California's builder's remedy got teeth in 2025 — and the holdout cities are finding out

AB 1893 (Buffy Wicks), effective January 1, 2025, rebuilt California's "builder's remedy" — the rule that a city lacking a state-compliant housing element can't deny a qualifying housing project even when it breaks local zoning. A year in, this is no longer theoretical.

The trade AB 1893 made

It lowered the affordability bar to qualify — from a flat 20% lower-income to a staggered minimum of 7% extremely-low, 10% very-low, or 13% lower income — and in exchange replaced the old "unlimited density" version with state-set density caps (plus up to 35 units per acre near major transit) and objective standards. Crucially, cities can't force rezonings, general-plan amendments, extra fees, or endless hearings on these projects.

Enforcement is real now

On March 25, 2026, the state issued Notices of Violation to 15 jurisdictions — including Half Moon Bay and Merced County — giving them 30 days to respond before referral to the Attorney General. Lawsuits are already filed against cities including Anaheim, Elk Grove, Norwalk, and Huntington Beach.

There's no carve-out here. No community gets a pass when it comes to addressing homelessness or creating more housing access.

Gavin Newsom, Governor of California

The first court test bore this out. La Cañada Flintridge dismissed its appeal in March 2025 after a judge ordered a $14 million bond, and agreed to process an 80-unit project it had been fighting.

This project aligns with the City's own housing policies, yet La Cañada Flintridge is spending significant taxpayer dollars to prevent it.

Dylan Casey, Executive Director, California Housing Defense Fund

A noncompliant housing element isn't a paperwork problem anymore. It's an open door.

My read for clients: if you're watching a Bay Area city slow-walk its housing element, that foot-dragging now cuts both ways — risk for the city, and an opening for development that wasn't there two years ago. If you own land in a noncompliant jurisdiction, this is worth understanding before you assume local zoning is the last word. Ask me.