Government and Housing Organizations

To learn more about housing in California:   

Government

The Legislature's Smart Growth Caucus home page is www.assembly.ca.gov/sgc/ default.htm.  Housing bills in the Legislature can be followed at www.leginfo.ca.gov. The state Department of Housing and Community Development's housing policy division has reports at www.hcd.ca.gov/hpd.

Advocacy Groups

Non-Profit Housing Association of Northern California has a Housing Crisis Report Card.  Bay Area Council updates what employers are doing.  Visit Home Builders Association of Northern California for their perspective. For a statewide view, visit the site for the California Building Industry Association. Greenbelt Alliance has a "Smart Infill'' report.

Resources for renters

Find out your rights as a tenant and how you can get help if you have a dispute with your landlord at the Legal Aid Society.  For subsidized rental housing, visit the HousingSCC.org website.  For rental assistance under federal Section 8 program, contact the Housing Authority of the County of Santa Clara at (408) 275-8770. Every county has its own housing authority or similar office. Tri County Apartment Association: (408) 297-0483. Project Sentinel provides tenant-landlord mediation and housing enforcement in many parts of the Bay Area: (415) 468-7464.