A housing element is the chapter of a California city or county’s general plan that lays out how the jurisdiction will plan for housing at every income level over an eight-year cycle, and it is the only part of the general plan the state actively reviews and certifies. The requirement sits in Government Code Section 65580 and dates back to the late 1960s, when the legislature first told local governments they had to plan for housing across the income spectrum. Every city and county in the state has to adopt one, keep it current, and prove to the Department of Housing and Community Development that the plan is realistic.
What a Housing Element Contains
Government Code Section 65583 sets the required contents. The document opens with a needs assessment covering local population characteristics, overcrowding, and the physical condition of existing homes. A land inventory then identifies specific parcels that could absorb future housing at each income level. The element also has to evaluate what is holding housing back, including governmental constraints like zoning and permit fees as well as market factors like land costs and construction financing.1California Legislative Information. California Code Government Code 65583
Diagnosis alone is not enough. Each element must contain an implementation program with specific actions the jurisdiction commits to take over the eight-year planning cycle, each with a timeline and a named responsible department. The program has to show how the city or county will remove the barriers it identified, promote development across income levels, and rezone land where capacity falls short. A plan that identifies problems without scheduling concrete steps will not pass state review.1California Legislative Information. California Code Government Code 65583
State law also requires genuine public participation during drafting. Jurisdictions have to describe their outreach in the element itself, and HCD reviewers look for evidence that cities actively sought input from renters, people experiencing homelessness, farmworkers, seniors, and residents of disadvantaged communities, not just posted a notice on a website.2California Department of Housing and Community Development. Public Participation
The Eight-Year Cycle and RHNA
Every eight years, each jurisdiction has to update its housing element to reflect new population and economic conditions. The planning target for the cycle comes from the Regional Housing Needs Allocation, or RHNA. Under Government Code Section 65584, HCD determines the total statewide housing need and assigns a share to each regional council of governments.3California Legislative Information. California Code Government Code 65584
Each regional council then distributes its share to member cities and counties using a methodology that weighs several factors under Section 65584.04: each jurisdiction’s existing and projected jobs-to-housing ratio, the number of low-wage jobs relative to affordable housing, infrastructure capacity, suitable developable land, protected open space and farmland, transit access, and the regional sustainable communities strategy.4California Legislative Information. California Code Government Code 65584.04
Every allocation is split into four income categories tied to the Area Median Income of the region:
- Very low income: households earning up to 50% of AMI
- Low income: households earning 50% to 80% of AMI
- Moderate income: households earning 80% to 120% of AMI
- Above moderate income: households earning more than 120% of AMI
Here is the point most readers miss. The jurisdiction does not have to build these units. The RHNA obligation is a planning requirement: the city or county must zone enough land at appropriate densities to realistically accommodate its assigned numbers in each income tier. Whether private developers actually build is a separate question.
Sites, Densities, and Rezoning
The site inventory is where housing elements most often fail. Planners have to identify specific parcels with enough zoning capacity, utility access, and freedom from environmental constraints to support the units attributed to each site. Vacant land and underutilized commercial properties are common candidates, but state reviewers routinely reject inventories that count on parcels with obvious development barriers.
