CALIFORNIA HOUSING DEFENSE FUND
FORMERLY CaRLA
Making lasting impacts to improve the affordability and accessibility of housing to current and future Californians, especially low- and moderate-income people and communities of color.
🚨 New Lawsuit Alert 🚨
Housing Element Lawsuits
Cause of Action
CalHDF has allied with YIMBY Law and Californians for Homeownership to hold Bay Area cities and counties accountable to state housing element law.
Current Lawsuits
- Cupertino (w/ YIMBY Law)
- Martinez
- Palo Alto (w/ YIMBY Law)
- Pleasant Hill
- Santa Clara County
- Rancho Palos Verdes
Recent Victories
Help Fund our Work
Like what we do? So do we. We’d like to do more of it. Help us do more enforcement and file more lawsuits by donating now. Your donation will go to help fund our Housing Defense Fund to help our suit against Santa Clara going and help us graduate our Legal Fellow into a full-fledged permanent Staff Attorney.
CalHDF completes the housing circle:
Advocacy >
Education >
Enforcement
We carry a big stick, and we aren’t afraid to use it.
Our work in 2022
(Jan 1 to Dec 31)
Homes Defended
Affordable Homes Defended
Threat Letters Sent
Resolved Requests for Help
Northern California Resolved Requests
Southern California Resolved Requests
Most Recent Victories
-
San Mateo
10 Units
Filed Apr 2018, Appealed w Attorney General Taking on Case Jan 2020
-
Huntington Beach
47 units, 5 BMR
Filed Jun 2020
“Our housing crisis is an existential threat to our state’s future, and we can’t shy from the hard fights it’ll take to create more affordable homes for Californians — including pursuing legal challenges to make sure the housing laws we pass in Sacramento translate to real, new units in local communities across our state.”
– Governor Gavin Newsom on CaRLA vs San Mateo
“Our fight for affordable housing is inextricably tied to our fights for racial, economic, environmental, and social justice. This appellate decision upholding the constitutionality of the Housing Accountability Act is a major victory for all Californians.”
– Attorney General Rob Bonta on CaRLA vs San Mateo