Updated November 13, 2023.

Over a dozen bills significant to California’s housing market were passed in October 2023, including:

  • AB 225, which requires the Department of Real Estate (DRE) to add three additional sections to the Environmental Hazards Booklet, to cover wildfires, climate change and sea level rise.
  • AB 1508, which requires subsequent updates to the Statewide Housing Plan to include an evaluation and recommendations for increasing the number of first-time homebuyers; and
  • AB 12, which prohibits landlords from demanding a security deposit from a tenant equaling more than one month’s rent — or, no more than two months rent when the landlord is a natural person or an LLC consisting solely of natural persons, or owns no more than two residential properties consisting of no more than four rental units.

Read on for the full list of bills for the 2021-2022 Legislative Session and DRE Regulations which may substantially affect how you do business as a real estate licensee. Reports on passed bills can be found on our New Laws page. Current real estate law is here. This list is updated monthly.

All recent updates are in red below.

Status Legend:

Introduced = Date the bill was originally introduced for consideration. Bill is still being considered, but not yet law.
Amended = Date the bill was last amended. Bill is still being considered, but not yet law.
Enrolled = Bill approved by both houses and pending the governor’s signature.
Passed = Bill signed by the governor and passed into law.
Flag= Bill is particularly relevant to real estate licensees.

CategoryBillStatusStatus DateDescription
GovernmentAB 1449Amended5/1/23This bill exempts multi-family low-income housing projects from preparation of an environmental impact report (EIR) under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
GovernmentSB 869Amended9/13/23This bill requires a person who provides commercial brokerage services to a borrower in a commercial loan transaction by soliciting lenders or otherwise negotiating a commercial loan to be licensed by the Commissioner of Financial Protection and Innovation. It also imposes a fiduciary duty on a person who provides commercial brokerage services to the borrower.
GovernmentAB 309Enrolled9/18/23This bill establishes the California Housing Authority to offer publicy owned, mixed-income housing removed from market forces, termed "social housing." Under an ownership model, this type of housing extends a 99-year lease, under which the Authority acts as lender.
GovernmentSB 555Passed10/7/23This bill works together with AB 309 to declare a goal of 1.2 million social housing units over the next ten years, with one-third of these units available to extremely and very low income households.
GovernmentAB 812Passed10/11/23This bill authorizes a local jurisdiction to condition approval of an affordable housing development on the developer's reservation of up to 10% of the units to be constructed for working artists.
GovernmentSB 611Revised5/25/23This bill prohibits a landlord from charging a tenant for serving, posting or delivering any notice or for making a payment by check. It also requires a landlord who charges a higher than standard or advertised security deposit to include in the lease agreement a statement of the higher fee amount and an explanation for why the higher security deposit amount is being charged.
PracticeAB 342Passed9/22/23This bill authorizes the California Bureau of Real Estate Appraisers (BREA) to request a licensee identify their race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender or gender identity at the time of license issuance or renewal. Beginning January 1, 2025, this bill requires the BREA to post aggregate demographic data collected online.
Property ManagementAB 887Revised6/8/23This bill requires the management of a floating home marina located in Alameda, Contra Costa or Marin Counties to make publicly available their financial statements and projections by March 31 of each year.
Property ManagementSB 567Passed9/30/23This bill amends the Tenant Protection Act's just cause eviction process and rent cap rules. Read more
Property ManagementAB 1620Passed10/11/23This bill authorizes a local jurisdiction to require the owner of a rent controlled unit to permit a tenant who is current on their rent with a permanent disability related to mobility to move to a comparable or smaller unit on the first floor of the building, while retaining the same lease and rental terms.
GovernmentAB 1632Amended3/23/23This bill prohibits a city or county from imposing requirements for a roof overhang on a nonconventional SFR - such as a manufactured home - unless the same size requirements would also be imposed on a conventional SFR constructed on the same lot.
ConstructionSB 834Amended5/2/23This bill establishes the California Family Home Construction and Homeownership Program, a bond program which will fund California Socially Responsible Second Mortgage Loans, awarded to low- and moderate-income residents to use as down payments or closing costs on newly constructed homes.
ConstructionAB 1532Introduced2/17/23This bill exempts office-to-residential conversion projects from some CEQA and impact fee requirements.
ConstructionAB 1700Introduced02/17/23This bill limits specifies that population growth, in and of itself, resulting from a housing project and noise impacts of a housing project are not an effect on the environment for purposes of California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) actions.
ConstructionAB 1508Passed10/11/23This bill requires subsequent updates to the Statewide Housing Plan to include an evaluation and recommendations for increasing the number of first-time homebuyers
ConstructionAB 1490Passed10/11/23This bill defines adaptive reuse as the retrofitting and repurposing of an existing building to create new residential units. It requires all cities in California - including charter cities - to give priority and waivers to low-income housing projects that are adaptive reuse projects.
Legal AspectsAB 1485Passed10/11/23This bill permits the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) to intervene as a matter of unconditional right in any legal action addressing a violation of the housing laws that a city, county, or city and county has violated.
Property ManagementAB 976Passed10/11/23This bill prohibits a local agency from imposing an owner-occupancy requirement on any accessory dwelling unit (ADU). Read more.
Common interest developmentsAB 572Passed10/11/23This bill prohibits the increase of a regular assessment on the owner of an affordable housing unit located in a common interest development (CID) which records its original declaration on or after January 1, 2024, that is more than 5% greater than the preceding regular assessment for the associationÕs preceding fiscal year.
PracticeSB 855Introduced2/17/23This bill makes it an unlawful employment practice to require an employee who is a veteran, to work on November 11, known as Veterans Day.
Property ManagementAB 12Passed10/11/23This bill prohibits a landlord from demanding a security deposit from a tenant equaling more than one month’s rent — or, no more than two months rent when the landlord is a natural person or an LLC consisting solely of natural persons, or owns no more than two residential properties consisting of no more than four rental units.
Property ManagementAB 42Passed10/10/23This bill prohibits a local agency from imposing or enforcing any requirement to provide fire sprinklers for any dwelling with a total floor area of less than 250 square feet, also known as a "tiny home," located in a community of 50 or fewer temporary sleeping cabins intended to house individuals experiencing homelessness.
Property ManagementAB 59Amended4/5/23This bill increases the ceiling for receiving a renter's tax credit from an annual adjusted gross income of $87,066 for joint filers and heads of households and $43,533 for individuals to $150,000 and $75,000, respectively, to be adjusted annually for inflation. It also increases the credit amount to $2,000 for joint filers and heads of households and $1,000 for individuals.
GovernmentAB 225Passed10/8/23This bill requires the Department of Real Estate (DRE) to develop a booklet covering common environmental hazards, including three sections on wildfires, climate change and sea level rise.
Legal AspectsAB 288Passed7/13/23This bill authorizes the transfer of real estate by revocable transfer on death deed even when ownership is not typically evidenced or transferred by use of a deed, such as under the transfer of an interest in a stock cooperative. This bill also specifies that when a revocable transfer on death deed conflicts with another instrument, the later executed instrument is operative and the other instrument is only operative if it is irrevocable.
ConstructionSB 239Introduced1/24/23This bill limits California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) actions to the Office of the Attorney General (OAG). This bill also, until January 1, 2030, requires an action or proceeding to attack, set aside, void, or annul a determination of the lead agency certifying the environmental impact report (EIR) for a commercial, housing, or public works project that addresses longstanding critical needs in the project area be resolved within 365 days of the filing of the record of proceedings with the court.