Published Aug. 13, 2026at12:31pm
To meet a state mandate, San Francisco needs to plan for 46,000 additional units of affordable housing by 2031. Every single one of those units is going to cost money. And where that money will come from is the subject of endless debate.
Recent discussion has focused on transfer taxes, which property owners pay when they sell or transfer ownership. In 2020, voters passed a measure to double transfer taxes on sales greater than $10 million, with the extra revenue to be directed toward affordable housing. But that intention wasn’t legally binding, and the revenue went into the general fund, meaning it goes toward a range of city services. Now, a coalition of advocates has put Proposition I on the November ballot to formally dedicate revenue from transfer taxes — about $120 million each year — to affordable housing.
City departments currently enjoying funding from transfer tax revenue are, no surprise, not enthused. Police and firefighter unions and Mayor Daniel Lurie have come out against Prop. I (opens in new tab), arguing that it takes money away from public safety.
“The measure is unlikely to lead to new affordable housing and would carve a massive, permanent hole in the city’s general fund — the same fund that pays the firefighters, paramedics, and police officers who respond when San Franciscans call 911,” the unions said. They encourage voters to vote no on I and yes on Proposition C, Supervisor Myrna Melgar’s Housing Trust Fund Expansion Act, which would be funded by property taxes.