Assembly BillPassed first houseHealth and Safety
AB 1070: Residential developments: building standards: review.
What AB 1070 does, verified August 15, 2026
The bill proposes to establish a working group to research and consider identifying and recommending amendments to state building standards for residential developments of 3 to 10 units. This working group is to be convened by December 31, 2027, and the department is to provide a report of its findings to the legislature by December 31, 2028. The bill allows the department to exceed the scope and application of the international residential code to accommodate these developments. Additionally, the department is required to review construction cost pressures for single-family and multifamily residential construction and provide its findings to the legislature.
Bill journey
✓IntroducedComplete
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✓First Chamber FloorComplete
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5GovernorPending
6ChapteredPending
Last action: In committee: Held under submission. (2026-08-13)Alert me
Author and sponsors
Full contact details, staff, and committees with Connect, $16/moUnlockRecent actions21 total · showing 5
| Aug. 13, 2026 | In committee: Held under submission. |
| Aug. 03, 2026 | In committee: Referred to APPR. suspense file. |
| Jun. 25, 2026 | From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 10. Noes 0.) (June 24). Re-referred to Com. on APPR. |
| Jun. 11, 2026 | From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to committee. Read second time, amended, and re-referred to Com. on HOUSING. |
| May. 06, 2026 | Referred to Com. on HOUSING. |
Latest bill textAmended version, June 11, 2026 · 2,217 words
| Amended IN Senate June 11, 2026 |
| Amended IN Assembly January 05, 2026 |
| Amended IN Assembly April 03, 2025 |
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION
Assembly Bill
No. 1070
| Introduced by Assembly Member Ward |
February 20, 2025 |
An act to add Sections 17921.12 and 17921.13 to the Health and Safety Code, relating to housing.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1070, as amended, Ward. Residential developments: building standards: review.
Existing law, the California Building Standards Law, establishes the California Building Standards Commission (commission) within the Department of General Services and sets forth its powers and duties, including approval and adoption of building standards and codification of those standards into the California Building Standards Code (code). Existing law requires the commission to publish, or cause to be published, editions of the code in its entirety once every 3 years.
Existing law requires the building standards and rules and regulations to impose substantially the same requirements as are contained in the most recent editions of specified international or uniform industry codes, including the International Residential Code of the International Code Council.
Existing law establishes the Department of Housing and Community Development (department) and requires the department to submit an annual report to the Governor and both houses of the Legislature on the operations and accomplishments during the previous fiscal year of the housing programs administered by the department.
This bill would require the department to convene a working group initiate a study no later than December January 31, 2027, to research and consider identifying and recommending amendments to state building standards allowing evaluating the conditions under which residential developments of between 3 and 10 units to be built may be designed and constructed under the requirements of the California Residential Code, as specified. The bill would require the department to contract with external experts or an independent third party for this purpose. The bill would require the department, no later than December 31, 2028, to provide a one-time report of its findings to the Legislature in the annual report described above. The bill, if the report identifies and recommends amendments to building standards, would require the department to research, develop, and consider proposing the standards for adoption by the commission, as specified. For the purposes of these provisions, the bill would authorize the department to exceed the scope and application of the International Residential Code to evaluate and propose amendments to allow residential developments of between 3 and 10 units to be designed and constructed under the requirements of the California Residential Code.
The bill would additionally require the department to perform a review of construction cost pressures for single-family and multifamily residential construction as a result of new or existing building standards and provide its findings to the Legislature in its above-described annual report on or before December 31, 2027. The bill would require the department to perform the same review every 3 years to revise or update standards, as specified.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
It is the intent of the Legislature to facilitate the safe and feasible use of the California Residential Code for residential developments of between 3 and 10 units by studying the conditions under which those developments may achieve life safety outcomes equal to or superior to otherwise applicable code pathways and by developing code-ready recommendations for future consideration by the California Building Standards Commission.SECTION 1.SEC. 2.
17921.12.
(a) No later than(b) The department shall contract with external experts or an independent third party to develop the study and perform other functions required of the department under this section.
(c) In conducting the study, the department and any external experts or independent third party retained pursuant to subdivision (b) may consult with relevant stakeholders, including, but not limited to, the California Building Standards Commission, State Fire Marshal, Division of the State Architect, Energy Commission, and other stakeholders, to research and consider identifying and recommending amendments to state building standards allowing residential developments of between 3 and 10 units to be built under the requirements of the California Residential Code (Part 2.5 of Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations), and any necessary modifications to maintain health and safety standards for the developments. Each entity shall provide input relative to its area of expertise and oversight. fire service representatives, fire prevention officials, local building officials, organizations representing licensed architects and licensed engineers, nonprofit or market-rate housing developers experienced in small-scale multifamily construction, housing advocacy organizations, third-party professional plan checkers and inspectors, and faculty with expertise in fire protection engineering, building science, or related disciplines.
(d) The study shall consist of a comprehensive analysis of the opportunities, constraints, technical considerations, and recommendations relevant to increasing the threshold under which residential developments of between 3 and 10 units may be designed and constructed under the California Residential Code (Part 2.5 of Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations) while maintaining health and safety and without materially reducing development feasibility. The study shall include both of the following:
(1) An analysis of all of the following:
(A) The conditions under which residential developments of between 3 and 10 units may be designed and constructed under the California Residential Code (Part 2.5 of Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations) while achieving life safety outcomes equal to or superior to otherwise applicable requirements of the California Building Standards Code (Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations) for residential developments of similar height, floor area, and occupancy classification. The study shall evaluate those life safety outcomes using probabilistic and comparative risk analysis.
