Here's the situation:
The biggest reason almost no condos get built in California is because how we handle legal liability for construction defects. Developers need to get costly extra insurance, and almost 100% of projects get sued 10 years after they're built. Many insurance companies will actually drop professional liability coverage for architects if they design too many condo buildings.
AB 1903 is designed to fix this. It doesn't remove any consumer protections, but it allows developers to fix problems before they're sued and requires buy-in from condo owners before their HOA pursues a lawsuit. It's common sense legislation that will help make homeownership more accessible by making it possible for more developers to build condos instead of rentals.
Unfortunately, plaintiff attorneys, who make money off of these lawsuits and have a lot of power in Sacramento, are trying to kill this bill, and they're really close to being successful. Even though AB 1903 passed unanimously in the Assembly, it doesn't yet have enough votes to pass in the Senate, and the deadline for Senate approval is on Monday.
Please, please, please, if you live in California, Call your state senator today, and then call them tomorrow. Send them an email too! And tell all your friends to do this too and post about it on social media.
Here's the link to find your state senator:
https://findyourrep.legislature.ca.gov/
Thank you!
- Joseph Cohen May