While California has long had some of the nation’s most progressive and far reaching laws to address our ongoing affordable housing crisis, the laws lacked teeth. Thanks to legislation passed over the last few years, the State Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) established a Housing Accountability Unit to both support local governments efforts to comply with affordable housing laws as well as to hold them accountable when they do not.
SHA is sharing this recent bulletin by HCD to ensure our partners and allies are aware of the Housing Accountability Unit and the opportunity to directly file complaints with the State when a community does not comply with critical state housing laws to address our affordable housing and homelessness crisis. The State is committed to providing local governments with technical assistance when needed but will also use its enforcement powers (including referrals for enforcement to the State Attorney General) to ensure compliance with the laws.
SHA is committed to ensuring everyone in our region has a safe, accessible and affordable place to call home and is working to bring more resources to our communities to build and preserve affordable homes, especially permanent supportive housing to get people off the streets and into homes. But an important part of our overall strategy is to ensure local governments in the region are using every tool available and complying with important state housing laws.
Join us in our campaign for affordable housing for all and reach out with any questions!
Request Technical Assistance and Report Potential State Housing Law Violations to Housing Accountability Unit
The California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) Housing Accountability Unit has launched an improved method for housing developers, advocates, and local jurisdictions to submit requests for technical assistance and/or to report potential violations of state housing law.
The new Housing Accountability Unit Portal guides users to provide key information to help the Housing Accountability Unit provide more efficient analysis of each unique situation and improve tracking. Each request or complaint submitted will be assigned to an analyst on the team who will determine how HCD may be able to assist.
HCD has authority to enforce the following state housing laws, among others:
- Housing Accountability Act
- Density Bonus Law
- Permit Streamlining Act
- Housing Crisis Act
- Streamlined Ministerial Approval (SB 35)
- Housing Element Law
- Anti-Discrimination in Land Use Law
Anyone seeing potential violations of these laws can report them.
The Housing Accountability Unit has provided technical assistance and enforcement to help move thousands of homes through the approval process.
For more information on HCD’s enforcement authority and to submit a request or complaint, please visit HCD’s Accountability and Enforcement webpage.
For questions about the Housing Accountability Unit Portal, please contact HAUPortal@hcd.ca.gov.
