Welcome to the Department of Housing and Community Development

Right Column

Using the HCD Website

Thank-you for visiting the world-wide-web home of California's Department of Housing and Community Development. As a part of the California State Government "My California" web portal (www.ca.gov), HCD's website provides a point of direct access to Departmental services and information.

Please use the information here for information and assistance in the use of HCD's website. If your questions and concerns are not addressed by the information presented here, please use our online comment submittal form.

Refer to the following linked table of contents to locate the topic you are interested in:

Site Structure & Navigationtop

Highlights and Features. The HCD website is designed to quickly connect a diverse audience to a wide variety of information, resources, and services. This design goal is generally accomplished by highlighting the most popular and commonly used features of the website. The Department keeps track of which resources receive the most usage, and arranges the website to make these resources readily available. The website "home" page lists these resources prominently under the heading "Highlights and Features."

Important Resources. Also displayed prominently on the website home page are graphical icons which link directly to those services for which quick and convenient access is most critical. These services include online renewal of mobilehome registration and online searches of mobilhome park titles for those with requestor accounts.

Special Interest. On the right side of the HCD website home page are graphical elements and text which link to items of statewide or more general interest, including some items which are made available across the My California portal. Watch this area for features highlighting outstanding examples of affordable housing projects.

Categorized Links. The left side margin of the HCD website home page presents links which remain consistent and available throughout the entire site, for your convenience. These links may be used to jump quickly to portions of the site based primarily on categorical topics. These topics include "The Department," "Resources," and "What's New."

  • Use links under "The Department" to learn more about the Department and its divisions: Codes and Standards, Division of Financial Assistance, and Housing Policy Development; or to explore employment opportunities at HCD, submit your questions and comments, or to contact the Department directly.
  • Use the "Resources" category to search for information and service offerings based on key areas of HCD's mission and duties: affordable housing, building codes and standards, loans and grants, redevelopment agencies, etc. These links will take the user to pages presenting particular stand-alone features themselves or links to more specific items.
  • Keep up to date on important Department-related news and new site features by checking the links under the "What's New" category. Special events, press releases, and important, time-sensitive information will always be made available here.

Main Pages & Search. Using the features of the top of the HCD website, you may link from anywhere within the website directly to the HCD home page, the home page of HCD's parent agency, Business, Transportation, and Housing, or to the main My California page. In addition, the search field in the upper right-hand portion of the website allows for searches of documents within the entire My California portal for keywords of your choice.

Site Content & Document Formatstop

Normal (HTML) Documents. The HCD website is structured as a series of HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) documents. HTML documents are intended to be viewed in a standard website browser, such as Microsoft Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator. Each of these browsers may be downloaded from the website of the respective manufacturers and used free of charge. While every effort has been made to make the My California Portal and the HCD website compatible and accessible to as wide an audience as possible, the structure of the website includes elements which may not be compatible with older versions of these browsers. These elements include the use of JPEG and GIF formatted images, Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), and JavaScript functions. To ensure compatibility with these elements, HCD recommends the use of browser versions equivalent or newer than Netscape Navigator 4.75, Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0. For users of browsers other than Microsoft Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator, the Department recommends browsers that support the use of images, tables, cascading style sheets (CSS), and JavaScript.

Proprietary Document Formats. In addition to HTML, much of the information available through the HCD website is offered as stand-alone documents in electronic formats more appropriate to their native hard copy (print-able) design. These include Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF file extension), Microsoft Word (DOC file extension), Microsoft Excel (XLS file extension), and Microsoft PowerPoint (PPT file extension). In order to view documents presented in these formats, the user must have installed on their personal computer the full version of each software product (i.e., Adobe Acrobat, Microsoft Word, Excel, or PowerPoint), or the free reader associated with each type of file format. Document readers for each of the document formats presented through the HCD website may be downloaded free of charge as follows:

Online Servicestop

In addition to the presentation of static information, the HCD website also includes applications which allow users to interactively access specific Departmental functions and services. These interactive applications include online renewal of mobilehome registration, title and escrow notice searches for requestor accounts, and online reporting for local Redevelopment Agencies.