(B) The building types, site conditions, construction types, height limits, floor area limits, unit count limits, egress conditions, fire and life safety systems, and other objective criteria under which residential developments of between 3 and 10 units may be designed and constructed under the California Residential Code (Part 2.5 of Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations).
(C) Analysis of fire loss history in jurisdictions that have adopted or studied similar provisions; review of available National Fire Protection Association fire loss and fire protection system performance data, together with other available system reliability data; and consultation with fire service personnel regarding fire suppression and rescue techniques in the residential developments evaluated pursuant to this section. The study shall use probabilistic and comparative risk analysis and shall not rely solely on worst-case-scenario assumptions. If existing data is insufficient, the study may also include smoke modeling, egress modeling, or other analyses necessary to evaluate life safety outcomes.
(D) The extent to which life safety outcomes from residential developments evaluated pursuant to this section compare both to smaller one-family and two-family dwellings and to larger multifamily residential buildings subject to otherwise applicable provisions of the California Building Standards Code (Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations).
(E) The feasibility implications of allowing residential developments of between 3 and 10 units to be designed and constructed under the California Residential Code (Part 2.5 of Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations), including effects on constructability, code compliance, permitting, inspection, project delivery, and the practical ability to build small-scale multifamily housing.
(F) Cost implications of allowing residential developments of between 3 and 10 units to be designed and constructed under the California Residential Code (Part 2.5 of Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations), including cost-saving opportunities, tradeoffs, alternative compliance approaches, and other means of reducing unnecessary construction costs while maintaining health and safety.
(G) The interaction of any proposed California Residential Code pathway with the California Electrical Code (Part 3 of Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations), the California Mechanical Code (Part 4 of Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations), the California Plumbing Code (Part 5 of Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations), the California Energy Code (Part 6 of Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations), and other applicable parts of the California Building Standards Code.
(H) A comparison of currently adopted California building standards with alternative code approaches used or studied in other jurisdictions, including other states, including, but not limited to, Alaska, Montana, and North Carolina, for small-scale multifamily buildings.
(I) Any code provisions, limitations, safeguards, mitigations, inspection or maintenance requirements, or alternative compliance measures that may be necessary to maintain health and safety while allowing residential developments of between 3 and 10 units to be designed and constructed under the California Residential Code (Part 2.5 of Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations).
(J) Any administrative, permitting, inspection, or enforcement considerations relevant to the safe and feasible implementation of a California Residential Code pathway for residential development of between 3 and 10 units.
(K) Any other subjects the department identifies through the course of preparing the study that would contribute to determining how residential developments of between 3 and 10 units may be safely and feasibly designed and constructed under the California Residential Code (Part 2.5 of Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations).
(2) Recommendations to the state based on the study for all of the following:
(A) Specific amendments to state building standards that would allow residential developments of between 3 and 10 units to be designed and constructed under the California Residential Code (Part 2.5 of Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations).
(B) Any objective limitations, safeguards, or alternative compliance measures necessary to maintain health and safety.
(C) Any code simplifications, cost-saving measures, or alternative compliance approaches that could improve the feasibility of small-scale multifamily housing without reducing health and safety.
(D) Any administrative, permitting, inspection, or enforcement changes that would facilitate safe implementation of the recommended standards.
(E) Recommendations regarding whether code updates are warranted and, if so, recommendations for code updates for the residential developments evaluated in this section, based on the probabilistic and comparative risk analysis required by paragraph (1).
(b)
(e) No later than December 31, 2028, the department shall provide a one-time report of its findings to the Legislature include the completed study in the annual report required by Section 50408. 50408 and shall submit the completed study to the California Building Standards Commission for review.
(c)(1)
(f) Notwithstanding any other law, if the working group study identifies and recommends amendments to building standards in the report described in subdivision (b), standards, the Department of Housing and Community Development and other state agencies within the working group with authority to propose adoption of building standards shall research, develop, and consider proposing for adoption by the California Building Standards Commission such standards for the next triennial update of the California Building Standards Code (Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations) that occurs on or after January 1, 2027. after completion of the study.
(2)
(g) For the purposes of this subdivision, section, the Department of Housing and Community Development may exceed the scope and application of the International Residential Code as referenced in Section 17922 to evaluate whether to, and, if warranted, propose amendments to state building standards that would, allow residential developments of between 3 and 10 units to be designed and constructed under the requirements of the California Residential Code (Part 2.5 of Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations).
(d)
(h) (1) This section does not limit the application of the California Electrical Code (Part 3 of Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations), the California Mechanical Code (Part 4 of Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations), the California Plumbing Code (Part 5 of Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations), and the California Energy Code (Part 6 of Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations) to residential occupancies of any size.
(2) This section does not authorize the working group to propose study to recommend the expansion of the California Residential Code to include chapters in the International Residential Code that were not adopted in the 2025 edition of the California Residential Code due to duplication with other parts of the California Building Standards Code.
SEC. 2.SEC. 3.
17921.13.
(b)Commencing with the next triennial update of the California Building Standards Code (Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations) that occurs on or after January 1, 2031, and every three years thereafter, the Department of Housing and Community Development shall perform a review as described in subdivision (a) to revise or update standards, as needed.
Text of AB 1070 as amended, from the official record. Connect Plus keeps every version and highlights what changed.Compare versions