Dwellings

• Please visit our Housing Department Website to learn more about the work we do for our community.
• Sign up for The Housing Department Newsletter
• For all the updates, follow us on Social Media:
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• Housing Element - State law requires that every City and county in California adopt a Housing Element as part of its General Plan. The purpose of the Housing Element is to ensure that local governments adequately plan to meet the housing needs of all people within the community - regardless of their income.
• Soft Story Retrofit Program  - Modern building codes developed by the State of California and enforced locally by the City of San José include standards for earthquakes that have resulted in buildings that are resilient to most earthquakes. However, buildings constructed before these earthquake standards went into effect may not be as resilient unless they have been retrofitted.

Affordable Housing - The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development defines “affordable housing” as housing on which the occupant pays no more than 30 percent of gross income for housing costs, including utilities.

• Learn more about EAH Housing
• Apply for Affordable Housing
• Visit the Doorway Portal in your language:
  • English 
  • Español 
  • Tiếng Việt 
  • 中文
• Visit Santa Clara County Housing Authority to learn about the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program.
• Visit the US Department of Housing and Urban Development to read the Housing Choice Vouchers Fact Sheet

• To learn more about Planning Building and Code Enforcement, please visit CSJ Planning Building and Code Enforcement home page
• Learn more about the 2040 General Plan
• Learn about the 4-year review
• General Plan - In California, cities and counties are required by State law to have a General Plan. It is the local government's long-term blueprint for future development. Pursuant to State law, the General Plan must accommodate the required amount of projected population growth the State of California estimates for each city.

• To learn more about Renting Has Its Rights, please visit sanjoseca.gov/rentalrights. 
• To learn more about San José Housing Ordinances, please visit - Housing Ordinances
• Visit our Eviction Process Page to learn about resources and steps involved during the eviction process.
• Petition - Petitions are written request to appeal actions taken by landlords or tenants.
• Apartment Rent Ordinance(ARO) - Landlords may increase rent one time in a 12-month period, and the increase may be up to 5%. The City has a petition process in place to resolve landlord/tenant disputes regarding rent increases.
• Tenant Protection Ordinance(TPO) - There are 13 “just causes” for which landlords may evict tenants. When a landlord notifies a tenant of their intent to terminate a lease, the landlord must cite one of the 13 just causes, and must provide the City with a copy of the notice within three days.
• Ellis Act Ordinance(EAO) - When landlords remove an apartment from the rental market under the Ellis Act, they must provide tenants with 6-12 months notice, and they must provide tenants with relocation benefits.
• Mobilehome Ordinance(MHRO) - Mobilehome park owners may increase the rent for mobilehome spaces once a year. A formula is used to determine rent increases, which are at least 3% but not more than 7%.

• Visit our page to learn more about the Rent Stabilization Program
• Received a Notice to Vacate? Understand what they mean on ourUnderstand Eviction Procedures
• Eviction Help Center
• Sacred Heart Community Service – Rental Assistance
• Unlawful Detainer - If the tenant does not voluntarily move out after the landlord has properly given the required notice to the tenant, the landlord can begin the court eviction process. In order to evict the tenant, the landlord must file an unlawful detainer lawsuit in Superior Court in the county where the rental unit is located and then properly serve you with a summons and a copy of the unlawful detainer complaint.

• Visit the Heading Home website to learn more.
• Continuum of Care (COC)
• Santa Clara County Rapid Rehousing
• Bill Wilson Center – Here4You – Hotline (408)385-2400
• Emergency Housing Voucher(EHV)
• Casitas de Esperanza
• Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program
• Family Supportive Housing prioritizes shelter services for families facing urgent need - Call (408)926-8885
• Functional Zero - the number of housing placements for families is greater than the number of families entering homelessness.

• Please visit The Office of Emergency Management website to learn more.
• Sign up for AlertSCC
• For guides, alerts and more information visit CalOES.ca.gov
• Tips on how to prepare Ready.gov
• Be Prepared
• Be Informed
• Be Trained
• Request an Inspection
• Emergency Operations Center(EOC) - the City, the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) is a location from which centralized emergency management can be performed during a major emergency or disaster. This facilitates a coordinated response by the Director of Emergency Services, Emergency Management Staff, and representatives from organizations that are assigned emergency management responsibilities.

• Impact fees - one-time charges assessed by a local government against a new development project to help pay for new or expanded public capital facilities that will directly address the increased demand for services created by that development.
• Learn more about the Committee to House the Bay Area(CASA) and the 3 P’s.
• BAHFA Doorway Housing Portal
• City of San Jose Doorway Portal
• Learn about the Regional Bond Ballot Measure – Bay Area Housing For All
• Sign up for the BAHFA mailing list – BAHFA Mailing List

• Builders Remedy - The builder's remedy is a mechanism in the Housing Accountability Act that prohibits any city that has not adopted a compliant housing element by the required deadline from applying its general plan and zoning standards to reject certain housing development projects.
• Housing Accountability Act - empowers the State of California to limit local government's ability to restrict the development of new housing.
• Housing Methodology Committee
• Regional Early Action Planning (REAP) Grant
• Learn more about the RHNA
• Learn more about the Housing Element

• To learn more about Planning Building and Code Enforcement, please visit the City’s  Planning Building and Code Enforcement home page
• CEQA Review
• SJpermits.org
• Learn more about the San José General Plan
• AB-2162 - require local entities to streamline the approval of housing projects containing a minimum amount of Supportive Housing by providing a ministerial approval process, removing the requirement for CEQA analysis and removing the requirement for Conditional Use Authorization or other similar discretionary entitlements granted by the Planning Commission.
• SB 35 - allows qualified multifamily infill projects to go through a simplified and expedited housing approval process in jurisdictions that are not on track to meet their housing production goals.