Housing Programs in Laguna Beach

The city’s Housing Resources page opens by saying Laguna Beach is committed to facilitating and supporting housing opportunities for all incomes. Below, each program is described as the agency that runs it states it. Eligibility, income limits and funding amounts belong to those agencies and can change, so call or read the agency page before you rely on anything here. Phone numbers appear as printed in October 2026. For city office numbers, see the city services directory.

Where the city lists them

The Housing Resources page at lagunabeachcity.net is the starting point. It links to everything in this guide, plus the Housing Element and the city’s Accessory Dwelling Unit page. The city also provides a Housing Assistance Information Guide, linked from that page. It links the County of Orange’s affordable housing rental list, and it names Families Forward, an Irvine agency that the city says offers housing support, food assistance, career coaching and mental health counseling.

Senior home repair

The city calls its repair program LBS HOME. The city describes it as a partnership with Habitat for Humanity Orange County. The city funds up to $5,000 per project, Habitat makes the repairs, and Laguna Beach Seniors acts as program administrator, handling confidential intake and referral.

Laguna Beach Seniors’ own page says the program is for Laguna Beach residents on a limited income. It lists the repairs it covers:

• Smoke and carbon monoxide detectors
• Minor plumbing, such as faucets and toilets
• Accessibility work such as ramps, handrails and grab bars
• Minor electrical work, such as light fixtures, outlets and switches
• Minor mold or lead paint issues
• Minor flooring changes tied to tripping hazards
• Minor exterior code enforcement issues

Neither page gives a dollar income limit. To start, call 949-715-8107. The city’s description frames the goal as helping older homeowners make essential repairs for health, safety and accessibility. For the center that houses the program, see older residents.

Housing Choice Voucher (Section 8)

The Orange County Housing Authority administers the Housing Choice Voucher Program in Laguna Beach. The city says vouchers help cover the difference between the rent a lower-income household can afford and the rent a participating landlord charges. The authority’s own site describes the program as federally funded rental assistance for qualified tenants in privately owned rental housing.

The city’s page still says the authority’s waiting list accepted applications from September 18 to September 29, 2023, and it points to the authority’s 2023 waiting list page. That window has closed. The authority’s own waiting list page, read in October 2026, says the list is closed, no applications are being accepted, and notice will be posted on its site when the list opens. People already on the list can check their status online through that page. The city prints (714) 480-2700 for questions, and the authority’s contact page lists the same number. Eligibility rules are the authority’s, so ask it directly. The authority also has a landlord page for property owners who want to take part.

Community land trust

On March 26, 2024 the City Council directed staff to facilitate establishing a Laguna Beach Community Land Trust. The city says the direction came out of work on artist work/live opportunities. It describes a community land trust as a nonprofit that acquires and holds land for the benefit of the community so the land stays permanently affordable. In the city’s explanation, the trust typically owns the land and others own or lease the buildings on it, often through long ground leases with limits on resale prices.

The city held community engagement events on March 27 and 28, 2025 and closed a survey that month. The page lists a project timeline and resource documents. To ask about status, call the City Manager’s Office at (949) 497-0736. The page does not say a trust has been formed, so treat it as a city effort in progress and check the page for updates.

Local housing trust fund and 340 St. Ann’s

The city says the Council authorized staff on April 9, 2024 to pursue a local housing trust fund and to apply for matching money from the California Department of Housing and Community Development’s Local Housing Trust Fund program. The city says staff submitted that application on September 11, 2024, requesting $2,500,000, and that the state’s calendar showed awards anticipated in January 2025. Its page lists two projects that could receive funds if the grant is awarded: one at 31729 and 31735 Coast Highway and one at 340 St. Ann’s. Both show a “Conceptual” status. As read in October 2026, the page still gives that January 2025 date and does not say whether the city received an award.

340 St. Ann’s has its own city page. It describes an affordable housing development proposed by Related California, with a funding request under review by a Council ad hoc committee as of a July 9, 2026 update. The city says the application was filed under state streamlining laws, including SB 4, which limit the city’s review authority, and that it deemed the application complete on April 29, 2026. Read that page for the latest meeting dates and documents.

Other programs the city lists

• Affordable ADU Loan Program: the city still links this Orange County Housing Finance Trust program and an interest list. The Trust’s own page says its board voted on May 21, 2025 to stop work on establishing the program, and that it knows of no other government-funded ADU financing program to recommend. For the city’s own ADU rules, see accessory dwelling units.
• ADU fee refund: Laguna Beach Municipal Code section 25.17.070 allows fee refunds when an owner commits to renting an ADU at affordable rents for at least 10 years.
• Mortgage assistance: the Orange County Mortgage Assistance Program, which the city says the Affordable Housing Clearinghouse administers. The Clearinghouse describes it as deferred-payment down payment loans for low- and moderate-income first-time homebuyers.
• Housing Element: the document that outlines the city’s housing goals and policies under state law, with its own city page.

Rights and legal help

The city says it has no local rent control ordinance and that California’s AB 1482 applies instead. It says the city does not enforce that law because it can only be enforced in court. Tenant rules are covered in renting in Laguna Beach. The city lists these places for help with housing problems:

• Fair Housing Council of Orange County: 714/569-0823 or 800/698-FAIR. The city says it offers fair housing enforcement and education, landlord and tenant counseling, mediation and homebuyer HUD counseling, free to low-to-moderate income clients and for a moderate donation from others, in English, Spanish and Vietnamese.
• Community Legal Aid SoCal: 800-834-5001 or 714-571-5200.
• Seaside Legal Services: 949-494-9411.
• Public Law Center: 714-541-1010.

More local help, from food to the clinic, is in community resources. To see how the Council and its Housing and Human Services Committee work, read city government and voting.