California development & underwriting terms, defined

The maximum residential density a site is allowed under zoning and the general plan before any bonus — the multiplicand for all § 65915 math.

Development approved without discretionary review — judged only against objective standards, with no CEQA process or hearing that can stop it.

A cost-reducing modification of development standards — reduced setbacks, mixed use, fee relief — that density-bonus projects can demand under § 65915(d).

A discretionary, findings-based permit allowing a use the zoning district permits only conditionally — with attached conditions that bind operations.

The percentage increase above a site's maximum allowed density that cities must grant for qualifying affordable set-asides under Gov. Code § 65915.

Approval requiring an agency's judgment — CUPs, variances, subjective design review — which triggers CEQA, noticed hearings, and appeals.

The bundle of discretionary land-use approvals a project needs before building permits — the process that moves a site from raw to shovel-ready.

Gross building floor area divided by lot area — the intensity metric that, with height and coverage, sets how much building fits on a site.

A jurisdiction's long-range charter for land use — seven mandatory elements that zoning, subdivisions, and most approvals must be consistent with.

The maximum building height a district allows, in feet or stories — a constraint that interacts with construction type and density-bonus waivers.

The maximum percentage of a lot's area that building footprint may occupy, set by the zoning district's development standards.

Permit issuance by fixed, objective standards involving no official judgment — and therefore exempt from CEQA under Guidelines § 15268.

A use or building lawful when established but out of step with current zoning — allowed to continue, barred from expanding, and easy to lose.

Standards involving no personal or subjective judgment, uniformly verifiable against a benchmark knowable before submittal (Gov. Code § 65913.4(a)(5)).

Per-unit minimums of usable common or private open space — courtyards, decks, balconies — required by multifamily development standards.

A supplemental zoning district layered over base zoning that adds or modifies standards — historic, coastal, hillside, airport, or transit-oriented.

Required off-street parking per unit. Gov. Code § 65915(p) caps ratios for bonus projects, and AB 2097 bars minimums near major transit.

The SB 330 filing under Gov. Code § 65941.1 that freezes the ordinances, standards, and fees a housing project will be judged against.

A legislative amendment to the zoning map or text — fully discretionary, bound to general plan consistency, and exposed to referendum.

The minimum required distance between structures and lot lines — the front, side, and rear yards fixed by each zoning district's standards.

Review of a project's layout, massing, and design for conformity with development standards — objective-only where state housing law protects the project.

A statutory master plan for a defined area (Gov. Code §§ 65450–65457) detailing uses, standards, and infrastructure — and able to pre-clear CEQA.

The distribution of a project's units by bedroom count — the design lever that drives parking load, affordability matrices, and revenue per foot.

Discretionary relief from a development standard where special physical circumstances of the lot justify it (Gov. Code § 65906). Use variances are barred.

Protection against later changes in land-use rules — earned by vesting tentative map, development agreement, SB 330 filing, or common-law reliance.

Unlimited relief under Gov. Code § 65915(e) from any development standard that would physically preclude a density-bonus project at its awarded density.

Classes of projects the CEQA Guidelines declare exempt from review (§§ 15301–15333) — unless a § 15300.2 exception, such as unusual circumstances, applies.

The California Environmental Quality Act (Pub. Res. Code § 21000 et seq.): discretionary approvals must analyze and mitigate significant environmental impacts.

Pub. Res. Code § 21167's deadlines to sue: 30 days from a notice of determination, 35 from a notice of exemption, 180 days when no notice is filed.

Guidelines § 15332's exemption for urban infill on 5 acres or less — five criteria: plan consistency, urban setting, habitat, site impacts, and utilities.

The Coastal Act permit for development in the coastal zone — a second discretionary approval layered on local entitlements, with Commission appeal zones.

CEQA's full analysis document for projects that may have significant impacts; certified with findings before approval — roughly 18–30 months when contested.

A resource listed in or eligible for the California Register (Pub. Res. Code § 21084.1) — a substantial adverse change to it is a significant CEQA impact.

The lead agency's preliminary CEQA checklist analysis that routes a project: negative declaration, mitigated negative declaration, or full EIR.

The public agency with principal responsibility for approving or carrying out a project — it selects the CEQA document, runs review, and adopts the findings.

The A–F congestion grading that was CEQA's traffic metric until SB 743 — no longer a CEQA impact, but alive in general plan policies and fee programs.

A locality's Coastal Commission–certified land use plan and implementing ordinances — once certified, the city issues CDPs, with appeals in mapped zones.

