CaRLA News

In 2017, the state legislature passed SB167 to strengthen the Housing Accountability Act. The changes it brought were profoundly boring: it simply required cities to follow their own zoning laws instead of making them up on the spot at every project hearing. If you've...

Today, we’re pleased to announce that Los Altos has conceded defeat in our lawsuit against them for an unlawful denial of affordable housing under Senate Bill 35’s streamlined approval provisions. The city tried announcing this late Saturday night in the middle of the...

As we announced earlier this year, CaRLA is appealing the ruling we received at trial in our lawsuit against the City of San Mateo for violating the Housing Accountability Act. At the same time, the California Attorney General intervened in our suit to defend the...

Today, California Renters Legal Advocacy and Education Fund is announcing the filing of yet another lawsuit against a Californian suburb for violating state housing law; this time, in Huntington Beach. The coastal town has made a habit of defying state law mandates in...

A special guest post by our friend Chris Elmendorf, Professor of Law at UC Davis School of Law. The California Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA, has become a bogeyman for YIMBYs, an excuse for cities to deny housing, and tool with which opponents can delay projects...

Today, rent is due for millions of renters throughout California, many of whom will not be able to pay due to loss of income caused by the pandemic. We have seen the adoption of eviction moratoria throughout the country, a necessary measure to keep renters safe and in...

Last year, we filed a lawsuit against the City of Los Altos for denying an affordable housing development in violation of SB35 shortly after it was enacted. Today, we’re excited to announce our victory in court. Not only did we win, our hard-fought ruling solidifies...