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California has yet to provide the 1,200 tiny homes for the state’s homeless that were promised in March 2023.

California has not provided any of the tiny homes that Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom promised homeless residents last year, according to a new report.

Newsom promised in March 2023 to send 1,200 tiny houses to four cities across the state, but only 150 have been purchased so far. Cal matters reported. It’s unclear exactly what caused the repeated delays, and the state sometimes blamed local governments, even though local officials in some cases quickly approved projects.

“Governor Gavin Newsom said he would send tiny houses to San Jose, Los Angeles, Sacramento and San Diego County. Why haven’t any materialized yet?” the outlet asked in its report.

As CalMatters noted, Newsom’s plan for March 2023 involved the state purchasing 500 tiny homes for Los Angeles, 350 for Sacramento, 200 for San Jose and 150 for San Diego. Once each area purchased the homes, “the California National Guard would help prepare and deliver them.”

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An image of tiny homes in California, similar to those proposed by Gov. Newsom, D-Calif., in 2023 to house homeless people in the state. (Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images)

The houses, some as small as 120 square feet, can be assembled in 90 minutes and cost a fraction of what it takes to build permanent homes. Newsom said the homes would create space to help clear homeless encampments that have sprung up in the state’s major cities. Federal courts have ruled that cities cannot evict homeless encampments if there are no shelter beds available.

Although the state’s initial plan was to purchase and then supply housing to each location, the outlet noted that the plan morphed into giving cash grants to cities and allowing them to arrange the tiny houses at their discretion.

The Newsom administration commissioned six suppliers to supply tiny homes across the state, though most of them have yet to receive a single order.

Kam Valgardson, CEO of one of these suppliers, Irontown Modular, told the outlet that the company was “absolutely surprised” it hasn’t received any orders to build these homes yet.

Valgardson added, “The big problem is that homeless people are not getting services.” I can complain as a company, but these homeless people receive no support or relief. “The money was promised, but something broke in the process and no one is placing orders.”

The outlet described the situation, noting, “There have been multiple delays and reversals, in everything from how the state funds the units to the ability of local cities and counties to find places to put them.”

He added that although the state government complains that the delay falls on local authorities to build these houses, “tiny houses have not materialized even as local leaders acted quickly to approve the project site.”

CalMatters also reported that it was denied access to emails between the governor’s office and other state officials on this issue because “communications involving the governor’s office are exempt from the California Public Records Act.”

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Department of General Services Deputy Director Monica Hassan told the outlet that Sacramento began building its tiny house and provided funding for the other three locations, adding that this means the state is keeping its promise.

He also dismissed critics who complain that the plan sticks to a set timeline, saying, “Focusing solely on timelines diminishes the hard work of numerous people dedicated to providing much-needed housing.”

The governor’s chief of staff, Jason Elliot, told CalMatters that local governments are to blame for the plan not being implemented, since they have not purchased almost any of the tiny homes.

“What the state has done is provide billions of dollars in new investments, dozens and dozens of bills to reduce bureaucracy, and a policy framework that pushes for faster action to resolve unsheltered encampments. But as we’ve seen time and time again in California, local commitment and partnership are the other side of that coin,” he said.

The Newsom administration has been widely criticized for its handling of California’s homeless crisis. Last year, a study found that the state has about a third of the homeless population in the entire country. And the number of homeless people in the state is growing, being 6% higher than last year.

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A homeless man in a clear plastic poncho stands next to a shopping cart.

A homeless encampment on the sidewalk of Hollywood Boulevard, Los Angeles, California, on Thursday, May 9, 2024. Some California Democrats wonder why Gov. Gavin Newsom’s homeless council failed to track whether the thousands of millions of dollars spent to curb the homelessness crisis were successful over the past five years. (Toby Canham for Fox News Digital)

Additionally, the governor is being criticized for failing to keep records of how the billions of dollars spent to solve the homelessness crisis have actually improved things.

Despite the controversy, Newsom recently touted his state as a “national model” for combating homelessness, a claim some derided as the “height of deception” on social media.

The governor’s office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

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