The Housing Accountability Act (HAA) is a California state law designed to promote infill development by speeding housing approvals. The Act was passed in 1982 in recognition that "the lack of housing, including emergency shelter, is a critical statewide problem," and has also been referred to as "the anti-NIMBY law."[1][2] It empowers the State of California to limit the ability of local government to restrict the development of new housing, and legalizes the Builder's remedy process to ameliorate violations of the law by local governments.[3] The Act was strengthened by subsequent amendments in 2017 and 2024.
It has taken Berkeley, Lafayette and now Sausalito to court for alleged violations of the state's 35-year-old "anti-NIMBY (Not In My Backyard)" housing law, the Housing Accountability Act, which requires cities to approve building permits that meet existing zoning rules.
She wrote the petition herself, saying the move violated the California Housing Accountability Act, a 1980s law and "anti-Nimby" statute that limits cities' ability to downsize housing developments.