For sites counted toward the lower-income portion of RHNA, Section 65583.2 sets minimum default density thresholds that vary by jurisdiction type:5California Legislative Information. California Code Government Code 65583.2
- Metropolitan counties: at least 30 units per acre
- Suburban jurisdictions: at least 20 units per acre
- Incorporated cities in nonmetropolitan counties with a micropolitan area: at least 15 units per acre
- Other unincorporated nonmetropolitan areas: at least 10 units per acre
If the plan relies on sites that need rezoning to hit these densities, strict deadlines apply. Jurisdictions whose elements were found compliant by May 31, 2023, had roughly three years from adoption to finish the required rezoning. For elements adopted after January 31, 2024, HCD will not certify the plan until the rezoning is already in place. When rezoning for lower-income housing happens after the element’s due date, the new zoning must allow residential development by right, with no conditional use permits or other discretionary approvals that could delay or block projects.5California Legislative Information. California Code Government Code 65583.2
Capacity also has to hold up over the full eight years. Under Government Code Section 65863, the No Net Loss Law, a jurisdiction cannot take actions that drop its remaining site capacity below what is needed to meet its unmet RHNA in any income category. Approving a project at a lower density than the inventory assumed can trigger an obligation to identify replacement sites within 180 days.6California Legislative Information. California Government Code 65863
Fair Housing Requirements
Starting with the sixth cycle of updates, every housing element has to affirmatively further fair housing. A nondiscrimination statement does not satisfy this. The implementation program must include a full fair housing assessment that analyzes local and regional data to identify patterns of segregation and integration, racially or ethnically concentrated areas of poverty and affluence, disparities in access to opportunity, and disproportionate housing needs including displacement risk. Jurisdictions have to compare conditions within their boundaries to the broader region across race and the other characteristics protected by the California Fair Employment and Housing Act.7California Legislative Information. California Government Code 65583
The assessment also has to identify what is driving those patterns, including historical origins and current policies, then set priorities and goals to address them. The site inventory itself is reviewed through this lens. A jurisdiction cannot concentrate all its lower-income housing sites in already disadvantaged neighborhoods and expect state approval.7California Legislative Information. California Government Code 65583
State Review, Certification, and Annual Reporting
Government Code Section 65585 sets up the review process. The jurisdiction submits a draft to HCD, which has 90 days to issue written findings. If the draft falls short, the findings letter spells out the revisions needed. The local governing body must consider HCD’s findings before adopting the element. Subsequent draft amendments get a shorter 60-day review, and after adoption HCD has 60 days to determine whether the adopted element is in substantial compliance and issue a final certification letter.8California Legislative Information. California Code Government Code 65585
Certification does not end the obligations. Under Government Code Section 65400, every jurisdiction must submit an Annual Progress Report to HCD and the Governor’s Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation by April 1 each year. The report tracks progress toward RHNA using issued building permits as the primary benchmark, describes implementation actions taken, and goes before the legislative body at a public meeting where residents can testify. HCD uses the data to monitor whether jurisdictions are actually doing what they promised to get certified.9California Legislative Information. California Code Government Code 65400
What Happens Without a Compliant Housing Element
A jurisdiction without a certified housing element faces consequences that get worse the longer non-compliance persists.
The first hit is money. Non-compliant jurisdictions lose eligibility for major state funding programs, including the Permanent Local Housing Allocation, Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities grants, CalHOME, Infill Infrastructure Grants, and the Local Housing Trust Fund Program. Some regional transportation funding is also tied to housing element compliance.
HCD’s Housing Accountability Unit handles enforcement. It starts with education and technical assistance, but it can revoke certification or refer a jurisdiction to the California Attorney General.10California Department of Housing and Community Development. Housing Accountability Unit
If the Attorney General sues and a court finds the element out of compliance, the court can order the jurisdiction to come into substantial compliance and retain jurisdiction to enforce the order. If 12 months pass without compliance, the court must impose fines of at least $10,000 per month, up to $100,000 per month, deposited into the Building Homes and Jobs Trust Fund. Three months after fines begin, the court can triple them. At six months, it can multiply them by six, reaching as much as $600,000 per month. If the jurisdiction refuses to pay, the court can direct the State Controller to intercept state and local funds. At the six-month stage, the court can also appoint a receiver with authority to take all governmental actions necessary to bring the element into compliance.11California Legislative Information. California Government Code 65585
The most disruptive consequence is the Builder’s Remedy under Government Code Section 65589.5. When a jurisdiction lacks a substantially compliant housing element, it loses much of its ability to reject housing projects that include affordable units. A developer can bypass local zoning, and the jurisdiction cannot require a general plan amendment, rezoning, or other legislative approval for the project. To qualify, a project must dedicate at least 20% of its units to lower-income households or consist entirely of moderate-income or middle-income units at up to 150% of median income. Monthly housing costs for the affordable lower-income units cannot exceed 30% of 60% of median income, and affordability must stay in place for 30 years. The jurisdiction can apply only objective, written development standards, and even those cannot render the project infeasible. The city or county bears the burden of proving its standards comply with those limits.12California Legislative Information. California Government Code 65589.5
Prohousing Designation
The state also rewards jurisdictions that go beyond minimum compliance. HCD runs a Prohousing Designation Program, and cities and counties that earn the designation become eligible for the Prohousing Incentive Program, which provides additional funding from the Building Homes and Jobs Trust Fund to accelerate affordable housing. Higher application scores translate to bonus funding on top of the base allocation. The designation recognizes policies like streamlined permitting, density bonuses beyond state mandates, and proactive anti-displacement measures.13California Department of Housing and Community Development. Prohousing Incentive Program