California’s Legislature passed, and the Governor signed, thirty bills in 2026 that reach South Bay homeowners, buyers, sellers, HOA members and landlords. Most take effect January 1, 2027. They allow a second detached accessory dwelling unit (ADU) on a single-family lot, stop HOAs and cities from blocking a like-for-like window replacement, change how an inherited home keeps its assessed value, set a 2032 reserve funding rule for every homeowners association, and change what an insurer owes after wildfire smoke reaches a home. Several run on later dates, and those are named below. Each group gets its own post in this series, running from November 6 to December 16, 2026.
These are bills, not ballot measures, voted on by California State Legislature representatives, not the general populace. Two of these state bills amend law that voters approved, and we have noted below where it applies.
What changes about what an owner can build?
AB 956 (Chapter 791) requires cities to approve two detached, newly built ADUs on a lot with a single-family home, up from one, with 4-foot side and rear setbacks. It also extends the rule that voids deed restrictions and HOA rules blocking ADUs to every lot zoned to allow single-family homes.
SB 1117 (Chapter 809) changes the impact fee on an ADU larger than 750 square feet. The fee is now calculated only on the area above 750 square feet. For a 1,000 square foot ADU, that is 250 square feet instead of the whole unit.
AB 2601 (Chapter 955) lets an SB 9 duplex be processed together with the SB 9 lot split map, and lets a city hold building permits until the map is recorded.
SB 908 (Chapter 787) requires cities to approve a residential window replacement administratively, with no discretionary review or hearing, when the new windows match the old ones in size and location and meet the state building codes. Buildings individually listed on the California Register of Historical Resources are among the exceptions.
What changes for owners in a homeowners association?
AB 2050 (Chapter 796) sets a reserve funding rule that starts January 1, 2032. From then, every association’s reserve study must state a minimum yearly contribution that keeps the projected reserve balance above zero for 30 years. If reserves are projected to fall below zero, the association moves at least 15 percent of its gross annual budget into reserves each year until they are not. On a $400,000 budget, 15 percent is $60,000 a year. Until 2032, the reserve study must say what the new rule will require.
SB 908 also voids HOA rules that block a like-for-like, code-compliant window replacement. Reasonable installation rules survive if they do not raise the cost significantly or reduce energy efficiency.
SB 222 (Chapter 738) voids HOA rules that stop an owner from replacing a gas appliance with an electric one or installing a heat pump water heater or heat pump heating and cooling system.
AB 1892 (Chapter 169) makes the association pay to restore gas, heat, water or electric service when the interruption starts in the common area, and shortens two election notice periods. SB 1267 (Chapter 350) makes the owner of a member-owned EV charger in a common area, and each later owner of that charger, responsible for damage from its use.
What changes on property tax?
SB 974 (Chapter 665) amends Revenue and Taxation Code 63.2, the statute that carries out the parent-to-child and grandparent-to-grandchild exclusion voters approved in Proposition 19 in 2020, for transfers involving special needs trusts. The exclusion decides whether an inherited home keeps its prior assessed value.
SB 296 (Chapter 727) exempts 50 percent of the first $1,000,000 of value on the principal residence of a veteran rated 100 percent disabled, or the veteran’s spouse, instead of the existing disabled veterans’ exemption. It applies to lien dates from January 1, 2027 and ends before January 1, 2032. On a home assessed at $1.2 million, $500,000 comes off the taxable value, which at the 1 percent general levy is about $5,000 a year before voter-approved bonds.
What changes after a wildfire or other declared disaster?
AB 1795 (Chapter 240), the Smoke Damage Recovery Act, presumes that smoke, ash or soot in a surviving home inside a wildfire’s impact zone came from that fire. The impact zone is every ZIP code within or partly within the fire perimeter. The insurer pays for testing and keeps paying additional living expenses until the home is restored and cleared for occupancy.
AB 1842 (Chapter 241), the California Mortgage Relief Act, lets a borrower whose home is uninhabitable after a federally declared disaster request forbearance of up to 180 days, extendable to 12 months, with no late fees and the account reported to credit bureaus as current. It covers loans on 1 to 4 unit homes.
AB 2038 (Chapter 917) changes the rules on cancellation and nonrenewal of a homeowners policy, and SB 876 (Chapter 656) rewrites several fire and residential insurance sections, with its main provisions starting January 1, 2028.
What changes for energy upgrades?
SB 222 also requires cities to offer remote, asynchronous inspections for heat pump installations from July 1, 2027, and online permitting by July 1, 2028. AB 1738 (Chapter 271) lets a homeowner ask for a remote inspection of a reroof, solar up to 15 kilowatts, battery storage, heat pumps or smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, with cities complying by January 1, 2028. SB 868 (Chapter 985) exempts plug-in solar devices up to 1,200 watts from utility interconnection rules; our balcony solar post covers it.
What changes for an owner who rents out a home, condo or ADU?
