Also known as Senate Bill 4 (SB 4), the Affordable Housing on Faith and Higher Education Lands Act of 2023 was enacted to facilitate the development of affordable housing on properties owned by religious organizations and higher education institutions. The intent is to streamline the approval process for affordable housing projects on such lands by providing “by-right” approval, and the law remains in effect through its sunset date of January 1, 2036.
Intent: Streamlining Approval for Affordable Housing on Faith and Education Lands
A streamlined approval process for affordable housing developments on land owned by religious organizations and higher education institutions. This means that eligible projects meeting certain criteria would be entitled to approval without going through the usual discretionary review processes, such as public hearings or local government approvals.
Qualifications: Criteria for “By-Right” Approval of Housing Projects
Under Government Code Section 65913.16, provided there are no inconsistencies with a local government’s general plan, specific plan, zoning ordinance, or regulation, a housing development project shall be a use by right upon the request of an applicant, if at least the following criteria, among others not listed here, are satisfied:
Development Location and Restrictions: Key Eligibility Requirements
The development is located on land owned on or before January 1, 2024, by an independent institution of higher education or a religious institution; the development is not adjoined to any site where more than one-third of the square footage is dedicated to light industrial use; and if housing is not an existing permitted use, the development site is not located within 3,200 feet of a facility that actively extracts or refines oil or natural gas.
Income and Housing Unit Requirements: Ensuring Affordable Housing
One hundred percent of the development project’s total units, exclusive of a manager’s unit or units, must be for lower income households, except that up to 20 percent of the total units may be for moderate-income households, and 5 percent of the units may be for staff of the independent institution of higher education or religious institution that owns the land.
Deed Restrictions: Securing Long-Term Affordability
The housing units on the development site cannot be located within 1,200 feet of a site that is currently, or where the most recent permitted use was, a heavy industrial use. Affordable units must be deed-restricted for that purpose for 55 years for rental properties and 45 years for properties that can be owned.
Recent Changes to the Affordable Housing on Faith and Higher Education Lands Act of 2023
In 2025, Assembly Bill 130 amended several of California’s streamlined housing statutes, including Government Code Section 65913.16, as part of that year’s budget-related housing package. Religious institutions and higher education institutions considering a project under this law should confirm the current version of Section 65913.16 rather than relying on the law as originally enacted in 2023, since the underlying eligibility framework has been updated since then.
Summation: Impact of the 2020 Terner Center Report on Affordable Housing Projects
According to a 2020 report by the Terner Center for Housing Innovation of UC Berkeley, “100% affordable-housing projects located on land owned by faith-based organizations and nonprofit colleges will go through a ministerial process, bypassing the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and subjective local design standards.”
Note: Key Features of the Legislation for “By-Right” Housing Approval
This legislation guarantees “by-right” approval of qualifying projects so long as they are consistent with all objective standards of the jurisdiction and comply with the listed environmental protections. For a religious institution weighing whether its land could support a project, the Affordable Housing on Faith and Higher Education Lands Act of 2023 offers a meaningfully faster path than the standard discretionary review process.
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Disclaimer: Every situation is different and particular facts may vary thereby changing or altering a possible course of action or conclusion. The information contained herein is intended to be general in nature as laws vary between federal, state, counties, and municipalities and therefore may not apply to any given matter. This information is not intended to be legal advice or relied upon as a legal opinion, course of action, accounting, tax or other professional service. You should consult the proper legal or professional advisor knowledgeable in the area that pertains to your particular situation.
