Students seeking housing information, please work with your local college/district. For a complete listing of available student housing and contact information, please visit the College Dormitories and Housing webpage.

Background

As part of the 2021-22 California Budget package, Senate Bill 169 (2021), established the Higher Education Student Housing and Capacity Expansion Grant Program as well as codified it in California Education Code Sections 17200-17204. California Community Colleges (CCCs) refer to the Higher Education Student Housing and Capacity Expansion Grant Program as the Affordable Student Housing program. This program supports the planning and construction of affordable student housing across the three public higher education segments and provided colleges and universities the opportunity to apply for student housing grants.

How the Affordable Student Housing Program Started

The California Department of Finance first administered the program in preparation for the 2022-23 California Budget, and they received a first round of applications from community college districts for both construction projects and planning grants. The California Budget package, Assembly Bill 183 (2022), provided CCCs $564.5 million for Affordable Student Housing construction grants and $17.9 million for planning grants. This funded 70 planning grants and identified 12 construction projects for state funding, which include 11 housing projects at community college campuses and 1 intersegmental project between the CCCs and California State University. In addition, AB 183 transitioned administrative oversight of the program to the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office (Chancellor’s Office).

Changes to the Affordable Student Housing Construction Program

In preparation for the 2023-24 California Budget, the Chancellor’s Office received a second round of construction applications. The 2023-24 California Budget Act package, Senate Bill 117 (2023), identified 4 projects to be constructed on community college campuses and 3 intersegmental housing grants with University of California (UC) campuses. Overall, the budget provided $463.8 million for these projects.

In addition, SB 117 shifted Affordable Student Housing construction grant funding sourced from the California General Fund to lease-revenue bond funding. Under this new framework, intersegmental student housing projects are designated to be funded through revenue bonds issued by UC or California State University's (CSU) system offices. However, state support for CCC construction projects would be determined in future legislation.

Subsequent amendments to the 2023-24 California Budget Act included Senate Bill 104 (2023) and Senate Bill 142 (2023), which provided the following:

  • Ongoing annual rental subsidies for the provision of affordable student housing rental rates for approved community college projects.
  • A commitment to identify a statewide lease revenue bond or other statewide financing or fiscal approach be developed and included to support California community college affordable student housing projects.

For more information about the funding transition, please see the Affordable Student Housing FAQ (PDF) .

In preparation for the 2024-25 California Budget, the Chancellor’s Office newly established Student Housing Unit received and reviewed a third round of applications for construction projects before making recommendations to California Legislature. However, no new projects were identified in this budget due to state budget constraints.

Statewide Lease Revenue Bond

As part of the 2024 California Budget Act package, Senate Bill 155 (2024) established a Statewide Lease Revenue Bond (SLRB) as the financing framework to support selected affordable student housing projects. It authorized the California State Public Works Board to issue $804.7 million through the SLRB for thirteen student housing projects identified in the previous two budgets. The four intersegmental student housing projects are funded through revenue bonds issued by UC or CSU’s system offices. Due to the advanced status of the development of Napa Valley College and Santa Rosa Junior College’s housing projects, they received state funding, but the projects are not included in the SLRB.

The budget also includes trailer bill language for the SLRB in Government Code Sections 15820.200 - 15820.206, which details the roles of the State Public Works Board, CCC Board of Governors, and the district participating in the program as well as the requirement of operating agreements to be developed between these entities for each project.

The Chancellor’s Office continues to work with State and community college leaders to implement the SLRB financing framework and provide details about the funding transition from the former General Fund supported grant program to the SLRB, bond preparation work, interim financing, operating agreements, and bond compliance.

Resources