AB 2025 (Chapter 572) requires a disclosure on any digitally altered photo in a rental ad, alongside the unaltered photo. SB 1296 (Chapter 1025) requires a written pet policy, posted in rental ads and given with every application, from April 1, 2027. SB 1365 (Chapter 1028) extends the existing 10 percent limit on rent increases during a declared emergency, and for 30 days after, to all rental housing whatever the lease length.
What changes on fraud, privacy and advertising?
AB 501 (Chapter 505) raises the civil penalty for knowingly filing a false lien to harass someone from up to $5,000 to up to $15,000 and creates a way to clear a wrongful filing. AB 871 (Chapter 360) adds reporting and notice duties for banks and credit unions that suspect financial abuse of an elder, from January 1, 2028.
SB 923 (Chapter 482) amends the consumer privacy rules on deletion requests, in sections voters last rewrote in Proposition 24 in 2020. SB 690 (Chapter 976) amends Penal Code 637.2, the section that lets individuals sue under the state’s Invasion of Privacy Act. SB 1050 (Chapter 246) requires a disclosure on ads that feature an AI-generated performer, and AB 1609 (Chapter 733) requires businesses with more than $500 million in annual revenue to offer a way to reach a person instead of a chatbot.
What changes for foreclosures and manufactured homes?
AB 1957 (Chapter 279) changes who may bid after a trustee’s sale of a 1 to 4 unit home, limiting post-auction bids to eligible tenants and eligible nonprofit and public buyers. SB 996 (Chapter 995), AB 2174 (Chapter 386), AB 2596 (Chapter 953) and AB 1817 (Chapter 793) cover manufactured home standards, mobilehome title signatures, senior mobilehome park rules and notices before a mobilehome tenancy ends.
Which dates fall after January 1, 2027?
- April 1, 2027: SB 1296 rental pet policies.
- July 1, 2027: SB 222 remote inspections for heat pumps.
- January 1, 2028: SB 876 main insurance provisions, AB 1738 remote inspection compliance for most cities, AB 871 bank reporting duties, AB 2174 electronic signatures on mobilehome title releases.
- July 1, 2028: SB 222 online permitting; AB 1738 compliance for cities under 5,000 residents, which includes Rolling Hills.
- January 1, 2032: AB 2050 reserve funding rule. SB 296 applies to lien dates before this date.
Did voters approve any of these?
No. Each passed both houses of the Legislature by majority vote and was signed by the Governor between August 31 and September 30, 2026. Two sit on top of voter-approved law. SB 974 works inside Proposition 13 (1978) and Proposition 19 (2020). SB 923 amends sections last rewritten by Proposition 24 (2020). The rest amend statutes the Legislature wrote, so a later Legislature can change them again without a ballot.
What else starts in 2027 in the South Bay?
Three changes outside this list reach local owners. The State Board of Forestry adopted Zone 0 rules on August 19, 2026 for the 5 feet around homes in very high fire hazard severity zones, which include parts of the Palos Verdes Peninsula. They take effect when the state publishes them. Measure PVE, the Palos Verdes Estates parcel tax on the November 3 ballot, would start July 1, 2027 if it passes, and Measure E expires June 30, 2027 either way. Proposition 43, if it passes, sets a two-thirds vote for voter-proposed local special taxes from January 1, 2027. Each has a post later in this series.
What comes next in this series?
- November 6: two detached ADUs and the new ADU fee rule.
- November 9: window replacements without design review.
- November 11: property tax for inherited homes and disabled veterans.
- November 12: the 2032 HOA reserve rule.
- November 13: HOA utility repairs, elections and EV chargers.
- November 16: smoke damage claims and disaster forbearance.
- November 20: homeowners insurance cancellations and nonrenewals.
- November 23: heat pumps and remote inspections.
- November 25: renting out a home, condo or ADU.
- November 30: lot splits and SB 9 duplexes.
- December 2: false liens and elder financial abuse reporting.
- December 4: privacy, AI performers and chatbots.
- December 7: foreclosure auctions and manufactured homes.
- December 9: Zone 0.
- December 11: rents and water rates in 2027.
- December 16: the local ballot measures that start in 2027.
This page explains what each law does. It is general information, not real estate, tax, lending, legal, insurance, financial or investment advice, and not a recommendation to buy, sell, hold, list or price any property. Each bill’s chaptered text is linked from its name and in the Sources section below.
Buying, selling, or still deciding if the South Bay is where you’ll settle down next? Neil Chhabria, Broker, 310.798.3122, [email protected].
Sources
California Legislative Information, chaptered text, status, history and votes for each bill named above, at leginfo.legislature.ca.gov, read October 15 and October 20, 2026. California Constitution, Article XIII A and Section 2.1, history lines. State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection, Defensible Space Zones 0, 1 and 2, read October 20, 2026. City of Palos Verdes Estates, Future Funding and the Expiration of Measure E, read October 20, 2026. Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, Final Measures Appearing on the Ballot, read October 20, 2026.
We do our very best to supply facts drawn from official sources so that the information you find here is reliable and accurate. If we find conflicting information, we report on all of it.
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