Key Provisions of the Housing Accountability Act — Housing Accountability Act Technical Assistance Advisory

The HAA sets out restrictions on local governments’ ability to take action against housing development projects in Government Code section 65589.5, subdivisions (d) and (j). Subdivision (d) describes requirements applicable to housing development projects that include units affordable to very-low, low-, and moderate-income households (including transitional and supportive housing) as well as emergency shelters and farmworker housing. Subdivision (j) describes requirements applicable to all housing development projects, including both marketrate and affordable housing developments[1] . In sum, the HAA significantly limits the ability of a local government to deny an affordable or market-rate housing project that is consistent with planning and zoning requirements. This table describes the various component parts of the HAA for ease of reference.

Topic	Subdivisions of Government Code Section 65589.5
Declarations and legislative intent	(a), (b), (c)
Provisions for housing affordable to very low, low-, or moderate-income households, or an emergency shelter	(d), (i)
Applicability of the statute to coastal zones, local laws, and charter cities	(e), (f), (g)
Definitions	(h)
Provisions relating to all housing developments	(j)
Consequences for violation	(k), (l), (m), (n)
Vesting rights for pre-applications (SB 330)	(o)

The following is an overview of key provisions of the HAA focusing on project qualifications, applicability of local standards, provisions that relate to all housing projects, provisions that relate just to housing affordable to lower- and moderate-income households and emergency shelters, and consequences for violation of the HAA. Appendix A includes a list of definitions of terms referenced throughout the HAA and Appendix B includes information related to the Preliminary Application Process pursuant to Senate Bill 330.