📢 Announcing 🚨

CaRLA is now CalHDF

Same emails, but now @calhdf.org.

California Housing Defense Fund

Formerly CaRLA - California Renters Legal Advocacy and Education Fund

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Latest News

CaRLA is Now CalHDF

What’s in a name? A LOT if it leads to confusion. While our mission is to advocate and educate legally on behalf of California renters, we didn’t think California Renters Legal Advocacy and Education Fund accurately portrayed our mission or our work – and it was also...

Another Year in the Books – 2022 Holiday Soiree

Thanks to everyone who came to this year’s holiday soiree! It was a HUGE success and we loved reconnecting with all of our friends and supporters. It was refreshing to see so much support for what we do and more importantly a reminder that the work we do matters. For...

CaRLA is Suing Santa Clara County over NIMBY Zoning

On Thursday, September 15, 2022, CaRLA joined with co-petitioner Kenneth Shotts, a political scientist at Stanford, to sue Santa Clara County for their illegal downzoning of the newly created Upper San Juan Residential District (SJRD), an area right outside of...

The Gates that Parks Create: Fremont’s Parks Impact Fees

We love parks. We believe cities should invest heavily in creating quality parks for residents to play and relax in; the importance of these shared spaces is well documented. Doctors in New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, Canada, the UK, and other countries even write...

Rancho Palos Verdes Wants Golf Courses and Horses, Not ADU’s

Visual representation of how RPV feels about the California housing crisis.Dubbed as Southern California’s “hidden, rural, and coastal gem,” Rancho Palos Verdes is a great place to live. Filled with great beaches, amazing golf courses, and beautiful horses, it is...

The Surf City Saga Finally Comes to an End

In a 6-to-1 vote on Tuesday night, the Huntington Beach City Council finally approved the 48 zoning-compliant condominiums we've been fighting over for nearly two years. All it took was a lawsuit, a trial court decision, a reversal of the decision, six appeals by the...

Courtney Welch Joins CaRLA as Planning & Investigations Director

CaRLA is excited to announce Courtney Welch has joined the CaRLA team in our newly created position of Director of Planning & Investigation. She brings a wealth of experience in housing advocacy and practice, and has already hit the ground running in her role to...

COVID and California Housing – March 2022 Snapshot

Snapshot of the State of Housing Pandemic Edition by Khang Tran March 2022Slow down a bit... Ever wondered how the housing market shifted during COVID? Real estate firms such as Zillow and CoreLogic had both predicted that home prices would fall. Nope, quite the...

2022 Housing Law Roundup – Non-Lawyer Edition

2022 Housing Roundup Non-Lawyer Edition by Khang Tran & Greg MagofñaJanuary 2022Living in California has no doubt exposed you to two things: ridiculous prices and even more ridiculous housing prices. Below is a chart from the National Low Income Housing Coalition...

Celebrating One Hell of a Ride at the CaRLA 2021 Gala

On Friday, December 17, 2021, we were lucky enough to host our first gala since the onset of the pandemic. We loved seeing so many familiar faces (some behind masks, but) all beyond the screen! Thank you to all of our vaccinated attendees, and for those who didn't...

Recent Victories

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🚨 New Lawsuit Alert 🚨

CaRLA vs. Santa Clara County

Cause of Action
The illegal downzoning of the San Juan Neighborhood just outside of Stanford University

Relevant State Law
Housing Crisis Act of 2019 (SB 330)

Announcement

Case Page

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.

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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