Some of these applications, particularly those which include the transmittal of personal information over the Internet, make use of secure (encrypted) electronic data transfer protocols. To accommodate these protocols, the end-user of the application in question must use a web browser which is capable of 128-bit data encryption. The encryption level supported by a particular browser can typically be found under the 'help' topic of the browser's main menu bar. If your browser does not support 128-bit encryption, an upgrade can often be obtained from the website of the browser's manufacturer.

Some of the applications presented through the HCD website are presented such that they require a new web browser instance to be launched from the current session. The launching of new browser windows may sometimes be prevented if you have installed "ad-killer" software—utilities meant to block unsolicited pop-up style advertisements. The preferences for such applications may usually be altered by the end-user to allow for new browser sessions to be launched from specific websites, or based on whether the new browser session was requested via a link clicked by the user.

Site Maintenancetop

The Department of Housing and Community Development strives to make this website and the resources it offers available at all times. At times, however, unforeseeable events such as power outages or equipment failures may result in periods of non-availability. In such events, we ask for your patience as we attend to the problem. During normal business hours (8:00AM to 5:00PM Monday through Friday) any periods of non-availability should be very brief. If the website or portions of the site are not available during normal business hours, please be assured that Department staff are working to correct the problem.

Certain aspects of maintaining the HCD website require that, on occasion, the website be taken "off-line" for short periods. The Department schedules such periods for the third Friday of each month, beginning at 5:00PM. During these periods, the website may be unavailable for times ranging from 1 to 6 hours.

Conditions of Usetop

Thank you for visiting the Department of Housing and Community Development's ("Department") web site and reviewing our Use Policy. You should also be aware that the Department has a privacy policy, also available on this web site. The Department wants you to know about the collection, use, security, and access to information that may be obtained through use of the Department's web portal. By visiting this web site, you are accepting the policies and practices described in this Notice. This notice covers the following topics:

  • Personal Information and Choice
  • A Special Note about Children
  • Information Collected and how it is Used
  • What Happens to Information You Submit to Us
  • If You Send us Email
  • Public Disclosure
  • Personal Information
  • Automatic Collection of Information/Cookies
  • Security
  • Links to Other States
  • Limitation of Liability
  • Ownership

Please note that this Use Policy is subject to change without notice, and that it reflects the Department's currently business practices. This policy is dated March 8, 2001.

Personal Information And Choice

"Personal information" is information about a natural person that identifies or describes an individual, including, but not limited to, his or her name, social security number, physical description, home address, home telephone number, education, financial matters, and medical or employment history, readily identifiable to that specific individual. A domain name or Internet Protocol address is not considered personal information, however, it is considered "electronically collected personal information."

According to Government Code § 11015.5, "Electronically collected personal information" means any information that is maintained by an agency that identifies or describes an individual user, including, but not limited to, his or her name, social security number, physical description, home address, home telephone number, education, financial matters, medical or employment history, password, electronic mail address, and information that reveals any network location or identity, but excludes any information manually submitted to a state agency by a user, whether electronically or in written form, and information on or relating to individuals who are users, serving in a business capacity, including, but not limited to, business owners, officers, or principals of that business. "Electronically collected personal information" we automatically collect includes your domain name or Internet Protocol address, and statistical information about which web pages you visit. If you voluntarily participate in an activity that asks for specific information, more detailed data will be collected. If you choose not to participate in these activities, your choice will in no way affect your ability to use any other feature of the web site.

If any type of personal information is requested on the web site or volunteered by the user, state law, including the Information Practices Act of 1977, Government Code Section 11015.5, and the federal Privacy Act of 1974 may protect it. However, this information may be a public record once you provide it, and may be subject to public inspection and copying if not otherwise protected by federal or state law.

