California’s persistent housing crisis has prompted a significant increase in legislative action, with more than 200 housing-related laws passed between 2017 and 2025. This surge reflects a concerted effort to tackle the barriers to housing production. However, the volume of new laws — some of which SPUR championed — has made it increasingly challenging for housing developers, planners, and community advocates to navigate the legal landscape effectively. Our new guide California Housing Laws: A guide to post–2016 legislation for local planners, housing advocates, architects, developers, and community stakeholders details nearly 100 laws in four key areas: project approval, affordability, density, and design standards. It clarifies interactions among the laws, the types of projects they affect, and the circumstances under which they apply, empowering stakeholders with the knowledge needed to harness these legislative tools for effective housing solutions. We spoke with the author, Erika McLitus, to explore how the guide can facilitate a more accessible housing development process in California.
What factors have contributed to California's housing affordability crisis, particularly in the San Francisco Bay Area?
The crisis is largely driven by decades of housing scarcity, exacerbated by local land use decisions that failed to create space to house current and future residents. Key factors include exclusionary zoning policies that reserve most residential land for single-family homes, prohibiting multi-family and affordable housing in many neighborhoods. Additionally, complex bureaucratic processes delay project approvals, while subjective design standards hinder new construction. As a result, many families struggle with high housing costs, leading to broader community issues such as displacement and reduced access to social services.
How have recent state laws aimed to address California's housing crisis?
They’ve focused on allowing new housing to be built more quickly, addressing systemic barriers to development, and holding cities and counties accountable for the impacts of their housing policies. Notable measures include the requirement that the policies in local housing elements are tailored to meet projected housing needs and the Housing Accountability Act, which prevents local policies from blocking infill development. The “builder’s remedy” allows the state to approve housing projects when local jurisdictions fail to comply with housing laws. Other recent laws incentivize affordable housing production, promote density through multifamily development, and limit local control over land use to prevent undue restrictions on housing. These efforts aim to ensure safe, affordable housing for all residents while balancing public interests and protecting existing tenants.
Your research notes that lengthy and unpredictable local approval processes, complex land use requirements, and subjective design standards can delay or block projects for extended periods, inflating costs and discouraging developers from pursuing new housing projects. Give us one egregious example.
Let’s take the entitlement process, which involves obtaining the necessary permits and approvals from local governments. A 2019 study revealed that average entitlement times in Bay Area cities ranged from 10 months to more than 3 years. The entitlement process really gets drawn out when local governments and community activists misuse discretionary reviews or the California Environmental Quality Act to impede housing construction.
Recent state housing laws have mandated reforms to expedite project approval. Key measures include a requirement that local jurisdictions create programs offering streamlined, ministerial approvals for eligible housing projects. Ministerial approval allows local agencies to review applications based solely on compliance with local planning and building requirements, eliminating case-by-case project reviews and subjective standards.
Additionally, some laws establish deadlines for local agencies to review and provide feedback on project applications, and they exempt eligible projects from certain CEQA requirements.
How do recent state laws address affordability in housing, and what measures have been implemented to encourage the development of affordable housing units?
California's housing affordability crisis is deeply rooted in both the limited housing supply and the high costs of available units. To combat this issue, state lawmakers have enacted a series of laws to incentivize building new affordable housing units.
One approach is removing local barriers that often hinder the construction of fully affordable housing projects. Recent legislation allows these projects to be built “by-right” on specific sites, meaning local jurisdictions cannot impose additional restrictions on eligible developments. This legislation is crucial for streamlining the approval process and making it easier for developers to bring affordable housing projects to fruition.
Other state laws have introduced various incentives for mixed-income projects, which include both affordable and market-rate units. These incentives often take the form of density bonuses, allowing developers to construct more units than local zoning typically permits if a certain percentage of those units are reserved for lower-income residents. The idea is not only to increase the overall housing supply but also to make it financially feasible for developers to include affordable options within their projects.
What role do recent state laws play in increasing housing density in California, and what specific measures have been implemented to encourage the development of multifamily housing?
Historically, local policies have prioritized single-family home construction, severely limiting the availability of multifamily housing. To counteract this trend, state legislation has introduced various measures to promote higher density, especially in urban areas and near transit hubs or major transportation corridors.
One of the primary strategies is to enhance the State Density Bonus Program. This program allows developers to exceed local height and density restrictions if their projects include a specified percentage of affordable units. By enabling greater density, the program not only facilitates the construction of more housing units but also helps ensure that affordable options are financially viable within mixed-income developments.
Additionally, recent laws have focused on reducing local barriers to multifamily housing development. For example, eligible projects can bypass certain local restrictions that would ordinarily impede their construction. Provisions for by-right development allow multifamily housing to be built without discretionary approval, thereby significantly expediting the approval process.
You’ve mentioned that local building requirements can hinder housing production. How are new laws attempting to reform design standards?
Recent state laws have mandated that local jurisdictions adopt objective design standards to promote transparency and consistency in the approval process.
Objective design standards are guidelines based on clear, measurable criteria that reduce the potential for arbitrary decision-making by local officials and curb the misuse of discretionary reviews that often stall housing projects. Under the new regulations, local governments must ensure that their design guidelines and requirements are publicly available and based on written standards that applicants can review before submitting their projects. By requiring that local design standards be grounded in objective criteria, the laws aim to create a more predictable environment for developers, expediting the approval process and increasing the feasibility of constructing new homes. By fostering a more transparent and efficient framework, California aims to increase housing production while ensuring that new projects meet community needs and standards. Ultimately, these reforms are designed to facilitate the construction of diverse and affordable housing options in a rapidly evolving urban landscape.
Why do so many state housing laws include labor standards?
California’s housing laws include labor standards for construction workers, ensuring fair compensation and protections. Contractors are often required to pay prevailing wages, provide healthcare benefits, and engage in state-approved apprenticeship programs. These practices not only safeguard workers but also attract the skilled workforce needed to meet housing demand.
You touched on transit-oriented development. Why is the state pushing it?
Recent legislation is incentivizing housing near transit hubs for a few reasons. It promotes sustainable living, reduces reliance on automobiles, and enhances land use efficiency while addressing environmental concerns. Housing near transit means not just more housing but also a bigger bang for transit investment. If you build housing near transit, people will ride it. Higher ridership can increase revenue for transit systems, which can be reinvested in service improvements and expansions. You create a positive feedback loop whereby enhanced transit services attract even more users. Bigger picture: transit-oriented development not only increases residents’ access to jobs and amenities but also enhances the local economy by attracting businesses.
How can pro-housing stakeholders use this guide?
Our research paper highlights and “translates” nearly 100 laws that advance one or more of four housing goals:
- Expediting project approval and permitting
- Incentivizing and promoting affordable housing
- Allowing increased density in new housing projects
- Requiring local jurisdictions to base design, building, and land use rules on reasonable and objective standards
Each section summarizes new housing laws that support these goals, including amendments and refinements to existing policies. Readers can navigate the sections in any order, and a glossary of commonly used terms is provided for clarity. Additional resources include descriptions of other policy impacts, guidance from municipal planning departments, and an appendix that defines key terms. For more detailed information on state housing laws, SPUR’s State Housing Law Database is available at spur.org/CAhousinglaws and offers insights into compliance, project standards, and recent legislation.