California's Housing Watchdogs

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Rancho Palos Verdes Wants Golf Courses and Horses, Not ADU’s

Visual representation of how RPV feels about the California housing crisis.Dubbed as Southern California’s “hidden, rural, and coastal gem,” Rancho Palos Verdes is a great place to live. Filled with great beaches, amazing golf courses, and beautiful horses, it is...

The Surf City Saga Finally Comes to an End

In a 6-to-1 vote on Tuesday night, the Huntington Beach City Council finally approved the 48 zoning-compliant condominiums we've been fighting over for nearly two years. All it took was a lawsuit, a trial court decision, a reversal of the decision, six appeals by the...

Courtney Welch Joins CaRLA as Planning & Investigations Director

CaRLA is excited to announce Courtney Welch has joined the CaRLA team in our newly created position of Director of Planning & Investigation. She brings a wealth of experience in housing advocacy and practice, and has already hit the ground running in her role to...

COVID and California Housing – March 2022 Snapshot

Snapshot of the State of Housing Pandemic Edition by Khang Tran March 2022Slow down a bit... Ever wondered how the housing market shifted during COVID? Real estate firms such as Zillow and CoreLogic had both predicted that home prices would fall. Nope, quite the...

2022 Housing Law Roundup – Non-Lawyer Edition

2022 Housing Roundup Non-Lawyer Edition by Khang Tran & Greg MagofñaJanuary 2022Living in California has no doubt exposed you to two things: ridiculous prices and even more ridiculous housing prices. Below is a chart from the National Low Income Housing Coalition...

Celebrating One Hell of a Ride at the CaRLA 2021 Gala

On Friday, December 17, 2021, we were lucky enough to host our first gala since the onset of the pandemic. We loved seeing so many familiar faces (some behind masks, but) all beyond the screen! Thank you to all of our vaccinated attendees, and for those who didn't...

CaRLA Announces the End of the Year Departure of Victoria Fierce

CaRLA is both happy and sad to announce the end of the year departure of our Director of Operations Victoria Fierce. As a three-person nonprofit, CaRLA is a close knit team and Victoria’s departure at the end of December brings both sadness at the loss of a colleague...

Victory Alert – Huntington Beach

CaRLA is happy to announce another fresh victory in a string of significant rulings in favor of housing. If you haven’t been following the Huntington Beach saga, it is finally coming to an end, and the series finale has a surprising conclusion. We were very unhappy...

CaRLA Announces Precedent-Setting Victory in San Mateo Appeal

Oakland, CA — The California Renters Legal Advocacy and Education Fund (CaRLA) is pleased to announce a precedent-setting victory in the fight for more housing and a more equitable California. In a much anticipated decision released Friday afternoon, the California...

CaRLA Disappointed in Huntington Beach Housing Lawsuit Ruling

We are simultaneously disappointed in and surprised by a trial judge’s ruling last week to deny 48 units of desperately needed and zoning-compliant housing in Huntington Beach on the grounds that the project is not protected by the Housing Accountability Act. This...

Wondering what we were up to last year? Check out the 2021 Annual Report.

CaRLA completes the housing circle:

Advocacy >
Education >
Enforcement

We carry a big stick, and we aren’t afraid to use it.

Our work in 2022

Homes Defended

BMR Homes

Threat Letters Sent

Resolved Requests for Help

Northern California Resolved Requests

Southern California Resolved Requests

Recent Victories

San Mateo

10 Units

Filed Apr 2018, Appealed w Attorney General Taking on Case Jan 2020
Huntington Beach

47 units, 5 BMR

Filed Jun 2020

“Our housing crisis is an existential threat to our state’s future, and we can’t shy from the hard fights it’ll take to create more affordable homes for Californians — including pursuing legal challenges to make sure the housing laws we pass in Sacramento translate to real, new units in local communities across our state.”

– Governor Gavin Newsom on CaRLA vs San Mateo

“Our fight for affordable housing is inextricably tied to our fights for racial, economic, environmental, and social justice. This appellate decision upholding the constitutionality of the Housing Accountability Act is a major victory for all Californians.”

– Attorney General Rob Bonta on CaRLA vs San Mateo