Additionally, departments and agencies of the State of California are required to adhere to the Privacy Policy which is also accessible on this web site. Please see Department of General Services Management Memo 00-14, effective January 1, 2001.

A Special Note About Children

Children are not eligible to use services that require submission of personal information and we require that minors (under the age of 18) do not submit any personal information to us. This includes submitting personal information to the Department as part of a user profile or personalization profile. If you are a minor, you can use these services only if used together with your parents or guardians. If you are a minor you should seek guidance from your parents.

If the Department decides to begin collecting personal information from children, it will notify parents that it is being requested, disclose the reasons for collecting it, and disclose our intended use for it. The Department will seek parental consent before collecting any personally identifiable information. If it does collect it, parents may request information on the type of data being collected, view their child's information and, if they choose, prohibit the Department from making further use of their child's information. The Department will not provide personal information about children to third parties.

Information Collected And How It Is Used

We do collect personal information directly from individuals who volunteer to use some of our services. Collection of this information is required to deliver the specific services, but use of these services is voluntary. If you do nothing during your visit to the web site, but browse or download information, we automatically collect and store the following information about your visit:

  1. The Internet Protocol Address and domain address used but not the email address. The Internet Protocol address is a numerical identifier assigned either to your Internet service provider or directly to your computer. We use the Internet Protocol Address to direct Internet traffic to you and generate statistics used in the management of this site;
  2. The type of browser and operating system you used;
  3. The date and time you visited this site; and
  4. The web pages or services you accessed at this site.

The information we automatically collect or store is used to improve the content of our web services and to help us understand how people are using our services. This information does not identify you personally and is used for gathering web site statistics. The information we automatically collect and store in our logs about your visit helps us to analyze our web site to continually improve the value of the materials available. Our web site logs do not identify a visitor by personal information, and we make no attempt to link other web sites with the individuals that browse the Department's web site.

Government Code § 11015.5 (6) prohibits all state agencies from distributing or selling any electronically collected personal information, as defined above, about users to any third party without the permission of the user. The Department may provide or distribute certain lists and statistical reports of regulatory information as provided by law. All relevant legal protections still apply to the Department's web sites. The Department does not sell any "electronically collected personal information" other than bulk information regarding the registration and title status of manufactured homes, mobilehomes, commercial coaches, truck campers and floating homes for statistical purposes.

What Happens To Information You Submit To Us?

If you choose to submit information to us the information will be transmitted through secure lines to our Departmental database. Any private information will only be used for the purposes for which it was provided and will not be shared with another entity except as prescribed by law. Please see our Privacy Policy for additional information.

If You Send Us Email

You may choose to provide us with personal information, as in email with a comment or question. We use the information to improve our service to you or to respond to your request. Sometimes we forward your email to other State employees who may be better able to help you, and this staff may be employed by a different agency within the State. Except for authorized law enforcement investigations or as required by law, we do not share our email with any other organizations.

We use your email to respond appropriately. This may be to respond to you, to address issues you identify, to further improve our web site, or to forward the email to another agency for appropriate action.

Public Disclosure

In the State of California, laws exist to ensure that government is open and that the public has a right to access appropriate records and information possessed by state government. At the same time, there are exceptions to the public's right to access public records. These exceptions serve various needs including maintaining the privacy of individuals. Both state and federal laws provide exceptions.

All information collected at this site becomes public record that may be subject to inspection and copying by the public, unless an exemption in law exists. In the event of a conflict between this Use Policy and the Public Records Act, the Information Practices Act or other law governing the disclosure of records, the Public Records Act, the Information Practices Act or other applicable law will control.

Personal Information

Under Government Code § 11015.5, if you choose you may have any personal information collected about you discarded without reuse or distribution, provided we are contacted in a timely fashion.

