California Supreme Court upholds affordable housing requirements

The California Supreme Court recently ruled that the state’s cities and counties can require developers to sell a percentage of the units they build at below-market rates as a condition for a building permit. 

Developers also could be given the option of paying into a low-cost housing fund. Describing a shortage of affordable housing in the state as a crisis of “epic proportions,” the court ruled in favor of the City of San Jose in a challenge to an affordable housing ordinance passed five years ago. The law required developers building 20 or more housing units to offer 15% of them at below-market rates or pay into a city fund. Nearly 200 other cities and counties in the state have similar ordinances, according to the Los Angeles Times.

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