AB 1732 and AB 2433 advance to the Senate, targeting the student housing crisis and expanding homeownership for California families.
SACRAMENTO, CA — Today, Assemblymember David Alvarez (D-San Diego) announced that the Assembly passed two significant housing bills, AB 1732 and AB 2433. These measures represent a comprehensive housing package designed to remove barriers on student housing and expand homeownership opportunities for California’s working families.
AB 1732: Student & Faculty Housing Opportunity Act
According to the Legislative Analyst's Office, 7% of University of California students, 11% of California State University students, and 24% of community college students experience housing instability on an annual basis. That means thousands of students and faculty are forced to commute long distances, live in overcrowded conditions, or drop out altogether due to a shortage of affordable housing near campus.
"Students are sleeping in their cars, couch-surfing, or dropping out because they can't find an affordable place to live near campus,” said Assemblymember Alvarez. “AB 1732 cuts through the red tape that delays the housing our universities need to build. I am proud to partner with the students who are leading this effort, and to be a part of this fight for future generations!”
When public universities try to build housing, litigation over the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) stands in the way. From 2018 to 2023, seven UC housing projects were tied up in the courts, delaying thousands of beds that students needed immediately and costing the state millions in legal fees. Under current law, private colleges can access CEQA infill exemptions because their projects are evaluated against local general plans. Public universities, which are exempt from local zoning, cannot meet that same requirement.
AB 1732 removes one of the most significant barriers to getting housing built faster by extending existing CEQA streamlining to student and faculty housing projects at every University of California, California State University, and California Community College campus.
“The high rates of student homelessness are a predictable consequence of the shortage of housing on our campuses,” said Kate Rodgers - Chair and Policy Director, Student Homes Coalition. “While private developers have received regulatory relief, UCs, CSU, and CCC projects are still vulnerable to bad-faith CEQA litigation and burdensome standards of review. AB 1732 will create a much-needed CEQA exemption for public student, faculty, and staff housing projects, allowing campuses to meet the needs of their students and address the root of California’s college affordability problem. We would like to thank all the members of the Assembly who supported the bill today and look forward to continuing the fight to end student homelessness in the Senate.”
AB 1732 is sponsored by the Student Homes Coalition, co-sponsored by the University of California Student Association, and enjoys support from the CA School Employees Association and the California Faculty Association.
AB 2433: the Affordable Homes Bonus for Sale Law
Today, over 70 percent of California families cannot afford a median-priced condo or townhome according to the California Association of Realtors. Statewide, Bonus Law has been used to entitle over 140,000 homes in just the past five years, making it the state’s most utilized housing streamlining program. AB 2433 modernizes California’s Density Bonus Law, to produce more deeply affordable homes and expand opportunities for homeownership across California.
"California's housing crisis has been decades in the making, but Bonus Law is proof that the right policies work”, said Assemblymember Alvarez. “AB 2433 builds on that success by making it easier to build homes families can actually purchase. If you dream big and work hard, you should be able to own a piece of the California dream.”
Bonus Law is a statewide policy that streamlines housing approvals by granting a variety of benefits to projects that include deed-restricted affordable units. When a project includes homes that are locked at an affordable price, builders qualify for a "bonus", allowing them to build more overall units.Bonus Law has been a uniquely successful tool to unlock approvals for more affordable homes without relying on public subsidies. AB 2433 focuses on three areas: promoting homeownership, increasing affordability, and modernizing how benefits are granted.
"The Affordable Homes Bonus for Sale Law will help create more affordable homes and homeownership opportunities by expanding access to Bonus Law, which has proven to be the most effective policy tool for housing in California. I am excited to see this bill pass the Assembly, and I thank Assemblymember Alvarez for his leadership on this issue."
The bill is sponsored by Circulate San Diego and co-sponsored by SPUR, the San Diego Chamber of Commerce, and Inner City Law Center. Both bills now advance to the Senate for further consideration.
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The 80th Assembly District includes the communities of Barrio Logan, Logan Heights, Sherman Heights, Lincoln Acres, Bonita, Otay Mesa and San Ysidro, along with the cities of Chula Vista, National City and Imperial Beach.
