Governor Newsom Signs the Affordable Homeownership Bonus Law to Build More Affordable Homes

By Jacqueline Burbank, Communications Manager Inner City Law Center on September 30, 2026 • ( Leave a comment )

Governor Newsom signed the Affordable Homeownership Bonus Law (AB 2433) into law on September 29, 2026. This law will create more affordable homes and streamline housing approvals.

The law reforms the California Bonus Law, a state law that streamlines approvals by granting benefits to projects that build affordable homes. Bonus Law is already California’s most utilized housing incentive program. The reforms just enacted by AB 2433 will take this already effective program and make it even more conducive to building more affordable homes more quickly.

“The Affordable Homeownership Bonus Law will make it easier to build homes that working families can purchase,” said Assemblymember David Alvarez. “I thank Governor Newsom for signing this bill and for his commitment to housing that people can actually afford. Families in the South Bay and across California are waiting to buy their first home, and this law will help give them that opportunity.”

“AB 2433 strengthens California’s affordable bonus law by increasing incentives for affordable homes and streamlining project approvals. We applaud Governor Newsom for signing this important measure and thank Assemblymember Alvarez for his leadership,” said Inner City Law Center Policy Director, Mahdi Manji.

“We are grateful to Governor Newsom for continuing to improve Bonus Law, the most effective housing streamlining law in California,” said Colin Parent, CEO and General Counsel of Circulate. “By the numbers, legislation to enhance this statute has created more housing approvals than any other legislation Governor Newsom has signed during his two terms.”

“AB 2433 strengthens and improves a powerful tool for producing mixed-income and 100% affordable housing developments, both rental and for-sale. The measure builds on past success by incentivizing developers to include below market-rate homes in their apartment buildings and subdivisions while enhancing feasibility. We are grateful to Assemblymember Alvarez for his commitment to ensuring this program can be implemented seamlessly at the local level to produce the housing we need,” said Michael Lane, State Policy Director with SPUR.

“Assembly Bill 2433 is a critical step toward expanding the supply of affordable housing in the San Diego region and across California,” said San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Chris Cate. “The bill addresses one of the most pressing challenges facing businesses in our region: attracting and retaining talent amid persistently high housing costs and a severe shortage of available homes. By expanding housing opportunities, this legislation helps strengthen our workforce and supports the long-term economic competitiveness of the San Diego region. We commend Assemblymember Alvarez for his leadership on this urgent issue and thank Governor Newsom for signing AB 2433 and delivering real advancements for housing affordability.”

The bill’s reforms focus on boosting homeownership, creating more affordable homes, and streamlining approvals through the following policy reforms:

Create More For-Sale Affordable Homes: Grants additional incentives to homebuilders creating deed-restricted for-sale homes for low- and moderate-income families.
Deeply Affordable Housing: Ensures that homebuilders can deed-restrict their units at levels more affordable than the levels outlined in statute. This will ensure that 100 percent affordable homebuilders can access the full stacked bonus available under AB 1287.
Streamlining Approvals: Streamlines the approval process for homebuilders to make sure that homes are approved more quickly and face fewer barriers. Policy reforms include making benefits automatic, reaffirming the non-discretionary approval of benefits, and clarifying that Bonus Law projects receive development certainty after their initial application.
Inner City Law Center co-sponsored AB 2433 alongside Circulate Planning & Policy, San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce, SPUR, and the Greenbelt Alliance.

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Inner City Law Center is a nonprofit, poverty-law firm based in the Skid Row area of Los Angeles. As the only legal-services provider with offices in Skid Row, Inner City Law Center fights for housing and justice for low-income tenants, working-poor families, housing-insecure veterans, people experiencing homelessness and people living with disabilities or HIV.