Attorney General launches housing enforcement unit
AG Bonta to focus on cities adherence to state housing laws
The state attorney general wants to send a message to cities and counties — housing law really is the law.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta on Wednesday announced a new strike force dedicated to enforcing housing laws, seeking to put teeth into long-ignored regulations governing local authority over residential development.
Bonta took aim at cities failing to heed state law when rejecting residential development projects. “Follow the law. Fulfill your obligations, your responsibilities to build your fair share of housing and there won’t be any consequences ,” B ont a said. “But please know if you don’t, it will not be without consequences.”
The efforts come as the cities and counties receive new housing production goals with stiffer penalties for failing to meet standards, and new laws loosen up development policies in established, single family home neighborhoods.
The strike force will consist of 12 attorneys and staff members with experience in land use and development, environmental law and civil rights. The attorney general’s office also launched a website and a public campaign to educated tenants and homeowners on housing and consumer rights. Bonta also expects to hold a series of roundtable discussions with tenants in coming months.
State Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) said the state has a housing shortage totalling millions of units, pushing people into homelessness and unsafe, crowded conditions. Municipalities need to do more, he said.
“I’m proud of the laws we’ve passed,” said Weiner, sponsor of several major housing bills in recent years ,“but they have to be enforced.”
The attorney general’s announcement is the latest move to stiffen oversight and accountability for cities and counties. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a package of housing bills in September aimed to loosening local development restrictions and encouraging cities to allow more dense housing.
One key measure, SB 9, allows homeowners to develop duplexes on their single-family home properties, and split their lots to build and sell new units. The measure continues to draw opposition before it becomes law on Jan. 1.
Several nonprofit law firms and advocacy groups have also challenged cities for rejecting development. In September, a California appeals court upheld the state’s Housing Accountability Act, which limits the reasons a municipality can reject a development proposal.