Bill > AB712

This bill adds provisions to California law to strengthen enforcement of housing development regulations and protect housing project applicants from local agency obstruction. Specifically, the bill allows housing development project applicants who successfully sue a local agency for violating housing reform laws to receive reasonable attorney's fees and costs, and requires courts to impose significant fines on local agencies that repeatedly violate housing laws. The bill mandates that before filing a lawsuit, an applicant must provide 60 days' written notice to the local agency detailing the alleged violation, and it extends legal filing deadlines by 60 days to accommodate this notice period. Importantly, the bill prohibits public agencies from requiring housing development project applicants to indemnify or defend the agency in lawsuits alleging housing law violations, rendering such requirements void and unenforceable. The bill defines "housing reform law" broadly as any regulation that establishes protections or limitations benefiting housing development projects, and introduces escalating financial penalties for agencies that repeatedly violate these laws, with fines potentially increasing fivefold for subsequent violations within the same planning period. The overall intent is to create more uniform, transparent, and effective remedies against public agencies that impede housing development.

Budget and Finance, Housing and Urban Affairs, Justice

https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billStatusClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB712