SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Taking effect on the first day of 2022 is a new bill that strengthens the ability of California's Housing and Community Development Department [HCD] and the Attorney General Office to enforce housing laws in California.
According to a release from Assemblymember Chiu's office, the state is in a "multi-million unit deficit of housing." The release goes on to say there is a mismatch with supply and demand that has caused the housing crisis.
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 215 Tuesday, Sept. 28.
AB 215 works to clarify a three-year statute of limitations for the state to enforce potential violations of housing laws. It also gives the HCD the ability to "seek outside counsel to enforce housing laws if the Attorney General chooses not to enforce a violation." The bill also clarifies that the Attorney General can enforce housing laws independently of HCD.
“We have a long way to go to make sure California builds the housing we need, but enforcing our existing reforms is a key piece of the puzzle,” Assemblymember David Chiu, who authored the bill, said in the release. “This is a simple bill to make sure local jurisdictions are following the law and not putting up illegal barriers to housing production.”
Read the full text of AB215 here.
“California has a shortage of at least 1.3 million homes affordable to lower-income households,” Ray Pearl, Executive Director of the California Housing Consortium, said. “This bill will strengthen the state's ability to ensure recent streamlining legislation is working as it should, while also expanding HCD's ability to track and review local plan updates."
Newsom signed AB 215 an affordable housing development in Alameda County. The bill was one of a handful of others in a package of legislation to expand and streamline affordable housing production, strengthen accountability for local governments and advance equitable housing policies to tackle the housing crisis.
"Econ 101, you know, it's not complicated," Newsom said. "It's supply-demand and balance, we're not building up housing at all income levels in the state of California. We recognize that we've got to make up for decades and decades of that gap and that neglect and so that's what we're endeavoring to do."
Newsom also signed AB 948, which addresses discrimination in the real estate appraisal process.
"AB 948 would require the Bureau of California Real Estate Appraisals to gather data on demographic information of buyers and sellers of real estate property and compile data of homeowners from protected classes who file complaints based on low appraisals," a press release from Assemblymember Chris Holden’s office wrote. "The legislation also requires appraisers to take anti-bias training when renewing their license."
