SACRAMENTO (Calif.) — California’s attorney General said Wednesday that he will put a renewed emphasis on helping to solve the state’s seemingly intractable affordability problem. This includes creating a strike force to target tenant protections and local governments that aren’t following state housing laws.
According to Attorney General Rob Bonta (a Democrat who was elected in April) the 12-member strike force will include attorneys from four sections of the state Department of Justice.
Bonta stated that the new approach is unique in history of the California Department of Justice. It places a priority on housing and law enforcement.
He pointed out that a new law clarifies and enhances his authority to enforce state housing and other zoning laws, along with the state Department of Housing and Community Development. This gives him the authority to sue local governments if they don’t increase their housing supply or comply with other requirements.
Bonta stated that they are looking into the responsibilities of local jurisdictions to build more housing. He added later that there would be consequences and accountability if communities refuse to comply.
The department determines the number of housing units a region will need to provide housing for all income levels. It also created a Housing Accountability Unit to enforce compliance.
“What we have tried to do is give more teeth to these important laws that sometimes have been around for as long as forty years and now empowering attorney general to take action in order to enforce them,” stated Sen. Scott Wiener from San Francisco, a Democrat and proponent of expanded housing.
Carolyn Coleman, CEO of the League of California Cities and executive director of League of California Cities, stated that local governments have made significant progress and will plan for more than 2 million additional housing units by 2023.
She said that cities have suffered whiplash for years from the state’s scattered approach to passing housing legislations, which are often in conflict with one another. Officials instead should pause “these unproven top-down state mandates and enforcement policies” in favor of working cooperatively with local governments to solve a decades-in-the-making housing crisis.
One example: Last week, the department stated that it was investigating the San Francisco Board of Supervisors’ rejection of a 495-unit apartment block. Director Gustavo Velasquez however said Wednesday that his department is only gathering facts to determine if the city has violated state law.
Bonta stated that his office acts as the department’s legal counselor in this inquiry.
California just passed two prominent housing laws. One required cities to approve up four housing units from a single-family lot.
Bonta stated that the attorney general’s attorneys will also be focusing on tenant rights, mortgages, and other consumer protection laws.
He also announced the creation of a new housing portal, which provides resources and information to homeowners and renters. Housing@doj.ca.gov can be contacted with any housing tips or complaints.
Bonta stated that it was part of his efforts to “advance Californians fundamental right to housing,” something that he believes should be legally binding.
This is the latest effort by state officials to address housing affordability, and the state’s large homeless population.
He said that 150,000 state residents sleep in shelters, their cars or on the streets, and 700,000 Californians could be evicted.
He said that the median price for a single-family home is now $800,000. This has resulted in the lowest homeownership rates ever since the 1940s.
Bonta stated that housing equity will be a major focus. Bonta noted that almost half of state’s Black households spend over 30% of their income on housing compared to only a third of white households.
