CA Legislature Approves Sen. Skinner’s 2024 Housing Package (original) (raw)
Press Release
August 31, 2024
The California Legislature today gave final approval to state Sen. Nancy Skinner’s 2024 housing package — three bills that are designed to make it easier to build more housing, including accessory dwelling units (ADUs) and housing that is affordable for middle- and lower-income families.
Sen. Skinner’s three housing bills are:
- SB 1211, which would open the door for more ADUs, also known as second units or backyard cottages, on properties with multifamily housing.
- SB 1210, which would bring much-needed transparency to costly hook-up fees charged for water, sewer, electrical, and gas service for most new housing units, including ADUs.
- SB 440, which would enable local governments to join together to establish regional housing finance agencies to address affordable housing needs in their communities.
“California has taken significant steps to create more housing, but there is still more to do to address our housing crisis. That’s why my 2024 housing package takes an all-of-the-above approach,” said Sen. Skinner, D-Berkeley, chair of the Senate Housing Committee. “SB 1211 will allow more ADUs — the fastest-growing sector of our housing market — to be built on multifamily properties that already have apartments, condos, or townhomes. SB 1210 will support those who want to build ADUs, or any other type of housing, by ensuring that we know upfront how much we have to pay for utility hook-up fees. And SB 440 will enable local governments to join together to finance affordable housing.”
Here are the final votes on Sen. Skinner’s 2024 housing package:
- SB 440 – Senate: 30-9; Assembly: 43-9
- SB 1210 – Senate: 34-6; Assembly: 60-2
- SB 1211 – Senate: 30-9; Assembly: 57-9
All three bills are on their way to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk.
For the past several years, ADUs have been the fastest-growing segment of California’s housing market because they’re cheaper and easier to build and because over the past decade the legislature passed many new laws that removed obstacles and streamlined ADU permitting. Before those laws, California was permitting only about 800 ADUs per year. Now, the state is building about 25,000 new ADUs annually.
SB 1211 would further boost California’s ADU market by increasing the number of detached ADUs allowed on multifamily properties that can be approved quickly and avoid long permitting times. Under the bill, the number of detached ADUs allowed to be built on properties with apartments, condos, or townhouses with just a ministerial permit would also quadruple, from two to eight.
In addition, if a multifamily property owner decides to replace a carport or driveway with an ADU, they would not be required to replace that parking.
SB 1210, meanwhile, is a transparency measure that would require utilities to post on their websites a schedule of estimated fees they charge for hook-ups on ADUs and all other housing types. SB 1210 would also require utilities to post estimated timeframes for completing typical service connections needed for each type of housing.
As for SB 440, it’s based off of two recent laws that were designed to accelerate the creation of affordable housing by allowing local governments to join together to obtain financing. The two previous laws established regional housing finance agencies: the Bay Area Housing Finance Authority (BAHFA) in 2019 and the Los Angeles County Affordable Housing Solutions Agency (LACAHSA) in 2022.
By allowing other local governments in the state to join together to create similar entities, SB 440 eliminates the need for future regional housing finance authorities having to seek individual approval from the legislature.
Sen. Nancy Skinner represents the 9th Senate District and is chair of the Senate Housing Committee and the California Legislative Women’s Caucus.