Plain English Breakdown
The official text specifies 'applicant' rather than the broader term 'developer,' though applicants are often developers.
Housing Reform Laws: Enforcement Actions, Fines, and Penalties
This law allows courts to award legal fees to housing project applicants who win lawsuits against local agencies for breaking housing reform rules and requires those agencies to pay fines.
What This Bill Does
- Requires a court to give reasonable attorney's fees and costs to an applicant if they win a lawsuit enforcing housing reform laws.
- Mandates that courts impose specific fines on local government agencies when applicants successfully sue them for violating these laws.
- Adds 60 days to the time limit for filing lawsuits after an applicant sends written notice of their intent to sue a local agency.
- Stops public agencies from forcing applicants to pay legal costs or defend the agency in cases where the agency allegedly broke housing reform rules.
Who It Names or Affects
- Applicants building low- or moderate-income housing projects.
- Local government agencies that issue permits or approvals for housing developments.
- Courts handling civil actions related to state housing reform laws.
Terms To Know
- Housing Reform Law
- A law that establishes protections for applicants building homes or limits what local agencies can do regarding those projects.
- Prevailing Party
- The person or group who wins the lawsuit in court.
Limits and Unknowns
- The text does not list the exact dollar amounts for the fines that courts must impose.
- The law only applies to lawsuits where an applicant is trying to enforce specific state housing reform laws, not all types of legal disputes.