Housing Killers & Creators
The California Building Industry Association (CBIA) has released its annual Housing Killers and Creators list—highlighting key legislation that could significantly impact the state’s housing crisis.
Bills on the Housing Killers list would worsen the crisis by driving up costs, adding delays, and creating new obstacles to homebuilding. In contrast, bills on the Housing Creators list aim to remove barriers to construction and support the development of much-needed housing across California.
This annual list is designed to spotlight which proposals should be challenged, improved, or championed in the effort to solve California’s housing crisis.
Housing Killers
Housing Creators
Bills on the 2026 Housing Killers list would make the housing policy crisis worse by increasing cost, time, and hurdles to build homes in the state.
Supersedes and interferes with California’s existing good-faith tribal consultation framework with a consent-based regime that would effectively grant individual tribes veto power over housing and other critical infrastructure projects. The bill also includes overly broad and vague terms, establishes a freestanding private right of action, and contains categorical confidentiality provisions that operate entirely outside of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and layer duplicative obligations on local governments and project proponents. AB 1881 threatens to slow or stop critical housing development by imposing new, onerous regulatory constraints, making it more difficult for families to find a place to call home.
Expands CEQA by redefining “environment” and “significant effect on the environment” to require analysis of how existing natural hazards, pollution, and other adverse environmental conditions affect future residents, legislatively overturning the California Supreme Court’s 2015 decision in CBIA v. BAAQMD that rejected this “reverse CEQA” approach. AB 2569 would create sweeping new grounds for litigation against proposed projects seeking to create more housing for California’s working families.
Expands the role of community emissions reduction programs in ways that will create additional constraints on local land use decisions, particularly in already overburdened communities where housing is most needed. This added layer of regulatory compliance risks compounding existing barriers to housing under CEQA and other environmental laws, making it more difficult to build homes for working families. SB 1075 would ultimately exacerbate our state’s housing policy crisis.
Requires homebuilders to obtain insurance premium quotes decades before a project is constructed at the earliest stages of entitlement when critical project details are unknown and subject to change. At that point in the process, applicants frequently cannot determine whether a site will ultimately include residential units, open space, or public infrastructure. There is no insurance product sold anywhere in the world to provide meaningful or reliable quotes for projects during these early stages of the development process. SB 1182 will stifle housing development for working families by imposing new regulatory barriers that are not based in reality.
Bills on the 2026 Housing Creators list reduce barriers to home construction or help address the need for more houses in California.
Builds upon existing law governing post-entitlement permits by strengthening timelines and accountability for local public agency action during the post-entitlement phase. This measure would reduce delays during the construction plan check process by streamlining post-entitlement building permit reviews and enforce clear, predictable timelines once a housing project has been approved, thus delivering needed housing to families more quickly.
Strengthens certainty in the housing permitting process to help housing get built faster and more affordably for California’s families. By ensuring that once a complete application is submitted, clear and consistent state and regional agency rules apply throughout project review and approval, AB 1710 reduces unpredictable regulatory changes that delay projects and drive u
Increases the amount of homeownership housing built in California by reducing unscrupulous construction defect litigation that often limits the development of condominiums while ensuring homeowners get speedier repairs. Currently, the costs and uncertainty affiliated with construction defect litigation have become a substantial impediment to the construction of condominiums, which are an essential entry-level homeownership option. AB 1903 will foster the development of more condominium housing by strengthening the right to repair, improving transparency in construction defect claims, and encouraging repairs instead of litigation.
Prohibits the California Building Standards Commission from adopting a proposed building standard that lacks a completed statement of the estimated cost of compliance, including the related assumptions used to determine that cost. California’s existing building codes are the most energy-efficient and protective of health and life safety in the nation. The cumulative impact of state building code updates adopted over the past 15 years are estimated to add $50,000 to $100,000 per single-family unit. AB 2044 adds transparency to the regulatory process.
Housing Killers
Adds residential housing to the state’s Anti-Trust Law, Unfair Business Practices law, and Unfair Competition Law. It would expand the scope of residential housing regulations in the state and create more barriers to investments in home construction, ultimately impacting housing affordability for residents. Additionally, the bill may also limit competition during California’s ongoing housing crisis, further reducing choices for consumers.
Requires contractors and subcontractors contracting with a state agency to certify that the wood used in their projects is not sourced from certain regions. It is in direct opposition to the rigorous sustainable practices and certification standards that North America currently upholds. Developing a redundant program will disrupt lumber supply to California during an existing housing shortage increasing the cost of housing and waste the state’s already limited resources.
Creates a sweeping and complex new regulatory program at the Department of Toxic Substances Control to regulate all commercial and consumer products that may contain perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances. This incredibly far-reaching bill could potentially outlaw essential building products such as heat pumps and electrical wiring that have been mandated by the state of California to help achieve climate and energy objectives and are crucial in creating safe, affordable, and sustainable low-carbon homes. This measure could have a significant impact on California’s green housing market and the ability to meet important environmental goals.
Housing Creators
Bills on the Housing Creators list reduce barriers to home construction or help address the need for more houses in California.
Places a school bond on the November 2024 statewide ballot which will allow for the construction and modernization of safe schools and the construction of more housing. Without this bond, California home builders cannot build homes that are attainable for middle class families. AB 247 is crucial for ensuring that our school facilities keep up with the changing needs of our students and teachers. It will secure funding to construct new schools, modernize older school buildings, improve technology, and upgrade security. New and updated school facilities, which are significantly more energy efficient, are needed to help California achieve its climate goals.
Adds stability to California’s home and commercial insurance marketplace by authorizing the California FAIR Plan Association to request the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank to issue bonds and would authorize the bank to issue those bonds. The current insurance crisis is impacting many Californians, including those who live in single family homes and condominiums. Serving as a safety net for consumers when they need it most, this bill aims to strengthen the FAIR Plan’s financial stability in the event of major catastrophes, allowing it to serve as a reliable insurance option until the market stabilizes. This will better protect homeowners and buyers who are unable to secure coverage in the traditional insurance market.
- Will the bill constrain or increase housing production and supply?
- Will it increase or decrease the cost to build houses?
- Will it make housing even more expensive or less expensive for Californians?
- Will it make any of the processes associated with homebuilding such as the entitlement, approval, or permitting processes more complicated, difficult, and lengthy or less complicated, difficult, or lengthy?
- Does it discourage or encourage homeownership?
- Does it increase or decrease regulatory barriers?
- Will it encourage or discourage unnecessary lawsuits aimed at new home construction?
- Does the bill balance the housing crisis unfairly on the backs of a few versus a more egalitarian distribution or equally serve all Californians buying their first home?
- Will the bill constrain or increase housing production and supply?
- Will it increase or decrease the cost to build houses?
- Will it make housing even more expensive or less expensive for Californians?
- Will it make any of the processes associated with homebuilding such as the entitlement, approval, or permitting processes more complicated, difficult, and lengthy or less complicated, difficult, or lengthy?
- Does it discourage or encourage homeownership?
- Does it increase or decrease regulatory barriers?
- Will it encourage or discourage unnecessary lawsuits aimed at new home construction?
- Does the bill balance the housing crisis unfairly on the backs of a few versus a more egalitarian distribution or equally serve all Californians buying their first home?