New California law aims to trigger condo | Real Estate news

A new state law that permits denser housing development close to major transit stops goes into impact in July, opening the door to construction of more than 1 million new models in California’s city facilities.

The law forces cities to approve taller house and condominium complexes around rail stops, ferry terminals and fast transit bus stops, overriding local restrictions that might need stopped development in the past.

The Abundant and Affordable Homes Near Transit Act, also recognized as Senate Bill 79, is one of the most aggressive measures state legislators have taken to tackle California’s housing scarcity in latest years.

Real property builders are already cautiously planning to take benefit of the eased laws and plan to announce new tasks after the law goes into impact.

The invoice was launched in 2025 by Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), who emphasizes that the state wants to take fast motion to tackle California’s housing scarcity.

“This removes a bunch of uncertainty” about whether or not proposed tasks will get accepted, said Chief Executive Sean Burton of Cityview, one of the biggest house builders in the state. “We’re very excited about it.

“This law limits the ability of local governments and officials to block new housing projects as long as you live within the parameters of the bill,” Burton said. “This should really accelerate the production of new housing in Los Angeles and beyond.”

The law preempts local control to legalize midrise and high-rise multifamily housing, unlocking zoning for up to 1.5 million new models in major cities, including Los Angeles. Developers could construct housing up to 9 tales tall for buildings adjoining to sure transit stops, seven tales for buildings within a quarter-mile and six tales for buildings within a half-mile.

Height limits are based on tiers. Tier 1 zoning, which incorporates heavy-rail strains such as the L.A. Metro B and D strains, permits six- to nine-story buildings, relying on the proximity to the transit hub. Tier 2 zoning — which incorporates light-rail strains such as the A, C, E and Ok strains, as effectively as bus routes with devoted lanes — permits for five- to eight-story buildings.

Single-family neighborhoods within a half-mile of transit stops are subject to the new zoning guidelines.

The invoice applies only to counties with at least 15 passenger rail stations, leaving eight: Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, Alameda, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara and Sacramento.

The largest impact in all probability can be felt in Los Angeles, which has an estimated 150 transit stops lined by the invoice, according to town’s preliminary evaluation.

The Metro E Line passes houses along Exposition Boulevard close to the Expo/Crenshaw stop June 4, 2026, in Los Angeles. Real property builders are already cautiously planning to take benefit of the eased laws and plan to announce new tasks after the law goes into impact.

(Kayla Bartkowski / Los Angeles Times)

Los Angeles structure firm SPF:architects has designed two proposed residential tasks in Southern California that can be unveiled when the new law goes into impact July 1, said Renzo Pali, director of operations. He said he doesn’t need to identify the precise places yet to keep away from tipping off officers who would possibly strive to stop them.

The invoice permits cities to delay the new zoning law until 2030 if they add density on their own phrases. If they haven’t adopted a density plan by July 1, they must abide by the phrases of SB 79 until they’ve one. Proposals submitted before the plan is full would still be subject to the invoice, so there could also be a rush of plans submitted to cities to get in under the wire, Pali said.

“Every city is now going to have some form of transit-oriented development plan, whether it is what SB 79 prescribes outright, or their own version of it, he said.

Los Angeles is among the cities that have moved to at least temporarily blunt the requirements of SB 79 after opposing it in a resolution last year that said the bill “undermines local governance, circumvents local decision-making processes and imposes unintended burdens on communities.”

In March, the City Council adopted a strategy to delay the consequences of SB 79 citywide by upzoning 55 single-family and low-density areas, permitting four- to 16-unit buildings up to 4 tales tall. The 55 areas are principally in Central L.A., West L.A., the Eastside and the San Fernando Valley.

Assuming there’s no pushback from Sacramento, the plan adopted by the City Council will enable L.A. to kick the proverbial can down the highway, delaying SB 79 implementation until 2030.

Developers are miffed by the delay, Burton said. “You hear from the City Council that they want more housing, but then they oppose the laws that would create more housing.”

He does anticipate that new state legal guidelines, including SB 79 and last 12 months’s partial rollback of the California Environmental Quality Act — recognized as CEQA — that made it simpler to win approval for real estate developments, will lead to growth.

“You’re going to see a lot more additional housing built in California,” Burton said, “but I think a lot of that is gonna unfortunately skip Los Angeles city because of Measure ULA. That remains the major barrier to new housing development.”

Known as the “mansion tax,” Measure ULA levies an further real estate switch tax on high-value property gross sales that builders say limits their capability to construct profitably.

“I think you’ll see Santa Monica benefit and Culver City benefit and Pasadena and Glendale benefit and West Hollywood benefit,” from new housing created through SB 79,” Burton said. “I don’t know how much benefit you’re going see in the city of Los Angeles because they didn’t deal with the biggest issue, the mansion tax.”

The Southern California Assn. of Governments just lately launched a preliminary map of transit hubs that could be included in the invoice that follows Metro’s fast transit map through Los Angeles County.

Reluctance among leaders of some California cities to intensify density around transit hubs exhibits why state intervention is warranted, said Jonathan Curtis, head of Glendale multifamily housing developer Cedar Street Partners.

“We’ve got a housing crisis on our hands, and other things haven’t worked,” Curtis said. “Cities may not like it, but the state mandates make sense.”

Billions of {dollars} have been spent on rail, he said, and “what’s missing is the density at rail stations. If you don’t take advantage of the transit stations, it’s just another lost opportunity.”

Times workers author Jack Flemming contributed to this report.