Automatic Collection of Information/Cookies

Cookies are simple text files stored on your computer by your web browser. This site does not use cookies.

Security

The Department, as developer and manager of this web site, has taken several steps to safeguard the integrity of its telecommunications and computing infrastructure, including but not limited to monitoring, auditing, and encryption. Security measures have been integrated into the design, implementation and day-to-day practices of the entire Department's operating environment as part of its continuing commitment to risk management. This information should not be construed in any way as giving business, legal, or other advice, or warranting as fail proof, the security of information provided via the Department's supported web site. The technical standards governing security are enforced by the Department of Information Technology.

Links to Other Sites

Our web site has links to sites we felt might be useful to you and which may provide services. When you link to another site, you are no longer on our site and are subject to the privacy policy of the new site.

This web site and the information it contains are provided as a public service by the Department. This system is monitored to ensure proper operation, to verify the functioning of applicable security features, and for comparable purposes. Anyone using this system expressly consents to such monitoring. Unauthorized attempts to modify any information stored on this system, to defeat or circumvent security features, or to utilize this system for other than its intended purposes are prohibited and may result in criminal prosecution.

Limitation Of Liability

The Department attempts to maintain the highest accuracy of content on its web site. Any errors or omissions should be reported for investigation.

The Department makes no claims, promises or guarantees about the absolute accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the contents of this web site and expressly disclaims liability for errors and omissions in the contents of this web site. No warranty of any kind, implied, expressed or statutory, including but not limited to the warranties of non-infringement of third party rights, title, merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose and freedom from computer virus, is given with respect to the contents of this web site or its hyperlinks to other Internet resources. Reference in this web site to any specific commercial products, processes, or services, or the use of any trade, firm or corporation name is for the information and convenience of the public, and does not constitute endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the Department, or their employees or agents.

This Use Policy is subject to change without notice.

Ownership

In general, information presented on this web site, unless otherwise indicated, is considered in the public domain. It may be distributed or copied as permitted by law. However, the Department does make use of copyrighted data (e.g., photographs) which may require additional permissions prior to your use. Furthermore, the unique branding of the site and various official seals and marks may not be used without permission of the Department. In order to use any information on this web site not owned or created by the Department you must seek permission directly from the owning (or holding) sources. The Department shall have the unlimited right to use for any purpose, free of any charge, all information submitted via this site except those submissions made under separate legal contract. The Department shall be free to use, for any purpose, any ideas, concepts, or techniques contained in information provided through this site.

Site Contact

Questions regarding this policy should be directed to the Information Technology Project Manager, Department of Housing and Community Development, (916) 324-7962.

Privacy Policytop

This statement addresses the collection, use, and security of and access to information that may be obtained from or by the Department of Housing and Community Development ("Department").

Internet and Other Information Collected and How it is Used

The Department does not collect names, home, business or e-mail addresses, telephone numbers, or account information from contacts we receive over the Internet. We collect this information only if it is voluntarily provided to us through e-mail, surveys, or forms.

Through our web server software we automatically collect and store the following information about an individual's visit on the Internet:

  1. The Protocol Address and domain address used but not the e-mail address. The Internet Protocol Address is a numerical identifier assigned either to the individual's Internet service provider or directly to his or her computer;
  2. The type of browser and operating system an individual used;
  3. The date and time an individual visited our site;
  4. The web pages an individual accessed at our site.

The information we collect on the Internet is used to improve the content of our web services and to help us understand how people are using our services. Our web site logs are not personally identifiable and we make no attempt to link them with the individuals who browse our website.

The Department also collects names, home, business or e-mail addresses, and other information for the purposes of registration and titling, occupational licensing, administering other codes and standards programs, administering Division of Financial Assistance programs, and administering the Department's internal affairs. This information is collected through various means, which may include in-person, telephonically, or by mail.

