SECTIONS 50400-50409 - California Statutes

HEALTH AND SAFETY CODE

SECTION 50400-50409

50400. The Department of Housing and Community Development is
hereby continued in existence in the Business, Transportation, and
Housing Agency.

50400.5. Notwithstanding Section 13340 of the Government Code, or
any other provision of law, any money contained in the Rural
Predevelopment Loan Fund created pursuant to Section 50516, the
Predevelopment Loan Fund created pursuant to Section 50531, the
Housing Rehabilitation Loan Fund created pursuant to Section 50661,
the Homeownership Assistance Fund created pursuant to Section 50778,
and the Rental Housing Construction Fund created pursuant to Section
50740, is hereby continuously appropriated, without regard to fiscal
year, for any purposes authorized by statute. It is the intent of the
Legislature that this section also supersede the amounts
appropriated pursuant to Items 2240-101-635, 2240-101-929,
2240-101-936, 2240-101-938, and 2240-101-980, respectively, of the
Budget Act of 1984 (Ch. 258, Stats. 1984).

50401. The department shall be administered by an executive officer
known as the Director of Housing and Community Development. The
director shall be appointed by the Governor, subject to confirmation
by the Senate, and shall hold office at the pleasure of the Governor.
The director shall receive the annual salary provided for by Chapter
6 (commencing with Section 11550) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2
of the Government Code.

50402. The provisions of Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 11150)
of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code apply to
the department, and the director is the head of the department within
the meaning of such provisions. The director shall perform all
duties, exercise all powers, discharge all responsibility, and
administer and enforce all laws, rules, and regulations under the
jurisdiction of the department. The director shall keep all books and
records necessary for proper and efficient administration of the
department. In order to assist in the administration of the
department's loan and grant programs, the director may appoint
committees of department employees and public representatives, the
latter to serve without compensation except for reimbursement of
expenses pursuant to law.

50403. The Governor shall appoint, upon the recommendation of the
director, a deputy director. The deputy director shall hold office at
the pleasure of the director and shall receive a salary as shall be
fixed by the director with the approval of the Department of Finance.

50404. The work of the department shall be divided into the
following three divisions:
(a) The Division of Codes and Standards.
(b) The Division of Housing Policy Development.
(c) The Division of Financial Assistance.

50405. Each division shall be in the charge of a chief, under the
direction of the director. The chiefs shall be appointed, upon
recommendation by the director, by the Governor. Such division chiefs
shall hold office at the pleasure of the director, and shall receive
a salary as shall be fixed by the director with the approval of the
Department of Finance.

50405.2. The Division of Codes and Standards shall be divided into
two sections, the Housing Standards Section and the Manufactured
Housing Section. Each section shall be in the charge of an assistant
chief, under the direction of the chief. The assistant chiefs shall
be appointed, upon recommendation by the director, by the Governor.
Such assistant chief shall hold office at the pleasure of the
director, and shall receive a salary as shall be fixed by the
director with the approval of the Department of Finance.

50406. For the purposes of this division, the department has all of
the following powers:
(a) To sue and be sued in its own name.
(b) To have an official seal and to alter it at pleasure.
(c) To make and execute contracts and all other instruments
necessary or convenient for the exercise of its powers and functions.
(d) To employ architects, planners, engineers, attorneys,
accountants, experts in housing construction, management and finance,
and any other advisers, consultants, and agents necessary for the
performance of its functions and to fix their compensation in
accordance with applicable law.
(e) To provide advice, technical information, and consultative and
technical services as provided in this division.
(f) To establish, revise from time to time, and charge and collect
fees and charges for services provided pursuant to this division.
(g) To accept gifts, grants, or loans of funds or property, or
financial or other aid, from any federal or state agency or private
source and to comply with conditions thereof not contrary to law.
(h) To enter into agreements or other transactions with any
governmental agency, including an agreement for administration of a
housing or community development program of the governmental agency
by the department, or for administration by another governmental
agency of a program of the department, either in whole or in part.
(i) To enter into any agreements and perform any acts necessary to
obtain subsidies for use in connection with the exercise of powers
and functions of the department, and to transfer those subsidies to
others as required by the agreement.
(j) To appear in its own behalf before boards, commissions,
departments, or other agencies of local, state, or federal
government.
(k) To establish any regional offices necessary to effectuate the
department's purposes and functions.
( l) To acquire real or personal property, or any interest
therein, on either a temporary or long-term basis, in its own name by
gift, purchase, transfer, foreclosure, lease, option, or otherwise,
including easements or other incorporeal rights in property.
(m) To provide bilingual staff in connection with services of the
department and make available departmental publications in a language
other than English when necessary to effectively serve groups for
which the services or publications are made available.
(n) To do any and all things necessary to carry out its purposes
and exercise the powers expressly granted by this division.
(o) (1) To sell real property acquired by the department in a
foreclosure, by deed in lieu of foreclosure, or sale under a power of
sale on a deed of trust, lien, or by exercise of any other security
interest on real property securing repayment of a loan or performance
under a grant or loan made by the department. Real property so
acquired shall be sold for market value and sale proceeds shall be
placed in the fund from which the secured loan or grant was made.
(2) The department may establish terms, conditions, and
restrictions for the sale of real property, including a requirement
that the real property be used for housing for persons and families
of low or moderate income, and those terms, conditions, and
restrictions shall be set forth in the deed or other instrument of
conveyance.
(3) The department may conduct the sale, utilize the assistance of
any local public agency authorized to conduct sales of real
property, contract with a licensed real estate broker to conduct the
sale, or utilize other reasonable marketing methods if the department
determines that one of these options will result in a more prompt or
cost-efficient sale.
(4) If the director offers to sell residential real property
directly pursuant to this subdivision, the department shall close
escrow within 120 days after both of the following have occurred: a
qualified buyer has received approval of the department; and the
buyer has obtained adequate financing for the purchase. If the
deadline set forth in this paragraph is not met, the director shall
employ a licensed real estate broker in connection with the proposed
sale. The department may exceed the time requirements of this
paragraph if the director finds that this is necessary due to factors
outside the control of the department, including death of the buyer,
inability of the borrower to qualify for financing from a lender,
substantial damage to the property resulting from a natural disaster
or other act of God, or extraordinary procedural requirements or
conditions imposed by the lender or title and escrow company.
(5) The director shall perform all of the actions specified in
subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C) within 30 days after both of the
following have occurred: a qualified buyer has received approval of
the department; and the buyer has obtained adequate financing for the
purchase.
(A) Identify repair work needed to be performed on the property.
(B) Cause an appraisal of the property to be completed.
(C) Determine whether it is appropriate to rent the property until
it is sold.
(6) Sales of real property made pursuant to this section are not
subject to the requirements of Sections 11011 and 11011.1 of the
Government Code.
(7) Failure to comply with this subdivision shall not invalidate
any right, title, or interest acquired by a bona fide purchaser or
encumbrancer for value.

50406.2. Notwithstanding any other provision of the law, the
department may enter into long-term contracts or agreements for not
more than 30 years for the purpose of servicing loans or grants or
enforcing regulatory agreements or other security documents entered
into pursuant to this part.

50406.5. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the
department may make advance payments to eligible borrowers and
grantees under any loan or grant programs for housing established
pursuant to this part, if the department makes all of the following
determinations:
(1) The advance payments are necessary to meet the purposes of the
housing program.
(2) The advance payments are necessary for the feasibility of the
assisted housing.
(3) The use of the advanced funds is adequately regulated by
contract or budgetary controls so that the opportunity to accrue
interest on the funds is not unnecessarily reduced.
(b) The department may enter into regulatory agreements to ensure
that there is adequate financial security for the funds from which
those advance payments are made.

50407. The department is the principal state department responsible
for coordinating federal-state relationships in housing and
community development, except for housing finance. The department is
the principal state department responsible for implementation of the
California Statewide Housing Plan. The department shall continually
evaluate the impact upon the state of federal policies and programs
affecting housing and community development and encourage full
utilization of federal programs available for assisting the residents
of this state, the private housing industry, and local public
entities in satisfying housing and community development needs in
this state. The department shall encourage and assist housing and
community development in rural areas and among Indian residents of
the state. The department shall encourage mutual self-help projects,
home management training, and relocation assistance. The department
shall promote maximum utilization of federal subsidies available to
meet housing needs of very low income households and other persons
and families of low or moderate income, or both. The department shall
assist communities and persons to avail themselves of state housing
programs.

50408. (a) On or before December 31 of each year, the department
shall 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,
including, but not limited to, the Emergency Housing and Assistance
Program and Community Development Block Grant activity.
(b) The report shall include all of the following information:
(1) The number of units assisted by those programs.
(2) The number of individuals and households served and their
income levels.
(3) The distribution of units among various areas of the state.
(4) The amount of other public and private funds leveraged by the
assistance provided by those programs.
(5) Information detailing the assistance provided to various
groups of persons by programs that are targeted to assist those
groups.
(6) The information required to be reported pursuant to Section
17031.8.

50409. Except where the department is specifically vested by this
part or by any other provision of law with the authority to adopt
rules and regulations, and except as provided in Section 18930, the
commission may adopt, amend, and repeal rules and regulations
reasonably necessary to carry out this part or by any other provision
of law. Any rules and regulations of the commission in effect on
September 26, 1975, shall remain in effect until amended or repealed
except that building standards, as defined in Section 18909, shall
remain in effect only until January 1, 1985, or until adopted,
amended, repealed, or superseded by building standards adopted and
published in the California Building Standards Code pursuant to the
provisions of Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 18935) of Part 2.5
of Division 13, whichever occurs sooner.