On Nov. 3, San Francisco voters will decide Proposition C, a charter amendment that would more than double the city's mandated yearly contribution to the Housing Trust Fund and keep that set-aside going through 2058. It does not create a new tax. It tells the city how much General Fund money it must put into an existing affordable-housing pot each year. For every other local contest we have covered, see our Nov. 2026 election guide.
What a yes vote does
Voters created the Housing Trust Fund in 2012. The city started at $20 million a year and stepped up until the annual appropriation reached about $50.8 million to $52 million, where it sits now, according to the San Francisco Public Press and SPUR. Under current law those contributions run through July 1, 2043.
If Prop C passes, beginning in fiscal year 2028–29 the city would grow that annual appropriation until it reaches about $125 million — SPUR estimates around fiscal year 2036 — by taking the greater of two growth formulas tied to property-tax and General Fund revenue, as summarized by GrowSF and California Choices materials cited in local guides. Once the fund hits $125 million, yearly growth would be capped at 3%. The sunset would move from 2043 to 2058.
The Mayor's Office of Housing and Community Development would keep spending the money on building and preserving affordable rental and ownership housing (generally up to 120% of area median income), housing-related infrastructure, down-payment help and stabilization. Prop C would raise the income ceiling for down-payment assistance loans from 120% to 200% of AMI and remove a prior spending cap on housing-related infrastructure, GrowSF and SPUR report.
Cost and budget guardrails
Prop C is a General Fund set-aside, not a new levy. The controller's costing, cited by SPUR, puts the added General Fund impact at about $6.1 million in the first year and $13.6 million in the second, then roughly $9 million more each year until the extra burden reaches about $60 million a year by 2035 when the contribution nears $125 million. San Francisco already faces large structural deficits, so the measure lets the Board of Supervisors freeze contribution increases when a deficit of $250 million or more is projected, and temporarily cut contributions by up to 10% in a year the city draws on its Rainy Day Reserve.
Why it is on the ballot
Supervisor Myrna Melgar and Mayor Daniel Lurie advanced Prop C alongside a separate deal to cut inclusionary housing requirements on market-rate projects (the Board cut an inclusionary-related tax from 15% to 5% on July 14, 2026, GrowSF notes). Supporters say stable local dollars are needed because inclusionary fees boom and bust with private construction, and because the city must plan for roughly 47,000 lower-income units by 2031 under regional housing goals. The Public Press reports the fund has already supported more than 3,675 affordable homes since 2012, and that every local dollar can unlock at least about $3 in state and federal match (SPUR cites roughly $2 historically).
A broad coalition backs a yes vote: the mayor, most of the Board of Supervisors, building trades, YIMBY groups and nonprofit housing developers. The Public Press lists the San Francisco Republican Party as the sole registered opponent, arguing the fund spreads money across too many programs without fixing affordability. SPUR recommends yes, while noting set-asides reduce budget flexibility for other services.
Prop C needs a simple majority. Related housing-money fights on the same ballot include Proposition I and Proposition J on transfer-tax rules.