On Sept. 13, California lawmakers approved a new program to give grants for new or renovated housing for students in public universities throughout the state.
The California legislature is allocating $500 million for creating or renovating housing for University of California System, California State University system and California Community College system after many of the University of California schools faced a housing shortage prior to the start of the 2021-22 school year. (Daily Nexus File Photo)
The program, titled the “Higher Education Student Housing Grant Program,” appropriates $500 million in grant money that will support building new student housing or renovating existing student housing in the University of California System, California State University (CSU) system and California Community College system. The bill has been passed through the state legislature and now awaits Governor Gavin Newsom’s signature.
The program itself creates a grant process for state institutions to apply for and dedicates 20% of the funding for UCs, 30% of funding for CSUs and 50% of funding for California community colleges.
Additionally, the program caps rent for low-income students at 15% of the area’s median income and mandates that only full-time students can reside in housing supported by the program.
The program was introduced to state legislature in January and passed by both the State Senate and State Assembly on Sept. 9, coming during a housing shortage across many state institutions, including UC Santa Barbara.
A version of this article appeared on p. 4 of the Sept. 23, 2021 print edition of the Daily Nexus.
