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SB-838 • 2026

Housing Accountability Act: housing development projects.

Housing Accountability Act: housing development projects.

Housing
Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor
Durazo
Last action
2025-10-13
Official status
Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 789, Statutes of 2025.
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not provide specific details on when the bill will take effect, leaving that as an unknown.

Housing Accountability Act: Housing Development Projects

This law changes the definition of a housing development project to exclude hotels, motels, and other short-term lodging from mixed-use developments that are mostly residential.

What This Bill Does

  • Changes how 'housing development projects' are defined in the Housing Accountability Act.
  • Requires that if at least two-thirds of new or converted space is for homes, none of it can be used as a hotel, motel, bed and breakfast inn, or other short-term lodging unless there's an exception.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Local agencies that decide on housing development projects
  • Developers who want to build mixed-use developments

Terms To Know

Housing Development Project
A project that includes homes for people with low, moderate, or very low incomes.
Mixed-Use Developments
Buildings that have both residential and non-residential spaces like offices or shops.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill does not specify when it will take effect.
  • It only applies if another related bill (AB 1308) is also passed and this one is enacted last.

Bill History

  1. 2025-10-13 California Legislative Information

    Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 789, Statutes of 2025.

  2. 2025-10-13 California Legislative Information

    Approved by the Governor.

  3. 2025-09-23 California Legislative Information

    Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 2 p.m.

  4. 2025-09-12 California Legislative Information

    Assembly amendments concurred in. (Ayes 26. Noes 9. Page 2988.) Ordered to engrossing and enrolling.

  5. 2025-09-12 California Legislative Information

    In Senate. Concurrence in Assembly amendments pending.

  6. 2025-09-11 California Legislative Information

    Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 58. Noes 17. Page 3273.) Ordered to the Senate.

  7. 2025-09-05 California Legislative Information

    Ordered to third reading.

  8. 2025-09-05 California Legislative Information

    Read third time and amended.

  9. 2025-09-05 California Legislative Information

    Assembly Rule 69(b)(1) suspended.

  10. 2025-09-03 California Legislative Information

    Ordered to third reading.

  11. 2025-09-03 California Legislative Information

    Read third time and amended.

  12. 2025-08-18 California Legislative Information

    Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

  13. 2025-07-17 California Legislative Information

    Read second time and amended. Ordered to second reading.

  14. 2025-07-17 California Legislative Information

    From committee: Do pass as amended. (Ayes 9. Noes 1.) (July 16).

  15. 2025-07-17 California Legislative Information

    Assembly Rule 63 suspended. (Ayes 49. Noes 15. Page 2578.)

  16. 2025-07-16 California Legislative Information

    From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on L. GOV. (Ayes 8. Noes 2.) (July 16). Re-referred to Com. on L. GOV.

  17. 2025-07-07 California Legislative Information

    Assembly Rule 56 suspended.

  18. 2025-06-30 California Legislative Information

    July 2 hearing postponed by committee.

  19. 2025-06-09 California Legislative Information

    Referred to Coms. on H. & C.D. and L. GOV.

  20. 2025-06-03 California Legislative Information

    In Assembly. Read first time. Held at Desk.

  21. 2025-06-02 California Legislative Information

    Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 23. Noes 11. Page 1386.) Ordered to the Assembly.

  22. 2025-05-08 California Legislative Information

    Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

  23. 2025-05-07 California Legislative Information

    From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 5. Noes 1. Page 1039.) (May 7).

  24. 2025-05-01 California Legislative Information

    From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on L. GOV.

  25. 2025-04-23 California Legislative Information

    From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on L. GOV. (Ayes 9. Noes 2. Page 832.) (April 22). Re-referred to Com. on L. GOV.

  26. 2025-04-08 California Legislative Information

    Set for hearing May 7 in L. GOV. pending receipt.

  27. 2025-04-04 California Legislative Information

    Set for hearing April 22.

  28. 2025-04-02 California Legislative Information

    Re-referred to Coms. on HOUSING and L. GOV.

  29. 2025-03-27 California Legislative Information

    Re-referred to Com. on RLS.

  30. 2025-03-27 California Legislative Information

    Withdrawn from committee.

  31. 2025-03-26 California Legislative Information

    From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on L. GOV.

  32. 2025-03-12 California Legislative Information

    Referred to Com. on L. GOV.

  33. 2025-02-24 California Legislative Information

    Read first time.

  34. 2025-02-24 California Legislative Information

    From printer. May be acted upon on or after March 24.

  35. 2025-02-21 California Legislative Information

    Introduced. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. To print.

Official Summary Text

SB 838, Durazo.
Housing Accountability Act: housing development projects.
Existing law, the Housing Accountability Act, among other things, prohibits a local agency from disapproving, or conditioning approval in a manner that renders infeasible, a housing development project for very low, low-, or moderate-income households unless the local agency makes written findings as to one of certain sets of conditions, as specified. Existing law defines, for its purposes, a housing development project as a use consisting of, among other things, mixed-use developments consisting of residential and nonresidential uses meeting one of several conditions, including that at least
2
/
3
of the new or converted square footage is designated for residential use.
This bill would revise the definition of “housing
development project” to, in the case of mixed-use developments with at least
2
/
3
of the new or converted square footage designated for residential use, require that no portion of the project be designated for use as a hotel, motel, bed and breakfast inn, or other transient lodging, except as specified.
This bill would correct cross-references in the Housing Accountability Act.
This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 65589.5 of the Government Code proposed by AB 1308 to be operative only if this bill and AB 1308 are enacted and this bill is enacted last.

Current Bill Text

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