A negative declaration whose mitigation reduces each potentially significant impact below significance — avoids an EIR but is fair-argument-vulnerable.

An enforceable condition that avoids, minimizes, or compensates for a significant environmental impact — the currency of MNDs and EIR findings.

The tracking program (Pub. Res. Code § 21081.6) an agency must adopt with any mitigated approval — who verifies each measure, when, and how.

A CEQA finding, after an initial study, that a project has no significant environmental effects — no EIR needed; 30-day challenge window once the NOD is filed.

The National Environmental Policy Act — federal environmental review triggered by federal actions and funding (HUD, FHA), on a separate track from CEQA.

The notice a lead agency files after approving a CEQA-reviewed project — filing starts the 30-day statute of limitations for court challenges.

The post-approval filing for a CEQA-exempt project — cuts the challenge window from 180 days to 35 days from filing.

The lead agency's notice that an EIR will be prepared — opens scoping, with a 30-day window for agencies and the public to comment on what the EIR must cover.

An agency other than the lead with a later discretionary approval over a project — it relies on the lead agency's CEQA document rather than starting over.

CEQA findings that let an agency approve despite significant, unavoidable impacts — specific benefits, like housing supply, outweigh the residual harm.

A legislature-enacted CEQA exemption — immune to the § 15300.2 exceptions that defeat categorical classes. AB 130's 2025 infill housing exemption is one.

Relying on a broader program or plan-level EIR so later, consistent projects narrow their review to what the earlier document didn't already analyze.

CEQA's transportation metric since SB 743 — Guidelines § 15064.3 swapped congestion (LOS) for driving generated; transit-proximate infill often screens out.

California's statewide rent cap (5% + CPI, max 10%) and just-cause eviction law, codified at Civil Code §§ 1947.12 and 1946.2; sunsets January 1, 2030.

A local rent-ordinance feature letting an owner carry forward unused annual increases and apply them later, usually with a cap; AB 1482 has no banking.

A negotiated payment for a tenant's voluntary vacancy (cash for keys); many rent-control cities impose disclosure, filing, and rescission-window rules.

State law exempting post-February 1995 construction and single-family homes/condos from local rent caps and guaranteeing vacancy decontrol statewide.

Gov. Code §§ 7060–7060.7: an owner's right to exit the rental business by withdrawing all units, subject to notice, relocation, and re-rental penalties.

A tenant's signed statement confirming rent, deposit, term, and any side agreements — the diligence document that verifies a rent roll against reality.

An owner's petition to a rent board for an above-cap increase where the capped rent denies a constitutionally required fair return, usually on an MNOI standard.

Tenant-based Section 8 assistance under 24 C.F.R. Part 982: a PHA pays owners the subsidy share under a HAP contract, subject to inspections and rent tests.

The rule that a covered tenancy may be terminated only for an enumerated at-fault or no-fault reason — Civ. Code § 1946.2 statewide, plus stricter local laws.

Termination of a tenancy for reasons not attributable to the tenant — owner move-in, Ellis withdrawal, substantial remodel — always owing relocation assistance.

A no-fault eviction ground letting an owner or close family member occupy a unit; SB 567 requires move-in within 90 days and 12 months' occupancy.

Tenants — typically elderly, disabled, terminally ill, or long-tenure — whom local ordinances shield from certain no-fault evictions or grant extra benefits.

Housing Crisis Act category: rent-restricted, rent-controlled, or lower-income-occupied units whose demolition triggers replacement and relocation duties.

Payments owed to tenants displaced by no-fault terminations: one month's rent under state law, up to five-figure per-unit schedules under local ordinances.

The local agency administering a rent stabilization ordinance — annual allowable increases, petitions, registration, program fees, penalties, and hearings.

Local ordinances capping annual rent increases on covered units, typically pre-1995 multifamily stock; bounded statewide by the Costa-Hawkins Act.

The PHA determination that a voucher unit's rent does not exceed rents for comparable unassisted units — the binding cap on what Section 8 will pay an owner.

A local system requiring owners to report units, rents, and tenancies annually; non-registration can bar rent increases and evictions in some cities.

Adverse landlord action — eviction, rent hike, service cuts — punishing a tenant's protected activity; barred by statute, with a 180-day presumption window.

Umbrella label for rental assistance under 42 U.S.C. § 1437f: tenant-based vouchers, project-based vouchers, and legacy project-based HAP contracts.

FEHA protection (SB 329, 2019) making housing subsidies like Section 8 vouchers a protected source of income — categorical refusal is unlawful in California.

A no-fault eviction ground for permit-required replacement of building systems that forces 30+ consecutive days of vacancy; cosmetic renovation never qualifies.

The Costa-Hawkins guarantee that an owner may set a new tenancy's initial rent at market after a lawful vacancy, even in a rent-controlled building.

The implied warranty that rental housing meets basic standards (weatherproofing, plumbing, heat); breach supports repair-and-deduct and eviction defenses.

The 2021 impact-fee reform: nexus-study standards in Gov. Code § 66016.5 plus web-posted fee-schedule transparency in § 65940.1.

A utility's buy-in charge for water or sewer system capacity under Gov. Code § 66013, capped at the estimated reasonable cost of providing service.

A negotiated package of benefits beyond code minimums — local hire, extra affordability, open space — tied to a project's approvals or its DA.

The Mello-Roos financing vehicle: a district formed by election that levies special taxes per its recorded RMA, usually securing bonded debt.

The charge for physically hooking a project to water or sewer, regulated alongside capacity charges by Gov. Code § 66013's cost-of-service cap.

A negotiated contract under Gov. Code §§ 65864–65869.5 freezing the rules and fees applicable to a project for its term, in exchange for public benefits.

A one-time charge on new development to fund public facilities serving it, governed by the Mitigation Fee Act's nexus, accounting, timing and protest rules.

A Gov. Code § 53398.50+ district capturing consenting agencies' property-tax increment — never schools' share — to finance infrastructure and housing.

Any condition of development approval taking money, land or improvements — policed by the essential-nexus and rough-proportionality tests.

A cash payment accepted instead of a physical requirement — affordable units, parkland, parking — priced by the underlying ordinance or nexus study.

A local requirement that a share of new units, commonly 10–20%, be deed-restricted affordable — on-site or through in-lieu alternatives.

A per-square-foot fee on commercial or market-rate projects funding affordable housing, justified by a jobs-housing or affordability nexus study.

The Mello-Roos Act (Gov. Code §§ 53311+) lets agencies levy non-ad-valorem special taxes through CFDs — parcel liens that secure infrastructure bonds.

Gov. Code §§ 66000–66025 — the statute disciplining California impact fees with nexus findings, fund accounting, deferred timing and 90-day protests.

The technical study justifying an impact fee by connecting new development's burden to facility costs; AB 602 sets its content and adoption standards.

Subdivision Map Act § 66477: parkland dedication or in-lieu fees on residential subdivisions, sized at 3 (up to 5) acres per 1,000 new residents.

California's former tax-increment agencies, dissolved February 1, 2012 after CRA v. Matosantos; their covenants and obligations still run with the land.

The per-square-foot school exaction capped by Gov. Code § 65995 — the one impact fee with a statutory ceiling; payment is full and complete mitigation.

A benefit-based levy on parcels in a district to finance improvements that specially benefit them — lien-secured and sized by an engineer's report.

The entity winding down a dissolved redevelopment agency — paying enforceable obligations through ROPS and disposing of former RDA assets.

Financing that freezes a district's assessed-value base and steers future property-tax growth — the increment — to improvements within the district.

A utility's written commitment that capacity exists and it will serve a project — the assurance lenders and map approvals routinely require.

Five wood-framed residential stories over a one-level concrete podium — the § 510.2 plus Type III-A recipe behind most new California mid-rise apartments.

A dwelling unit built so it can be converted for a resident with a disability without structural work — reinforced walls, removable cabinets, clear floor space.

CBC §§ 504 and 506 tables capping stories, height and floor area by construction type, occupancy and sprinkler system — the code's feasibility envelope.

Title 24, Part 11 — California's mandatory green building code: EV charging infrastructure, 65% construction-waste diversion, water and low-VOC requirements.

Title 24, Part 2 — California's adaptation of the IBC. Governs most multifamily (R-2) projects: occupancy, construction type, heights, fire protection, egress.

Title 24, Part 10 — the code for repairs, alterations, additions and occupancy changes in existing buildings, scaling requirements to the scope of work.

Title 24, Part 8 — alternative, performance-based standards that let qualified historic buildings meet safety intent without full modern code compliance.

Title 24, Part 2.5 — the IRC-based code for one- and two-family dwellings, townhouses up to three stories, and most ADUs. Simpler and cheaper than the CBC.

The CBC's housing accessibility chapter for covered multifamily: adaptable units, accessible routes and common areas in apartment and condominium projects.

The CBC chapter requiring ignition-resistant exteriors — ember-resistant vents, protected glazing, rated siding and decking — in mapped fire hazard zones.

