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CalMatters Investigation Finds Homekey Housed Thousands but Missed Many Promised Units

The probe underscores a widening accountability gap surrounding the program.

Overview

  • CalMatters published a two-year review built on more than 100 public records requests to assess the $3.8 billion Homekey program.
  • Homekey, launched in 2020 to quickly fund local housing for people experiencing homelessness, placed nearly 13,500 people into sites created over six years.
  • The investigation found that thousands of homes promised through the program were never delivered for a range of reasons.
  • Rules were relaxed to speed projects, which helped move people faster but also led to failures such as a developer going out of business and a separate fraud charge.
  • Oversight has been limited, as lawmakers killed an audit bill earlier this year and no state agency has released a comprehensive public analysis of results.