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WORKING DRAFT FOR HCD REVIEW <br />NEEDS ASSESSMENT 3-8 SAN LEANDRO HOUSING ELEMENT <br />spoke a non-English language at home and 9 percent did not speak English well or at all. According to <br />the 2012 American Community Survey, 48 percent of the city’s residents now speak a language other <br />than English at home. Roughly half of these residents speak English “less than very well.” The ACS <br />indicates that some 19,500 San Leandro residents over age 5—24.4 percent of the city’s population— <br />speak English “less than very well.” Among those speaking a language other than English, roughly <br />15,900 spoke Spanish, 9,200 spoke Chinese (primarily Mandarin and Cantonese), 4,800 spoke Tagalog, <br />and 2,600 spoke Vietnamese.2 <br /> <br />Given the growing number of non-English households in the city, it is essential that information on <br />housing programs is made available in multiple languages. Housing programs and other social services <br />must be sensitive to cultural differences and the needs of the different ethnic groups living in the city. <br /> <br />Tenure <br /> <br />The 2010 Census indicated that 42.5 percent of San Leandro’s households were renters and 57.5 percent <br />were owners (see Table 3-4). The percentage of owners has declined since 2000, when it was 60.6 <br />percent. However, the 2010 owner occupancy rate is close to the 1990 rate, which was 58.6 percent. The <br />percentage of owners increased during the 1990s, when almost all housing units added were for-sale <br />units. Conversely, the percentage of owners declined during the 2000s as fewer homes were bought and <br />sold and a larger number of households chose to rent. <br /> <br />By 2010, some homeowners who might have otherwise sold their homes rented rent them out due to the <br />depressed market. As of 2012, roughly one-third of the rental units in San Leandro (4,554 units) were <br />single family homes.3 Looked at another way, approximately 23 percent of the single family homes in <br />San Leandro are now rental properties (compared to 18 percent in 2000). This phenomenon is not unique <br />to San Leandro. Between 2000 and 2010, the home ownership rate dropped in 13 of the 14 cities in <br />Alameda County. However, the drop in San Leandro was somewhat higher than in other cities, with only <br />Union City reporting a greater decrease. <br /> <br />The 2010 Census indicated that renter households tended to be smaller, younger, and less affluent than <br />owner households. Average household size was 2.58 for renters and 2.87 for owners. The Census also <br />found that only 27 percent of the city’s owner-occupied households were headed by someone under 45. <br />By contrast, 53 percent of all renter-occupied households were headed by someone under 45. Moreover, <br />27.2 percent of San Leandro’s owner-occupied households were headed by persons over 65—and 15.6 <br />percent were headed by persons over 75. Although many of these households own their homes outright, <br />the relatively high percentages suggest the need for programs providing home maintenance and upkeep <br />assistance for seniors. <br /> <br /> <br />2 These figures include those with limited English, and those who speak a language other than English at home, but <br />who also speak English very well. <br />3 American Community Survey, 2008-2012. Table B25032, Tenure by Units in Structure.