Information Related to the Registration of Manufactured Housing

The Department is responsible for the registration and titling of manufactured homes, mobilehomes, commercial coaches, truck campers, and floating homes. Information gathered from forms in-person, telephonically, or by mail is used for the expressed purpose of processing a request and/or carrying out the purposes of specific statutes. Health and Safety Code section 18081.3 allows the Department to provide bulk information regarding the registration and title status of manufactured homes, mobilehomes, commercial coaches, truck campers, and floating homes for statistical or commercial purposes. However, Health and Safety Code section 18081.3(b) expressly excludes the name or names of the registered owner from being provided.

The Department will not sell information for the purpose of creating a mailing list for solicitations. In addition, while any person may review the titling status of any particular mobilehome, the home address of the registered owner appearing in the information on current registration and title status is confidential if the owner requests confidentiality of that information. The owner requesting confidentiality of his or her home address shall provide the Department with a mailing address which is not confidential, which will be open to public inspection, and which may be used for mailings by the Department.

Information Related to Occupational Licensing

The Department is responsible for the licensing of manufactured home, mobile home, and commercial coach manufacturers, distributors, dealers, and salespersons. The California Code of Regulations, title 25, section 5071 allows the Department to release the following information regarding license status: names (including all fictitious or business names), business address and telephone number, names of all principals and offices held, date of original licensure, date the license expires, expired, lapsed, or was terminated and if applicable, the reason for termination, the name of the employing dealer if the license is a salesperson's license, and any information about the employer as listed above.

Names and addresses of persons applying for licenses may also be released for the sole purpose of providing those persons with informational materials relating to available professional educational materials or courses. In addition, the Department may also provide information regarding noncompliance and complaints, violations substantiated by the Department, and disciplinary action taken against any licensee to any person requesting such information. The Department may also disclose statistical data of a summary nature that does not identify an individual licensee, if the Department considers the information to be informative to consumers.

Information Maintained by Other Division of Codes and Standards Programs

In addition to the Occupational Licensing and Registration and Titling Programs, the Division of Codes and Standards also administers six other programs. These programs include the following: Manufactured Housing Program, Factory Built Housing Program, Mobilehome Parks Program, Employee Housing Program, State Housing Law Program, and Code Enforcement Incentive Program. These programs may involve enforcement of laws and regulations, issuing permits, or providing financial grants to cities and counties to improve their building code enforcement and other activities. This division maintains applications for grants, permits, records of consumer complaints, and other program-related information.

Information Maintained by the Division of Financial Assistance

The Department administers a variety of loan and grant programs for housing and community development through the Division of Financial Assistance. This division maintains various information which may include tenant/applicant information gathered for programs administered by the division and applications for loans and grants.

Information Related to the Department's Administration/Personnel Records

The Department will not disclose personnel, medical, or similar files where disclosure would constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, unless there is express written permission from the individual to whom the information pertains. The Department is also prohibited from disclosing home addresses and home telephone numbers of its employees unless the request falls under the exceptions enumerated in Government Code section 6254.3 et seq. allowing disclosure. Pursuant to Government Code section 6254.3(b), upon written request by an employee, the Department will not disclose the employee's home address or home telephone number to an employee organization organized pursuant to regulations and decisions of the Public Employment Relations Board and the Department will remove the employee's home address and home telephone number from any mailing list maintained by the Department, unless the list is used exclusively by the Department to contact the employee.

Public Disclosure and Personal Information

In accordance with the Public Records Act, Government Code section 6253(a), some information collected by the Department is considered public information and may be subject to inspection. Government Code section 6254 et seq. enumerates the exemptions to this public disclosure obligation. One such exemption is personal information where disclosure of which would constitute an unwarranted invasion of privacy. Another exemption includes records where the disclosure of which is exempted or prohibited pursuant to federal or state law, including, but not limited to provisions of the Evidence Code relating to privilege.

