Four ways we work. One mission.

Much of what we do starts with someone trying to figure out a path forward. A family weighing whether the home they want is even allowed where they live. A homeowner unsure whether their contractor is licensed. A worker who wasn't paid. We help them understand their situation and their options, in plain language.

• Help understanding what's allowed to build, what it costs, and how to finance it
• Guidance for homeowners and workers when a contractor causes harm
• Connecting people to the right agency, legal aid, or licensed professional

Individual problems are often symptoms of something larger. Upstream, we help cities and counties shape the standards and rules that let good housing get built and financed. Downstream, we help people navigate the processes meant to protect them, and we bring the patterns we see to the agencies with the power to act. The goal is a system that prevents harm and catches it earlier, not just one case resolved.

• Working with local governments on housing standards and consumer protections
• Helping people reach the agencies that regulate the industry
• Documenting patterns across cases so regulators can see what a single complaint can't show

Good decisions need more than raw numbers, and much of what matters here has never been counted. We gather it, make sense of it, and turn it into something people can act on: what it takes to build alternative housing legally and affordably, and what the losses and patterns look like when things go wrong. Then we publish, so anyone can read it, cite it, and use it.

• Analysis of what helps and what blocks housing from being built and financed
• Documentation of losses and patterns across California communities
• Public, nonpartisan findings anyone can read and cite

The best protection is knowing what to look for before anything goes wrong. We translate complex rules (permitting, licensing, financing, alternative housing) into guidance a person can actually use, and we make it freely available to individuals, communities, and the public officials writing the rules.

• Plain-language guides on building legally, financing, and avoiding fraud
• Model ordinance language and technical references for local governments
• A growing library of free, downloadable resources