Legislative Updates
As members of the National Association of REALTORS® and California Association of REALTORS®, REALTORS® have benefit of belonging to the largest trade associations dedicated to the promotion and preservation of the real estate profession and the property rights of all. It is this commitment that unifies members in the support or opposition of legislation which may affect the real estate industry as a whole, as well as the communities in which we live, work, and play. We invite you to take a closer look at the important legislation currently being sponsored and/or monitored and share any thoughts and/or comments with your REALTOR® or elected representative to be sure your voice is heard.
C.A.R. Sponsored Bills 2022
(Status as of 3/24/2022)
03/24/2022
AB 44 (Petrie-Norris)/AB 830 (Flora) Business Dealings: Use of Prior Surname – Prior to the
enactment of AB 830 (Flora), a real estate licensee could not transact business using a former legal name
(including a “maiden” name). C.A.R. sponsored AB 44 to ensure that a real estate licensee may use their
former surname to conduct business so long as both names are filed with the Department of Real Estate,
ensuring that REALTORS® can continue to benefit from the “brand”, recognition, and community status a
person has earned under a prior name. Due to the non-controversial nature of this bill, it was amended
into AB 830 (Flora), an “omnibus” bill which contained non-controversial bills from various areas.Status: Signed into law September 28, 2021 (Chapter 376, Statutes of 2021)
AB 119 (Salas) Special Districts: Fee Transparency – Direct fees on residential parcels of land have
been a growing local government finance tool since the creation of Mello-Roos and the establishment of
benefit assessment districts. These districts allow special fees to be imposed on property owners to
finance public improvements like park maintenance, water, electricity, sewage and drainage,
infrastructure and more. AB 119 would have required a County Auditor/Controller to post a range of
combined direct levies assessed on real property along with the current tax rate area information on their
internet website.
Status: Died in the Assembly Local Government CommitteeAB 244 (Blanca Rubio) Updating California’s Affordable Housing Cost Study – Home production
cost increases are often passed along to buyers in the form of higher home prices. Transparency on the
costs associated with housing production for both affordable and market rate construction is crucial to
solving the state’s housing supply crisis. C.A.R. sponsored AB 244 to require the state’s housing
agencies to update the California Affordable Housing Cost Study to better understand the cost of
constructing affordable and market rate housing.
Status: Died in the Assembly Housing and Community Development CommitteeAB 491 (Ward & Gonzalez) Eliminates Discrimination in Mixed-Income Multifamily Housing –
Current law allows for the construction of a mixed-income multifamily structure in which the occupants of
the affordable units do not have the same access to the common entrances, common areas, and
common amenities as the occupants of the market-rate units. AB 491 prohibits this discriminatory housing
practice.Status: Signed into law September 28, 2021 (Chapter 345, Statutes of 2021)
AB 571 (Mayes) Density Bonus: Fee Reduction to Construct Below Market Rate Unit – Fees and
costs associated with the construction of affordable units are often passed along to buyers in the form of
higher home prices or can increase the amount of subsidy needed to build affordable housing units. This
fee only served to increase the cost to construct deed restricted affordable housing, making it less likely
that developers maximize the affordable unit set-aside within their density bonus application. C.A.R.
sponsored AB 571 to prohibit local governments from assessing affordable housing fees on the deed-
restricted affordable units contained within a density bonus application.
Status: Signed into law September 28, 2021 (Chapter 346, Statutes of 2021)AB 633 (Calderon) Implementation: Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act – C.A.R sponsored AB
633 to add California to the list of states that utilize the Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act (UPHPA)
which addresses situations in which a property owner does not leave a will or trust and there are multiple
heirs. Real estate speculators have gotten creative in such situations. By acquiring a small share in the
decedent’s property, speculators can file a legal action and force a property’s sale. Investors can then
purchase the parcel below its fair market value - depleting a family’s inherited wealth in the process.
Furthermore, even in the absence of speculators the partition process in such situation can result in
unfairness to parties. AB 633 preserves family wealth by providing a series of simple due process
protections to ensure all parties receive their fair share of the inherited proceeds and ensure the best
value for the inherited property is obtained.
Status: Signed into law July 23, 2021 (Chapter 119, Statutes of 2021)SB 6 (Caballero) Conversion of Commercial Property into Housing – C.A.R. is a co-sponsor of SB 6
which seeks to enact the Neighborhood Homes Act. SB 6 seeks to mandate local governments to
ministerially approve specified housing developments on lots zoned for office, retail, or commercial use.
