Legislative Gossip

Updated November 2, 2026

Several bills significant to California’s housing market were passed in 2026, including:

• SB 1036, which amends the Mitigation Fee Act to require local agencies in redevelopment projects to reduce or credit development impact fees proportionally to the impacts of the use being replaced.
• SB 722, which prohibits transit-oriented developments from being on an existing parcel of land governed by the Mobilehome Residency Law, the Recreational Vehicle Park Occupancy Law, the Mobilehome Parks Act or the Special Occupancy Parks Act.
• AB 739, which requires the board of directors of a common interest development to annually review a statement of fees charged by the managing agent.
• AB 956, which allows for the streamlined and ministerial approval of up to two detached accessory dwelling units (ADUs) on lots with an existing or proposed single-family dwelling and removes homeowners’ association (HOA) restrictions against ADU and junior accessory dwelling unit (JADU) construction.
• SB 1267, which makes the owner and each successive owner of an electric vehicle charging station in a common interest development (CID) responsible for the costs for any damages resulting from the use of the electric vehicle charging station.
• SB 1296, which requires a landlord who allows pets to include their pet policy, including any weight or breed restrictions, in advertisements and rental application forms and the tenant needs to acknowledge receiving the pet policy. Requires any landlord who charges an application fee but fails to disclose the pet policy to refund the application fee to the prospective tenant.
• AB 1294, which provides a welfare tax exemption for units serving low- and moderate-income households.
• AB 1751, which allows a townhouse development project which complies with objective standards to be subject to a ministerial approval process and exempts them from California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requirements.
• SB 1014, which requires a city or county, within 30 days of receiving a housing development application, to provide the developer with a list of required onsite and offsite improvements and costs for building those improvements, and prohibits the local agency from demanding improvements which were not disclosed to the developer within 30 days of submitting an application for a building permit.
• SB 1116, which allows a newly created parcel with multifamily zoning to be as small as 480 square feet, or 960 square feet under specific conditions.
• SB 1117, which amends impact fee allocation for accessory dwelling units (ADUs), only allowing fees for ADUs with over 750 square feet.
• AB 2020, which allows residential developers to transfer excess reserves or operating income across multiple properties under the same developer.
• AB 2089, which expands the property tax welfare exemption for qualifying nonprofit low-income housing by extending certain low-income occupancy protections through fiscal year 2028–29 and allowing counties to accept electronic signatures and submissions for exemption claims and recertifications.
• AB 2074, which establishes transit hub districts in metropolitan cities and streamlines approval and financing for high-density, transit-oriented housing developments through new land use standards and a state-backed loan fund.
• SB 1301, which requires a homeowner’s insurance provider to provide a notice and reasoning for not renewing the homeowner’s policy three months in advance.
• AB 1621, which prohibits local agencies from requesting more than two plan checks for a building permit and speeds up the approval timelines to 30 business days for multifamily properties with 25 units or fewer and 45 business days for multifamily properties with 26 units or more.
• SB 894, which establishes a state wildfire resilience loan program to reduce wildfire-related risks and losses through fire hardening and defensible space developments.
• AB 1815, which prohibits local agencies from enforcing stricter than minimum building standards on a housing construction project using factory-built housing.
• AB 1738, which requires a local agency to allow remote building inspections for single and two-family residential housing units.
• SB 1388, which requires the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) to provide assistance and resources for low-income housing developers to mitigate rising insurance costs.

Editor’s note — Stay tuned to the firsttuesday Journal for a further analysis of all recently passed legislation.

Read on for the full list of bills for the 2025-2026 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.