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Employee Housing
Activities
State law known as the Employee Housing Act, establishes the California Department of Housing and Community Development, Division of Codes and Standards, as the primary agency to carry out the provisions of the Act. In carrying out the Act, the Department must adopt regulations, conduct inspections and investigations, prepare annual and periodic statistical reports to the legislature, and evaluate the performance of local agencies who elect to assume responsibility for enforcement of the Act and Department regulations within their respective jurisdictions. The Department's specific activities include:
- Development and adoption of regulations into the California Code of Regulations, Title 25, Division 1, Chapter 1, Subchapter 3. (CCR, T25)
- Issuance of new permits to operate employee housing and annual renewals which include invoicing the employee housing operators, receiving and banking fees, ordering field inspections, completing and mailing permits, and maintaining all records of the foregoing.
- Inspecting employee housing prior to occupancy to assure compliance with the maintenance requirements of CCR, T25 as well as the applicable portions of the California Building Standards Code.
- Inspecting employee housing during occupancy to assure compliance with the use, maintenance, and occupancy requirements of CCR, T25 as well as the applicable portions of the California Building Standards Code.
- Investigating complaints of violations of the Employee Housing Act and CCR, T25.
- Investigating complaints of nonenforcement of the Employee Housing Act and CCR, T25 by local enforcement agencies that have assumed enforcement of the Employee Housing Act. NOTE: Any city, county, or city and county may assume responsibility for enforcement of the Employee Housing Act upon written notice to, and approval by the Department [HSC §17050(b)]. Where a local enforcement agency has not assumed enforcement responsibility, or enforcement has been taken away from a local enforcement agency because of nonenforcement, the Department is the enforcement agency [HSC §17050].
- In each jurisdiction where a local agency is the enforcement agency, the Department conducts annual evaluations of the local enforcement agency's performance to enforce the Employee Housing Act and CCR, T25 as well as the California Building Standards Code.
- Responding to written and telephone inquiries and concerns from legislators' offices, local enforcement agencies, employee housing operators and occupants, and advocates for employee housing occupants (generally agricultural workers).