Topic: Housing

Addresses homelessness and the low income housing crisis by creating the Los Angeles County Affordable Housing Solutions Agency to centralize efforts to increase funding, preservation, development, and updated zoning across the region

Establishes the California Housing Authority to efficiently meet housing needs across the state by producing and acquiring development for mixed income communities

An act to amend Sections 65913.4 and 66411.1 of the Government Code, relating to land use.

An act to amend Section 1946.7 of the Civil Code, relating to tenancy.

An act to add Title 19 (commencing with Section 3273.01) to Part 4 of Division 3 of the Civil Code, and to add Section 23039 to the Financial Code, relating to COVID-19 relief.

Lead Author: Durazo Summary: Renters across California create and join tenants organizations as a way to level the playing field in negotiations with landlords. However, many tenants who join such organizations are met with retaliatory evictions. SB529 would explicitly forbid tenants from being evicted from homes as a consequence for joining tenant associations. This bill … Continued

Lead Author: Ting Summary: One potential remedy for California’s housing crisis is ADUs — Accessory Dwelling Units — being constructed on single-family lots. ADUs are small structures, typically under 1,000 square feet, that could both increase the housing supply and allow homeowners to earn rental income, at no cost to taxpayers. AB68 permits construction of … Continued

Lead Author: Chiu Summary: Affordable housing is a priority concern all across our state, and no region has a bigger housing problem than the Bay Area. AB1487 creates the Bay Area Housing Finance Authority, which will raise and distribute funds for affordable housing and tenant protection. Unlike previous attempts at similar relief, the BAHFA will … Continued

Lead Authors: Chiu, Bloom, Bonta, Grayson, Wicks Summary: The systemic lack of affordable housing in California grants landlords extraordinary power to gauge renters. Limiting rent increases creates stability, helps vulnerable Californians plan for their future and balances the playing field between renters and landlords. AB1482 will cap rent increases at 5% over 12-month periods, as … Continued

Lead Authors: Grayson, Bonta Summary: AB1481 would have forced landlords to provide “just cause” before evicting tenants. This bill was dropped, but had its key provisions folded into AB1482.

Lead Author: Bloom Summary: A widespread lack of affordable housing is the most pressing issue facing California today. AB1279 would identify “high-resource” areas that show patterns of exclusion, encourage the production of affordable housing there — and prevent displacement where cheaper housing exists. It would force certain areas to accommodate people in desperate need of … Continued

Author: Beall Co-authors: Chiu, Atkins, Bonta, Cunningham, Galgiani, Hill, Kalra, Levya, Low, Mitchell, Mullin, Rodriguez, Wieckowski, Wiener   The California Homeowner Bill of Rights has prevented avoidable foreclosures since 2012, but certain elements of the bill recently expired, putting homeowners at risk. SB 818 would restore important protections for homeowners facing foreclosure, including protections that … Continued

Authors: Bloom, Chiu, Bonta Co-author: Allen   Currently, over 118,000 Californians are experiencing homelessness. AB 1506 would repeal the Costa-Hawkins ban on rent control to allow local authorities to decide for themselves whether or not to implement stronger rent control as part of their local strategy to fight homelessness and keep low-income and vulnerable families … Continued

Author: Calderon   Aspiring homeowners are often forced to compete against corporate investors who have billions of dollars to invest in single-family homes. AB 354 would require corporate investors to report how many single-family homes they own to the Department of Business Oversight, providing critical data to the state to fully analyze and understand the … Continued

Authors: Bloom, Chiu   The Ellis Act allows landlords to evict all tenants from a building, in order to go out of the rental business and use that building for another purpose. If an owner chooses to do so, they may not turn around after evicting the tenants and return their units to the rental … Continued

Author: Wiener Co-authors: Skinner, Ting, Hueso   Neighborhoods suffering from decades of racialized exploitation and neglect continue to be the prime targets for gentrification. Instead of promoting the production of affordable housing in rich areas, SB 827 loosens zoning restrictions in neighborhoods adjacent to mass transit while not requiring affordable housing or enacting rent control, … Continued

author: Skinner co-author: Gloria   Housing shortages have led to dramatically rising rents and aggressive gentrification all over California. SB 166 addresses the problem by ensuring that cities maintain an ongoing supply of identified sites for housing construction at each income level, which will help reduce housing costs and lower the rates of eviction and … Continued

authors: Chiu, Bonta, Kalra co-authors: McCarty, Mullin, Ting   California is currently losing about $300 million dollars in money for schools and vital services each year because people who own two homes receive a deduction on their vacation home mortgage. AB 71 would change that by eliminating the deduction and instead routing that money to … Continued

author: Bonta As urban areas in California rapidly gentrify, low-income renters are often disenfranchised by both rising rents and shady landlord practices. One such practice — evicting low-income tenants from single room occupancy residences (in shared housing or in hotels) — is currently allowed in Oakland. AB 423 would no longer allow this, protecting thousands … Continued

(Wiecksowski) Floor: 40-24-16 Current bankruptcy law does not leave debtors with enough assets to stay on their feet and make a fresh financial start. SB308 would have allowed debtors to retain enough assets (like their home and car) to become self-sufficient again, rather than assuming more debt, re-filing for bankruptcy, or depending on public assistance.

(Leno) Judiciary: 4-2-1 Extremely high rent prices in California leave few housing opportunities for those living in poverty. However, with the help of Federal Housing Choice Vouchers (or “Section 8”), many families are able to afford rent in good, safe neighborhoods. Despite this assistance, landlords in California are legally permitted to deny housing for Section … Continued