No more excuses: Newsom administration takes legal action against five California local governments for defying state housing law

The actions filed today are part of the state’s plan to ensure every last jurisdiction does its part to solve for the state’s housing needs. With this sixth housing planning cycle nearing its end, the vast majority of jurisdictions have adopted a compliant housing element and met the requirements of the law. The jurisdictions named in today’s legal action are falling behind, with all at least two and a half years past the compliance deadline. The five cities are Calexico, Costa Mesa, Half Moon Bay, Ridgecrest, and Turlock. 

“California’s housing crisis demands action, not excuses,” said Attorney General Rob Bonta. “Jurisdictions that remain out of compliance with our Housing Element Law are standing in the way of the homes Californians need. We are well past the halfway point of the current housing planning cycle, and timely compliance is not optional. As I’ve said many times, no local government has to solve this challenge alone, but every local government has to do its fair share. Today, we’re showing how serious we are about ensuring that every city and county in California adopts a housing element. Restoring the California dream will take an all-hands-on-deck effort.”

“The vast majority of California’s cities and counties have stepped up to achieve housing element compliance,” said Housing and Community Development (HCD) Director Gustavo Velasquez. “For the small number that are still falling short, the actions we are taking today should send a clear message: no community is exempt from doing its part to solve our housing crisis. Alongside Attorney General Bonta, Governor Newsom and HCD will continue to hold local governments accountable for complying with state law.”

Before making today’s referral, HCD gave each jurisdiction repeated chances to fix the problem. That included formal notices of violation, 30 days for each city or county to respond in writing, and two rounds of meetings to work through solutions before the case ever reached the Attorney General’s Office. Statewide, HCD’s combination of technical assistance and enforcement has pushed housing element compliance above 95% in this cycle.

The state is prepared to file additional writ petitions against any city or county that receives a notice of violation from HCD and fails to act.

The law these cities broke

Since 1969, California has required every city and county to plan for housing at every income level, not just some, through a housing element, a required piece of each jurisdiction’s general plan. Each cycle, HCD assigns every city and county a share of the state’s housing need, and a jurisdiction’s housing element must show, in specific terms, how it will meet that number and clear the barriers standing in the way. HCD reviews and must approve every housing element before it can be adopted. California is in its sixth cycle, with jurisdictions updating their plans every five or eight years.

The stakes aren’t small. Under the state’s Housing Accountability Act, an out-of-compliance jurisdiction is subject to the “Builder’s Remedy,” losing its ability to reject qualifying low- and moderate-income housing projects on zoning grounds. And under Senate Bill 1037, signed into law in 2024, jurisdictions are subject to civil penalties for noncompliance that go towards affordable housing in that same community.

The state has worked in lockstep on housing accountability throughout this cycle, an effort that has already produced settlements with Hollister, Artesia, La Habra Heights, Malibu, Fullerton, Coronado and San Bernardino, each committing to bring its housing element into compliance.

Accountability in action: Huntington Beach

Today’s action follows a May announcement on Huntington Beach, where the state sued the city in 2023 after it refused to update its housing element, more than four years past its legal deadline. In May 2026, a Superior Court judge ordered the city to pay $160,000 in penalties, with fines climbing to $50,000 a month until it comes into compliance. The case shows the consequences of willfully flouting the law.

More housing. More accountability.

Governor Newsom championed the creation of the Housing Accountability Unit at HCD to ensure cities and counties fulfill their legal responsibilities to plan and permit their fair share of housing. Since its establishment, the Housing Accountability Unit has supported the development of 13,541 housing units, including more than 3,852 affordable units, through enforcement actions and by working with local jurisdictions to ensure compliance with housing law. In 2024, the Unit was expanded to include a focus on homelessness issues, including compliance with state laws related to homeless housing.

In addition to today’s announcement and ongoing work to hold local governments accountable to help their residents and improve affordability, Governor Newsom is creating a structural and foundational model that will have positive impacts for generations to come.

The Governor is streamlining and prioritizing the building of new housing, funding new shelters, housing, and supports, holding local governments accountable, addressing mental health and its impact on homelessness through voter-approved Proposition 1, and creating new pathways for those who need it most through updated conservatorship laws and a new CARE court system. California is also addressing encampments statewide to help get people off the streets and into care. All this work is creating positive results.

Last year, as a result of the Governor’s strategies to address the housing and homelessness crisis, for the first time in over 15 years, California’s unsheltered homelessness decreased by 9.5%. While other states and the nation as a whole continue to see homelessness rising, California is reversing a crisis decades in the making.