Why Do We Need the Housing Accountability Act?

The Housing Accountability Act has been in effect since 1982. Since that time, California’s housing supply has not kept up with population and job growth, and the affordability crisis has grown significantly due to an undersupply of housing, which compounds inequality and limits economic and social mobility. Housing is a fundamental component of a healthy, equitable community. Lack of adequate housing hurts millions of Californians, stifles economic opportunities for workers and businesses, worsens poverty and homelessness, and undermines the state’s environmental and climate goals and compounds the racial equity gaps faced by many communities across the state.

The legislative intent of the HAA was to limit local governments’ ability to deny, make infeasible, or reduce the density of housing development projects. After determining that implementation of the HAA was not meeting the intent of the statute, the Legislature has amended the HAA to expand its provisions, strengthening the law to meaningfully and effectively curb the capacity of local governments to deny, reduce the density or render housing development projects infeasible.