2023 Housing Laws: Transforming California's 2024 Real Estate

[Ken and Ari Walker]

Good news for the California real estate market happens with a slew of housing bills from the 2023 legislative session which become effective on January 1. These new laws are aimed at easing or eliminating some of the burdens and obstacles preventing us from building our way out of the housing shortage that has plagued us for years. 

One of these laws gave more flexibility to exceed or override local zoning, greater certainty on the timing and likelihood of planning approvals and substantial relief from environmental review and litigation. 

AB 1287, a bill by San Diego Assembly member David Alvarez, will give developers permission to build denser, taller buildings if they set aside additional units for middle-income earners.  

SB 684 will make it easier to divide up large parcels of land for modest clusters of townhomes and cottages. And a host of new laws will make it more difficult for opponents of proposed housing projects to use the California Environmental Quality Act to delay certain types of housing projects.  

A new law by Phil Ting, a San Francisco Assembly member, will force cities to either approve or deny a projects’ environmental review within a set time limit. He is also the champion of ADU’s, which have become an increasingly popular way for local governments to meet their state-set housing production goals. One bill, AB1033, will let homeowners spin off their ADU as separate for-sale condos, so long as local governments approve. 

With these real estate “fixes” in place for 2024 we might start seeing some respite from the inventory constraints of the past. 

Best,  

Ken & Ari Walker - Your Direct Private Money Source  
Husband & Wife Team  

Phone: [phone] / Office: 1400 N. Dutton Ave #22 Santa Rosa, CA 95401 
Ken: CA DRE Broker #01858042 / NMLS #1221130 
Ari: CA DRE #01858152 / NMLS #2170867