San Benito County Housing Digest

A handful of legislators rallied near the state Capitol Thursday to promote what they’re calling an “extremely unsexy,” but important, bipartisan bill package intended to put California’s housing development into overdrive.

In the recurring legislative fight between YIMBY legislators and defenders of California’s signature environmental law, one bill could be a final legislative showdown.

A $5 billion pot of federal money set aside to help people on the verge of homelessness pay the rent is running out of cash — and no one has a plan to keep the roughly 60,000 renters, more than 15,000 of them in California — from losing their housing after the last dollar is spent.

Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to see tangible results from the $6.4 billion mental health bond voters approved last year. Moving fast carries a risk of neglecting under-resourced communities.

Oakland Democrat Buffy Wicks said lawmakers will soon see 20 bills to speed up housing construction, along with more on energy, water and transit.

Feather River College is still reeling from the 2021 Dixie Fire, which destroyed hundreds of homes in the surrounding community and warped the housing market. The college is one of many schools that have tried — and failed — to secure state grants to build more student housing.

Each year, legislation aimed at better wildfire mitigation fails – often due to cost or conflict with environmental regulations.

Read on for details about a report on the 2-year Yolo County Basic Income Program which ended in April 2024.

A passel of recent California laws were supposed to supercharge the construction of desperately needed housing. According to YIMBY Law, they haven’t even come close.

In a dispute over whether he can convert his three-story condominium’s garage into its own ground-floor apartment, one Carlsbad resident is waging a battle against his homeowners association.

The timing could not have been better — or worse.

Against the recommendation of his staff experts, California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara denied a request from State Farm to green light “emergency” rate increases for insurance policy holders.

In the wake of the Los Angeles fires, State Farm asked for an “emergency” premium increase of 22% on average for California homeowners. Lara today denied the request pending more information.

State Farm, which already has rate increase requests pending, asked state officials to approve more insurance price increases.

Damages in the ongoing Southern California wildfires are topping $250 billion, on track for the costliest disaster in US history. Read on to learn more.

A look at how the rebuilding effort is going in the California town of Paradise, wiped out in a 2018 fire, and how it offers insights for the tough road ahead for residents in neighborhoods destroyed in the fires of Southern California.

The wildfires sweeping through Los Angeles County communities have destroyed at least 10,000 homes so far and more are in the path of still-uncontrolled flames.

Read on to learn about the measures taken to harden and protect the lone remaining house of the neighborhoodfrom the Pacific Palisades fire in Southern California.

Tenant advocates suffered a big defeat this fall when California voters decided against expanding cities’ ability to limit rent increases. But a state law set to take effect Jan. 1 will give renters facing eviction a little more breathing room.

California officials continued to fight with cities that don’t want to build more housing and everyone struggled to find more money to pay for new housing.

There’s no law requiring California property owners to carry insurance, but the vast majority buy it to protect themselves from fire and other perils, or are required to do so by their mortgage lenders.

Gov. Newsom launched an ambitious program that uses Medi-Cal to help Californians access housing, healthy food and more. Now, its fate is in the hands of President-Elect Trump.

The Public Policy Institute of California, a think tank that conducts vigorous and objective research into vital state issues, is celebrating its 30th anniversary with a series of retrospective reports.

California and federal prosecutors have accused software company RealPage of enriching itself ”at the expense of renters who pay inflated prices.”

Floodwaters devastated the small communities of Pajaro and Planada in early 2023. California gave each town $20 million to recover – but as residents face down another winter, much of the aid has yet to reach them.

Multiple state agencies spent nearly $24 billion on housing and homeless programs in the first five years of Gavin Newsom’s governorship, but the number of people without homes continued to grow, rising by 20% to more than 180,000 in the most recent federal count in 2023.

California allotted half a billion dollars to help community land trusts across the state. But budget cuts and bureaucracy have land trust advocates back where they were in 2020: seeking state aid to preserve affordable housing.

How to apply rebate as part of the recent $80 million state program to electrify homes.

Homeless service providers are scaling back and taking out loans as they wait for late payments from the government.

Many California farmworkers have long lacked safe and affordable places to sleep — an issue thrown into sharp relief after last year’s mass shooting in Half Moon Bay, which left seven agricultural workers dead.

Tenant advocates say giving renters 10 days to respond to eviction notices, up from 5, will help those who live in rural areas and have trouble finding legal help. Some landlords argue it will increase their costs.

At a CalMatters event, California’s insurance commissioner says the changes he’s making will help homeowners and business owners. One idea: A state grant for those who spend money to protect their property from wildfires.