State Releases Regional Housing Needs Determination for Southern California
The California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) has released the 7th Cycle Regional Housing Needs Determination (RHND) for the SCAG region. The RHND establishes the entire region’s total housing need for the 7th Cycle Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) process.
The RHND is an early milestone in the RHNA process. HCD develops the RHND in technical consultation with SCAG, considering state requirements, demographic trends, and housing conditions in the region.
The RHND sets a regional target but does not establish the target number of housing units for any individual city or county. State law assigns SCAG the job of allocating targets to each jurisdiction, and SCAG must now create a methodology that will be used to generate the RHNA Allocation Plan, which will ultimately detail each jurisdiction’s planning obligations for the 7th Cycle.
SCAG is reviewing the RHND provided by HCD and will bring the RHND, along with a staff assessment, to the Oct. 26 RHNA Subcommittee meeting and to the Nov. 5 meetings of the Community, Economic, and Human Development Committee and Regional Council.
According to state law, SCAG has 30 days after receiving the RHND to file an objection with the HCD. Additional information will be shared at the upcoming Oct. 26 RHNA Subcommittee meeting.
What’s Next?
Upon receiving the RHND, SCAG staff will analyze it for consistency with statutory requirements and, based on that evaluation, determine whether to recommend further action, including the potential filing of an objection. The staff recommendation will be presented to the RHNA Subcommittee at its Oct. 26 meeting. If SCAG’s Regional Council elects to file an objection to the RHND, it must do so within 30 days of when the RHND is issued.
Following the RHND, SCAG initiates preparation of the RHNA Allocation Methodology, conducts public outreach, and establishes jurisdictional allocations. SCAG has circulated the RHNA Methodology Survey, which is open for local jurisdictions to complete through Jan. 29, 2027.
The methodology will establish the framework for distributing the regional housing need among jurisdictions in the SCAG region. HCD will review and approve the methodology after confirming that it sufficiently furthers the five statutory RHNA objectives. SCAG expects to release its proposed methodology in spring 2027 and adopt its final RHNA Allocation Plan in April 2028.
Once SCAG adopts its final RHNA Allocation Plan, each jurisdiction is responsible for updating its housing element to accommodate its assigned share of the region's housing during the planning period. Local jurisdictions can also appeal their specific allocations.
SCAG will continue to provide information throughout the 7th Cycle to help jurisdictions, stakeholders, and community members understand the process, participate in discussions, and provide input at appropriate stages.
Visit the SCAG RHNA website for more information or subscribe to Housing updates to receive up-to-date information on the 7th Cycle RHNA process.