Homeless Shelter Inspection Reporting Requirements

Assembly Bill 130 (Chapter 22, Statutes of 2025) (AB 130), amends California Health and Safety Code (HSC) regarding homeless shelter inspection and reporting requirements impacting HCD, the Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency (Agency), California cities/counties, and homeless shelter owners and operators, as of June 30, 2025.  

HSC, section 17974.1 requires that a city/county that receives a complaint from an occupant (or an agent of an occupant) of a homeless shelter that alleges a homeless shelter is substandard as specified in HSC, section 17920.3, shall do the following:

1. Inspect the homeless shelter or portion thereof intended for human occupancy that may be substandard pursuant to HSC, section 17920.3.
2. Identify whether the homeless shelter or any portion thereof intended for human occupancy is substandard pursuant to HSC, section 17920.3, as applicable. The documentation shall be included in the inspection report.
3. As applicable, advise the owner or operator of a homeless shelter of each violation and of each action that is required to be taken to remedy the violation. The city/county shall schedule a reinspection to verify correction of the violations.

If a homeless shelter is deemed substandard, the respective city/county will record the violation(s) and inform the homeless shelter owner/operator of each violation. The city/county shall also note the action necessary to remedy the violation within an established timeframe, as outlined in HSC, section 17974.1.

AB 130 expands the obligations of cities/counties to include performing an annual inspection of every homeless shelter within its jurisdiction to ensure compliance with the law, regardless of the funding sources of the shelter. Cities with a population under 100,000 may partner with their respective county to conduct an annual inspection.

Each city/county shall also submit a report annually to HCD and its Agency by April 1 each year as required by HSC, section 17974.5. Reports are required to be submitted to HCD and its Agency even if the city/county did not receive any homeless shelter complaints. Cities and counties are required to submit annual reports with all the following information:

1. The number of complaints received by the city/county, pursuant to HSC, section 17920.3, including if the city/county did not receive any complaints.
2. Any pending uncorrected violations determined by the city/county, pursuant to HSC, section 17974.1.
3. Any determinations by the city/county that conditions exist or existed that make or made the homeless shelter dangerous, hazardous, imminently detrimental to life or health, or otherwise render the homeless shelter unfit for human habitation.
4. A list of any emergency orders issued pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (c) of HSC, section 17974.1.
5. A list of any owners or operators who received three or more violations within any six-month period.
6. Any corrected violations from the prior year.

HCD encourages cities/counties to submit reports as early as possible and before the April 1 deadline in any given calendar year. Annual reports can be submitted using HCD’s Local Ordinance, Amendment, and Reports Portal.

AB 130 requires, pursuant to HSC, section 17974.1.5, all homeless shelter operators provide written information to new occupants during intake, display information related to occupant’s rights as well as the process for reporting substandard conditions pursuant to HSC, section 17920.3, and include the following contact information:

1. The owner or operator of the homeless shelter
2. The city/county
3. HCD

HSC, section 17974.4, prohibits a city/county from awarding or distributing state funding to the owner or operator of a homeless shelter if the city/county determines whether any of the following exist:

1. The owner or operator fails to correct any violations for which a notice of violation has been given within the time period specified in HSC, section 17974.2.
2. The owner or operator has failed to correct any violations, for which a notice of violation has been given, in a timely manner on multiple occasions.
3. The owner or operator has been cited for a violation that is an imminent threat to the health and safety of the occupants of the homeless shelter and the owner or operator fails to take sufficient action to correct the violation or prevent similar, future violations.

If a city/county applies for state funding to support the ongoing operations of a homeless shelter, the city/county shall disclose the status of any unresolved homeless shelter violations and provide the names of the homeless shelter owner or operator, consistent with its reporting in the annual report to HCD/Agency.

HCD/Agency may deem the owner or operator of a shelter ineligible for state funding for shelter operations for failure to meet the reporting requirements of the law. After the violation has been addressed and the owner or operator of the shelter has passed a subsequent inspection by the city/county, the owner or operator shall be eligible for state funding, pursuant to all eligibility criteria and requirements of the respective state funding program.

AB 130 requires HCD to withhold state funding from a city/county that fails to comply with the reporting requirements or fails to take action to correct any homeless shelter violation pursuant to HSC, section 17974.4. After the city/county complies with both the annual report requirement by submitting an annual report to HCD, and the requirement to take action to correct all homeless shelter violations, HCD may deem the jurisdiction eligible to receive state funding. For questions related to homeless shelter inspection reporting requirements, please email HSC17974.5Reports@hcd.ca.gov.