Since 1969, California has required that all local governments (cities and counties) adequately plan to meet the housing needs of everyone in the community. California’s local governments meet this requirement by adopting housing plans (aka housing elements) as part of their “general plan” (also required by the state). General plans serve as the local government’s "blueprint" for how the city and/or county will grow and develop and include seven elements: land use, transportation, conservation, noise, open space, safety, and housing.

Each jurisdiction (city council or board of supervisors) must prepare an annual progress report (APR) on the jurisdiction’s status and progress in implementing its housing element using forms and definitions adopted by the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD). (Government Code Section 65400.)

Each jurisdiction’s APR must be submitted to HCD and the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research (OPR) by April 1 of each year (covering the previous calendar year (CY).

New APR form and instructions - for calendar years 2018 through 2022

SB9 (2021), SB 290 (2021), AB 787 (2021), and AB 2094 (2022) added new data requirements for the Housing Element Annual Progress Reports (APRs). These changes are reflected in the new APR form and instructions, which are posted below.

To submit the new APR form to HCD and OPR:

  • Online Annual Progress Reporting System : This allows jurisdictions to upload directly into HCD’s database, eliminating the risk of errors. To use the online system, email  APR@hcd.ca.gov, and request login information for your jurisdiction. Please note: using the online system only provides the information to HCD. The APR must still be submitted to OPR through  OPR.APR@opr.ca.gov.
  • Email: Jurisdictions can email the new APR form to  APR@hcd.ca.gov and to  OPR.APR@opr.ca.gov. When using the email method, send the electronic version as an Excel workbook attachment. Do not send a scanned copy of the form. Sending APRs via email will count as a submittal. Please note: Government Code section 65400 also requires the submittal of a General Plan Annual Progress Report to both OPR and HCD. These can be emailed as above.

If you have any questions regarding the APR form or instructions, please contact HCD at  APR@hcd.ca.gov.

For guidance on how to submit the General Plan Annual Progress Report to OPR, please reference  OPR’s separate guidance and submittal requirements.

APR Form Covering Calendar Years 2017 and prior

For APRs covering CY 2017 and prior years, please email HCD at  APR@hcd.ca.gov to request the prior form and instructions.

To submit the prior APR form to HCD and OPR:

Online system: Jurisdictions may submit prior year APRs online using the  Online Annual Progress Reporting system. This is HCD’s preferred method of submission and reduces the possibility of data entry errors.

Email: Jurisdictions can email the prior APR form to  APR@hcd.ca.gov and to  OPR.APR@opr.ca.gov. When using the email method, send the electronic version as an Excel workbook attachment. Do not send a scanned copy of the form. Sending APRs via email will count as a submittal.

Housing and Local Land Development Opportunities

The Department of General Services (DGS) in partnership with the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) released an interactive public map of property identified by local governments to help developers find land for housing development. The Housing and Local Land Development Opportunity Map shows potential development sites identified in local housing elements (housing plans) adopted on or after January 1, 2021, and local surplus and excess sites as reported through the housing element annual progress reports.

Annual Progress Reports - Data Dashboard and Downloads | California Department of Housing and Community Development — This interactive dashboard displays data submitted on the APR.

Housing Element Annual Progress Report (APR) Data by Jurisdiction and Year - Datasets - California Open Data — Downloadable APR data in .csv format hosted on the California Open Data Portal.

View all APR data in one place and reformatted as easy-to-use graphs and charts with built-in filters for information customization. Raw data from APRs submitted since 2018 is also available for download.

APR Data Dashboard and Downloads

SB 35 Implementation

Please see Statutory Determinations for Limiting Jurisdictions’ Abilities to Restrict Development for the SB 35 determination and related documents.

Related Information: