Will Housing Finally Break Through in 2021? A California Legislative Preview

Now that the deadline to introduce new bills for this year’s California legislative session has passed, our Policy Director David Garcia has written a summary highlighting the key housing issues that will take center stage in Sacramento in 2021 and previewing the housing-related bills that we will be watching this session.

In the shadow of a pandemic and prolonged housing crisis, the 2020 legislative session held disappointing results for housing with nearly every significant housing-related bill failing to reach the governor’s desk. Policymakers widely acknowledge that housing will remain a core issue: many of last session’s ideas have already been reintroduced in the first year of the 2021-22 legislative session, along with many new proposals.

From a new “Building Opportunities for All” housing package to bills aimed at curbing development fees, creating new ADU financing tools, and requiring cities to establish rental registries, we have taken a look at what has been proposed so far and how major housing legislation might break through in 2021. Read the summary here.