In a rare unanimous vote, the California Assembly on Tuesday approved AB 1903 on a 70-0 floor tally, pushing a major overhaul of the state's construction-defect rules one step closer to the Senate. Backers say the bill would beef up the right to repair, require serious repair attempts before lawsuits can fly, and give developers a clearer path to escape future liability when they fix problems, including through third-party quality-control sign-offs.
How the Assembly recorded the vote
The official Assembly roll call shows AB 1903 clearing the floor 70-0 on Tuesday, according to California Legislative Information. The bill, authored by Assemblymember Buffy Wicks, has its amendments and committee stops detailed in the same record.
What AB 1903 would change
As passed by the Assembly, AB 1903 would require homeowners and associations to complete the existing statutory prelitigation repair process before heading to court, and it would cabin later lawsuits to damages that go beyond the specific component that was defective and then repaired, as reported by The Real Deal. The bill also establishes an optional certified building path in which developers can use third-party inspections during construction, address identified defects, and, in return, obtain a release from liability. Supporters argue that structure cuts down the incentive for purely speculative litigation.
Why builders say it matters
Developers and pro-housing groups point to two big pressure points: condo construction has cratered, and insurance costs have climbed sharply. Research from the Terner Center found that condominium starts are down roughly 90 percent from their 2005-2006 peak. The same analysis notes that insurers often charge three to four times more to cover condo projects than comparable rental buildings, a dynamic cited by both critics and supporters as a major barrier to entry-level homeownership.
Supporters and critics
Pro-housing organizations such as SPUR and California YIMBY are backing AB 1903 as a practical attempt to revive middle-income homeownership by making condo projects insurable again. On the other side, consumer attorneys and some homeowners' representatives warn that the bill would narrow legal remedies, restrict the use of extrapolation-based construction-defect claims and shift more of the investigative burden onto individual owners, arguments that surface in committee testimony and hearing records documented by Digital Democracy.
Local projects and what comes next
Even under the current liability regime, some builders have continued to roll out for-sale units. Examples include Bosa Development's roughly 400-unit Andia project in San Diego and a hotel-condo project by Build Group in downtown Napa, both highlighted by The Real Deal. With the Assembly vote in the books, AB 1903 now heads to the State Senate, where it will face committee hearings and potential amendments before any final floor vote. The bill's status and full history are tracked on California Legislative Information.
Legal implications
On the legal front, AB 1903 tightens the ground rules before any lawsuit can be filed. It reinforces pre-suit repair procedures and requires demonstrable, non-speculative physical damage before certain claims can proceed, a shift supporters say will push more disputes toward actual repairs rather than mass litigation. Observers, including the Terner Center, caution that the proposed certified-building release and related tweaks could change how insurers price risk and who ultimately pays for cleanup when something goes wrong. For more details on those debates and how they surfaced in the legislative process, see committee records collected by Digital Democracy.
If AB 1903 survives the Senate and lands on Gov. Gavin Newsom's desk, it could tilt the math back in favor of condos as an ownership option in the Bay Area and across the state. For now, the moving pieces to watch are what, if any, changes senators make and how insurers react, which will determine whether builders actually return to the for-sale condo market.
