Section 51475

(a) The Legislature finds and declares:

(1) Significant amounts of housing built to serve lower income households and families is disappearing from the housing market. This phenomenon is due to government policies that allow prepayment of mortgages, termination of use restrictions and nonrenewal of subsidy contracts and to changes in market forces which increase property values and create pressure to convert to middle or upper income housing or other commercial uses. These conversions displace lower income tenants who have very limited options for relocating in comparable affordable housing.

(2) There are nearly 2,000 rental housing projects built in this state prior to 1980 under Section 236, Section 221(d)(3) and Section 8 programs of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Section 515 Program of the federal Farmers’ Home Administration, containing approximately 123,000 units subject to potential conversion to higher market rent housing or condominium units which will result in the displacement of lower income tenants.

(3) It is in the public interest to preserve and expand our existing affordable lower income housing stock.

(b) It is the intent of the Legislature to provide a flexible and expeditious source of mortgage financing for bridge loans and gap financing to preserve and expand existing afforable lower income rental housing stock.