This week, Gov. Newsom signed a total of 25 housing measures into law to help resolve California’s housing crisis, reports the Mercury News. The goal of one such law, entitled the Housing Crisis Act of 2019, is to speed up the process of building new homes across the state.
“We are removing some key local barriers to housing production,” Newsom said in a statement about the Housing Crisis Act of 2019, or Senate Bill 330.
Bill 330 aims to turbocharge home building in a few different ways, including:
- Putting a cap on permitting and building fees,
- Cutting the time it takes for new developments to get approved, and
- Restricting local governments from imposing population and housing construction caps in their areas.
Senator Nancy Skinner, who authored the bill, said that it will “green light” housing that “already meets local zoning rules and prevents cities from enacting new regulations that might limit the housing we so desperately need.”
Skinner added that California’s failure to build enough housing to accommodate the state’s growing population has “resulted in the highest rents and homeownership costs in the nation, and has deepened homelessness.”
SB 330 will go into effect on Jan. 1st and will remain in effect for five years. The new law will put a ban on housing construction moratoriums, will forbid density reductions, and will allow the demolition of rent-controlled and other affordable housing only if the demolished units are replaced.
Furthermore, the new law includes anti-displacement provisions. This means developers will have to provide relocation assistance to tenants who are forced to move from affordable rental units. And, it will also allow the residents to stay in their homes until six months prior to when construction begins.
Frank Martinez, the policy director for the Southern California Association of Non Profit Housing, said the new law will be positive for California families who have been struggling to pay for high housing costs. “We must deliver relief to Californians and low-income working families burdened by ever increasing-housing costs,” he said. “SB 330 will help to give more Californians safe, stable, and affordable places to live.”
The California Association of Realtors (CAR) also spoke out in favor of the new law. The organization issued a statement that said it’s “a major step in addressing California’s housing shortage” and that “SB 330 will increase the housing supply by reducing the barriers to housing development.”
Another bill that Gov. Newsom signed into law this week was AB 1482, which imposes a statewide rent cap on apartment buildings that are at least 15 years old and on houses owned by corporations and investment entities, or known as real estate investment trusts (REITs.)
Other housing bills that Gov. Newsom signed this week include:
- A bill designed to boost the construction of accessory dwelling units, of ADUs
- A measure that requires a 90-day notice for rent hikes that are greater than 10%, which is 30 days longer than the current 60-day notice
- A bill that prohibits discrimination against military personnel and veterans
- A measure that prohibits landlords from discriminating against tenants with Section 8 vouchers or other public assistance that is paid to landlords
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