint press release and the filed complaint below: 

PRESS RELEASE      |      COMPLAINT

Daniel Yukelson, Executive Director of the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles, which represents landlords, stated:

“If this unlawful tax is allowed to stand, it will be the last straw that will cause property owners to invest elsewhere and never to come back to Los Angeles, following nearly three years of challenging rent collections and no allowable rent increases due to so-called ‘temporary’ moratoriums. The punitive tax increase imposed by Measure ULA would ultimately trickle down to consumers in the form of higher prices for consumer goods and services, including higher rents.”

The Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles requests your help in fighting back against excessive tax measures such as Measure ULA and asks that you help to fund this expensive litigation by making a contribution to the AAGLA Legal Fund at www.AAGLA.org/LegalFund. 

DONATE TO AAGLA LEGAL FUND