"Personal information" is information about a natural person that is readily identifiable to that specific individual. Personal information includes such things as an individual's name, address, phone number, social security number, education, financial matters, and medical or employment history. Personally identifiable information may only be obtained through lawful means. The Department collects no personal information over the Internet unless an individual voluntarily participates in an activity that asks for information (i.e. completing an "HCD Comments Form") and we will not disclose, make available, or otherwise use for purposes other than those specified, any personal information other than that which is required by law or unless an individual consents to disclosure of that information. Furthermore, all personal data collected shall be relevant to the purpose for which it is needed, will only be used for the purposes for which it was provided, and will not be shared with another entity except as prescribed by law.

If personal information is requested or volunteered, the California Information Practices Act of 1977, Government Code section 11015.5, and the Federal Privacy Act of 1974 may protect it. However, this information may constitute a public record once an individual provides it, and may be subject to public inspections and copying if not protected by federal or state law.

"Electronically collected personal information" is information that identifies or describes an individual user and includes an individual's name, social security number, physical description, home address, home telephone number, education, financial matters, medical or employment history, password, electronic mail address, and information that reveals any network location or identity. Electronically collected personal information excludes any information manually submitted and also excludes information on or relating to individuals who communicate electronically while serving in a business capacity, including, but not limited to, business owners, officers, or principals of that business.

Electronically collected personal information is exempt from requests made pursuant to the California Public Records Act under Government Code section 11015.5(a)(7). California is also prohibited by law from selling or otherwise distributing to third parties personal information collected by electronic means other than the bulk information described under "Information Related to the Registration of Manufactured Housing" unless the individual consents in writing.

An individual has the option of having his or her electronically collected personal information discarded without reuse or distribution, provided that the appropriate agency official or employee is contacted after notice is given. The appropriate agency official at the present time is the Information Security Officer.

The Department may also withhold information where the public interest served by not disclosing the record clearly outweighs the public interest served by disclosure of the record.

Security Measures for Protection of Information

The Department has security measures in place to protect against loss, misuse, unauthorized access, or alteration of the information under its control. One of these measures is the use of a Secure Socket Layer, which encrypts message transmissions. The Secure Socket Layer works with an individual's browser and the receiving Internet site to scramble the message while it is transported through the Internet.

Transactions requiring payment and/or confidential information require the use of a 128 bit encryption standard Secure Socket Layer.

Information that is physically located within the Department is protected by various security measures which may include the following: access to confidential or sensitive information only by authorized individuals; secured entry to the different divisions that maintain the information; storage of confidential information in locked desks, file cabinets, and/or rooms; storage of confidential data files on floppy disks which are then stored in locked desks or file cabinets; saving confidential files to a private drive on the Local Access Network; and computer password protection of confidential data files.

Unauthorized Use/Access of the Department's Computing System

The Department's computing system is operated by the State of California and is for official use only. In the normal course of system monitoring, individuals with unauthorized access or unauthorized use are subject to having their activities monitored. If such monitoring reveals possible evidence of criminal activity, further legal action may be taken in accordance with Section 502 of the California Penal Code and/or applicable federal law.

Internet Disclaimer

The Department's web site has links to other web sites. These include links to web sites operated by other government agencies, nonprofit organizations and private businesses. When an individual links to another site, he or she is no longer on the Department's web site. When an individual links to another web site he or she is subject to the privacy policy of that new site.

Neither the State of California, nor any agency, officer, or employee of the State of California warrants the accuracy, reliability or timeliness of any information published by this system, nor endorses any content, viewpoints, products or services linked from this system, and shall not be held liable for any losses caused by reliance on the accuracy, reliability or timeliness of such information. Portions of such information may be incorrect or not current. Any person or entity that relies on any information obtained from this system does so at his or her own risk.

Questions

Questions regarding this policy should be addressed to the:

Information Security Officer
Legal Affairs Division
Department of Housing and Community Development
P.O. Box 952052
Sacramento, CA, 94252-2052
(916) 323-7288.