Reclassifying a building to a different occupancy group — like office (B) to apartments (R-2) — which triggers compliance with the new use's code requirements.

CBC Chapter 6 classes I–V rank structures by material combustibility and fire resistance; with occupancy and sprinklers they cap a building's height and area.

Title 24, Part 6 — the Building Energy Efficiency Standards. The 2025 edition extends heat-pump baselines, with prescriptive and performance compliance paths.

CALGreen's three tiers of parking-stall EV infrastructure: EV-capable (conduit and capacity), EV-ready (live circuit) and EVSE (charger installed).

A wall or floor-ceiling assembly with a tested hourly fire-resistance rating — the separations between units, corridors and podium levels in multifamily.

The 2025 Energy Code's standard-design assumption of heat-pump space and water heating — gas designs must offset the difference, pushing all-electric buildings.

City and county modifications to Title 24 — stricter sprinkler, seismic, fire-zone or energy rules — adopted with filed findings. Always check the local code.

CBC Chapter 10's exit system — exit access, exits and exit discharge — with two-exit rules, travel-distance caps and corridor standards that shape floor plates.

A full automatic sprinkler system protecting all areas, including concealed spaces. The CBC's default system — and the key that unlocks extra stories and area.

The residential sprinkler standard for Group R buildings up to four stories and 60 feet. Cheaper than NFPA 13, but it earns fewer height and area bonuses.

The CBC's use-based grouping of buildings (R-2 apartments, S-2 parking, B office, M retail) that sets height, area, fire, egress and accessibility requirements.

CBC § 510.2 lets wood residential stories sit on a three-hour-separated Type I-A concrete podium and be treated as a separate building for height and area.

CBC occupancy group for buildings with three or more dwelling units occupied permanently — apartments and condos. The default multifamily classification.

California's statewide construction code: 12 parts of building, residential, energy, green and fire standards. The 2025 edition took effect January 1, 2026.

Wood light-frame construction — V-A (one-hour protected) or V-B (unprotected). The cheapest structural class; tops out around four stories for sprinklered R-2.

CAL FIRE-mapped fire hazard severity zones (moderate to very high) where hardened, ignition-resistant construction and defensible space are required.

IRC § 42(d)(5)(B) counts eligible basis at 130% in HUD-designated DDAs and QCTs — or by state designation on 9% deals — up to 30% more credits.

The post-2025 threshold of IRC § 42(h)(4): bond-finance at least 25% of aggregate basis (was 50%) and every dollar of qualified basis earns 4% credits.

The as-of-right LIHTC track for bond-financed projects — ~30% of qualified basis in present value; the bond allocation, not a credit round, is the gate.

The competitive LIHTC track: ~70% of qualified basis in present value, allocated from the state's per-capita credit ceiling through scored CTCAC rounds.

The low-income share of a LIHTC building — the lesser of its unit fraction and floor-space fraction — that converts eligible basis into qualified basis.

The monthly Treasury rate multiplied into qualified basis to size each year's credit — now floored by statute at 9% (competitive) and 4% (bond-financed).

HUD's annually published median family income for each area — the benchmark from which affordable-housing income and rent limits are derived.

The third minimum set-aside (IRC § 42(g)(1)(C)): 40%+ of units designated in 10-point bands from 20% to 80% AMI, averaging no more than 60%.

California Debt Limit Allocation Committee — allocates the state's private-activity-bond volume cap, the award 4% LIHTC deals must win before anything closes.

California Tax Credit Allocation Committee — allocates federal and state LIHTC, writes the scoring and underwriting rules, and monitors compliance for 55 years.

HUD's designated areas — DDAs (high costs relative to AMI) and QCTs (low-income or 25%+ poverty tracts) — where buildings earn the 130% basis boost.

The sponsor's CTCAC-capped compensation line. It sits in eligible basis and earns credits; the deferred slice is the standard filler for funding gaps.

The depreciable development cost of a LIHTC building under IRC § 42(d): construction, soft costs and developer fee in; land and federal grants out.

The recorded IRC § 42(h)(6) covenant keeping LIHTC restrictions on the land at least 30 years — 55 years on California CTCAC deals — binding successors.

The report credit agencies must file with the IRS on finding LIHTC noncompliance or a disposition; IRS Pub. 5913 (2024) is the operative guide.

An IRC § 42 election fixing a unit's minimum rent ceiling at its allocation-date (or placed-in-service) level, so a falling AMI can't force rents down.

Household income ceilings — AMI percentages adjusted for household size — that decide who may occupy a restricted unit, counted under HUD's Part 5 rules.

