As we get ready to say goodbye to 2019, it’s only natural to look ahead. In addition to what is sure to be a heated national political season in 2020, there are several statewide measures in California to keep an eye on, including a possible overhaul of Prop. 13 and another proposition that would allow municipalities to extend rent control to most units that are at least 15 years old.
There are also a host of new state laws that have already passed and will go into effect in 2020. To learn more about the housing and development laws that will affect your properties and your business in the years ahead, read on.
Happy holidays and a safe and celebratory New Year!
The New Housing Laws of 2020
Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB 1482 back in October, and while the new statewide rent cap is perhaps the biggest housing law story of 2019, it was far from the only one.
Other tenant protections that will go into effect in 2020 include AB 1110, which requires a 90-day notice rather than a 60-day notice for rent increases over 10 percent. SB 329 disallows landlords from discriminating against tenants who use housing assistance like Section 8. Thanks to SB 18, the December 31, 2019, sunset date for a state law that required 90 days’ notice to tenants before their tenancies can be terminated after a foreclosure was revoked.
Housing developers saw a few big wins, as lawmakers tried to confront the continued housing shortage in the state as well as many local municipalities’ reluctance to add density. SB 330, the “Housing Crisis Act of 2019”, has several components meant to streamline housing projects and increase density. It limits municipalities’ ability to change zoning standards on a project once its “preliminary application” has been submitted. It also disallows multiple requests for new information on that application. Yet SB 50, which would have dramatically increased housing by ending restrictive zoning rules near job centers and public transit, did not pass. It will return next session.
Other new laws hope to create more housing on a smaller scale. AB 68 and AB 881 seek to lower the barriers for owners to create additional dwelling units at their properties. Furthermore, SB 13 puts a five-year moratorium on conditioning ADU approval on owner-occupancy of the main dwelling or the ADU. AB 670 also prohibits HOAs from barring ADUs.
