Assembly Bill 130
Status: Signed into Law (June 30, 2025)
Effective Date: Immediate (Budget Trailer Bill)
Primary Focus: Housing Production, CEQA Reform, and Local Accountability
Effective Date: Immediate (Budget Trailer Bill)
Primary Focus: Housing Production, CEQA Reform, and Local Accountability
AB 130 is a comprehensive housing “abundance” bill designed to streamline the construction of residential units by removing administrative barriers and modernizing environmental reviews.
1. Major CEQA Exemptions
- Infill Housing Exemption: Creates a powerful new statutory exemption from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) for qualifying housing projects on “infill” sites (previously developed or surrounded by urban uses) up to 20 acres.
- Statutory Strength: Unlike previous “categorical” exemptions, this is a statutory exemption, making it significantly harder to challenge in court.
- Builder’s Remedy: Provides a specific CEQA exemption for “Builder’s Remedy” projects on sites up to 4 or 5 acres.
2. Making Housing Laws Permanent
- Repealing Sunsets: Removes the expiration dates for major provisions of the Housing Crisis Act of 2019 (SB 330) and the Housing Accountability Act.
- Vest Rights: Ensures that the “ordinances, policies, and standards” in effect at the time a preliminary application is submitted remain the ones applied to the project permanently.
- Hearing Limits: Makes permanent the 5-hearing limit for housing development projects.
3. Permit Streamlining & Timelines
- Action Deadlines: Amends the Permit Streamlining Act to cover both discretionary and ministerial projects. It imposes a strict 60-day limit for agencies to act on certain entitlements.
- 30-Day Final Action: Requires local governments to take final action on CEQA-exempt projects within 30 days of completing necessary tribal consultations.
4. Building Code Freeze
- Six-Year Pause: To stabilize construction costs, the bill prevents state and local agencies from adopting more restrictive residential building standards (including green building codes) until June 1, 2031, except for wildfire mitigation or emergencies.
- 10-Year Blueprint Rule: Allows builders to use the codes in place when a model home was approved for up to 10 years for subsequent phases of a development.
5. Homeowners Association (HOA) Reform
- Fine Caps: Limits the fines an HOA can charge members for governing document violations to $100 per violation, unless the violation poses an immediate health or safety risk.
- Right to Cure: Requires boards to allow members to “cure” a violation before discipline is imposed.
6. Accountability & Mortgages
- Homeless Shelter Inspections: Mandates annual inspections of homeless shelters by cities and counties to ensure safety and quality.
- Mortgage Servicing: Categorizes certain conduct by mortgage servicers (such as failing to communicate with a borrower for 3 years) as an unlawful practice and restricts nonjudicial foreclosures without proper certification.