The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (IRC § 42): ten years of federal credits sold to investors for equity, via competitive 9% or bond-paired 4% tracks.

Maximum gross rent on a restricted unit: 30% of the imputed income limit for the bedroom count — with tenant-paid utilities counted inside the cap.

The irrevocable IRC § 42(g) election — 20% of units at 50% AMI, 40% at 60%, or average income — a project must satisfy to claim any credits at all.

The plan IRC § 42(m) requires of every credit agency — selection criteria and preferences that decide who wins credits. In California: the CTCAC regs.

The credit multiplicand of IRC § 42: eligible basis times the applicable fraction — the slice of a building's cost that actually earns LIHTC each year.

The statutory year-14 LIHTC exit: the agency gets one year to produce a formula-price buyer or extended use ends. CTCAC makes most CA deals waive it.

IRC § 42(j)'s clawback of the accelerated third of previously claimed credits, plus interest, when noncompliance hits during the 15-year period.

A second LIHTC execution on an existing credit asset — typically a 4% bond acquisition/rehab at Year 15 — resetting compliance and funding the rehab.

Volume-capped private activity bonds under IRC §§ 142(d)/146 for rental housing — the financing that makes a project eligible for as-of-right 4% credits.

The estimated cost of tenant-paid utilities, netted out of the gross-rent limit under 26 C.F.R. § 1.42-10 — collectible rent is ceiling minus allowance.

IRC § 146's annual per-state ceiling on private activity bonds. CDLAC allocates California's; no cap award means no tax-exempt bonds and no 4% credits.

End of the LIHTC compliance period: recapture risk expires, the credit investor exits, and the asset's next move — resyndication, refi or sale — is decided.

Community Development Block Grants — HUD formula funds to local governments; housing uses trigger Part 58 review, URA, Davis-Bacon and cross-cutting rules.

Federal law requiring prevailing wages, per DOL wage determinations, on covered federally funded or assisted construction — 40 U.S.C. §§ 3141–3148.

FHA mortgage insurance for new construction and substantial rehab of rental housing — non-recourse construction-to-perm debt, up to 40-year amortization.

FHA mortgage insurance for acquisition or refinance of existing, stabilized multifamily — non-recourse, assumable, fixed-rate, up to 35-year amortization.

The housing assistance payments contract under which HUD or a housing authority pays an owner the gap between contract rent and the tenant's income-based share.

HUD's HOME Investment Partnerships program — formula-funded gap loans through state and local jurisdictions, governed by 24 C.F.R. Part 92.

Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act of 2016 — rewrote HUD income, asset and recertification rules via amendments to 24 C.F.R. Part 5.

The national Housing Trust Fund — state-administered capital for extremely low-income rental housing, 30-year affordability, regulations at 24 C.F.R. Part 93.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development: runs rental subsidies, FHA multifamily insurance, HOME and CDBG grants, and fair-housing enforcement.

HUD's Multifamily Accelerated Processing Guide (Handbook 4430.G) — the underwriting and processing manual for FHA-insured multifamily loans.

A Section 8 renewal option that raises below-market HAP contract rents to the comparable market level shown by a rent comparability study.

HUD's National Standards for the Physical Inspection of Real Estate — the unified physical inspection standard replacing REAC/UPCS and voucher HQS.

Operating cost adjustment factor — the annually published HUD factor that adjusts renewed Section 8 HAP contract rents each year, state by state.

HUD's cross-program income and asset definitions at 24 C.F.R. Part 5 — the 'Section 8' income rules behind vouchers, HOME, HTF and LIHTC certifications.

NEPA clearance for HUD-assisted projects by state or local 'responsible entities' under 24 C.F.R. Part 58 — no choice-limiting actions until funds are released.

Government-set minimum wage-and-benefit rates by trade and locality for covered construction — federal Davis-Bacon determinations or state schedules.

Legacy Section 8 subsidy attached to buildings through HAP contracts under 24 C.F.R. Parts 880–886, preserved by renewals rather than new awards.

Voucher assistance a housing authority attaches to specific units by contract under 24 C.F.R. Part 983 — HAP terms up to 20 years, extendable.

Historic-preservation consultation under the National Historic Preservation Act, run inside the federal environmental review of HUD-assisted projects.

Section 3 of the HUD Act of 1968 — hiring, training and contracting goals for low-income residents on covered HUD-assisted projects, tracked by labor hours.

Federal acquisition and relocation protections — notices, advisory services, moving costs and replacement-housing payments on federally assisted projects.