These proposed housing developments would continue to be subject to all local zoning, parking, and
design ordinances, as well as any design review or other public notice, comment, hearing, or procedure
applicable to a housing development.
Status: Assembly Housing and Community Development CommitteeSB 263 (S. Rubio) Implicit Bias Training for Real Estate Licensees – Effective January 1, 2023, SB
263 requires all real estate licensees to have implicit bias training, as part of their DRE license renewal
requirements, making the current mandated fair housing training more robust and relevant.
Status: Signed into law September 28, 2021 (Chapter 361, Statutes of 2021)SB 304 (Archuleta) Increasing the Statutory Limit on Unlicensed Handyperson Services – Under
current law, a handyperson who is not licensed is not permitted to perform work on a home if the total
value (labor and materials) exceeds $500. C.A.R. sponsored SB 304 to increase the per project limit
allowed for unlicensed handypersons.Status: Died in the Senate Appropriations Committee
SB 392 (Archuleta) Mandating HOA’s Email Communications – Prior existing law required an HOA to
deliver documents to its members through mail, fax, or electronic delivery (including email), but did not
require HOA’s to transmit information to homeowners via email. SB 392 requires HOA’s to communicate
with homeowners via email, if that is the homeowner’s preferred method for communication, makes it
clear that property owners, not the HOA, get to define their 2 preferred communication methods, and
permits general notices to be placed on an association’s website.
Status: Signed into law October 7, 2021 (Chapter 640, Statutes of 2021)SCA 2 (Allen & Wiener) Public Housing Projects – Enacted by voters in 1950, Article 34 of the
California Constitution requires that any development comprised of “low-rent” dwellings, financed in whole
or in part by federal, state, or local government be approved by a vote of the people in the jurisdiction
where the project is located. Article 34 does not just apply to “public housing”, but also affects mixed
income developments which often contain units partially “subsidized” by local government. C.A.R. is a co-
sponsor of SCA 2 which seeks to repeal Article 34 in its entirety.Status: Assembly Desk
AB 2166 (Mayes) Increased Federal Funding for Ownership Housing – HOME Investment
Partnerships Program (HOME) is a block grant provided by the federal government directly to large cities,
towns, or counties and to states. All HOME funds must be used for affordable housing (80% AMI) and
must be matched by state or local resources or private contributions in an amount equal to at least 25
cents for every dollar of HOME funds. States receive a formula allocations or minimum grant of $3 million
(whichever is greater). Deed restricted “affordable” rental housing receives the bulk of all state and federal
funding. Under current state programs, which allocate federal funds, homeownership housing programs
receive at most 10% of federal funds from one program and zero funding from most programs. C.A.R. is
sponsoring this bill to prioritize 30% of federal HOME funds to facilitate the construction and purchase of
owner-occupied housing and directs at least 10% of program funds to be prioritized for down payment
assistance.
Status: Assembly Housing and Community Development CommitteeAB 2170 (Grayson) Codification of GSE “First Look” Program – In 2022, C.A.R. is sponsoring
legislation to prohibit Government Sponsored Entities (GSEs) from conducting bulk sales in California.
Specifically, this bill will: (a) Conform to federal regulations, and provide owner-occupants and public
entities with an opportunity to purchase GSE backed REO properties for 30 days (e.g. federal “First Look”
program); (b) Require lenders provide written acknowledgment to the potential owner-occupant purchaser
and public entities of all offers during that 30 day period; (c) Require financial institutions to respond to
“First Look” offers prior to offers from investor purchasers; and, (d) Prohibit a GSE from conducting “bulk
sales” in California.
Status: Assembly Judiciary CommitteeAB 2245 (Ramos) The Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act Extension Bill – In 2021, C.A.R.
sponsored legislation that enacted the Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act (UPHPA) in California. The
UPHPA works to dramatically increase fairness when properties owned by heirs are sought to be
partitioned in court by establishing due process mechanisms that did not previously exist in the law. In
2022, C.A.R. is sponsoring legislation that would require all tenancies in common to be partitioned in a
similar manner to the UPHPA. As with the UPHPA, the law would require the property to be marketed by
a real estate broker as opposed to a court ordered sale at auction as well as other safeguards currently
enshrined in the UPHPA.Status: Assembly Desk