(a) In all civil actions, including, but not limited to, actions brought pursuant to Section 21167 of the Public Resources Code, brought by any plaintiff to challenge a housing project which is a development project, as defined by Section 65928 of the Government Code, and which meets or exceeds the requirements for low- or moderate-income housing as set forth in Section 65915 of the Government Code, a defendant may, if the bringing of the action or the seeking by the plaintiff of particular relief including, but not limited to, injunctions, has the effect of preventing or delaying the project from being carried out, apply to the court by noticed motion for an order requiring the plaintiff to furnish an undertaking as security for costs and any damages that may be incurred by the defendant by the conclusion of the action or proceeding as the result of a delay in carrying out the development project. The motion shall be made on the grounds that the action is without merit and that the action was brought in bad faith, vexatiously, for the purpose of delay, or to thwart the low- or moderate-income nature of the housing development project.
§ 529.2.Undertaking By Plaintiff In Action Challenging Housing Project
Title 7. Other Provisional Remedies In Civil Actions · Chapter 3. Injunction · Last amended 2025 · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 529.2 lets a defendant in a low- or moderate-income housing development case ask the court to order the plaintiff to post an undertaking, capped at five hundred thousand dollars, when the lawsuit or its requested relief is delaying the project and was brought without merit and in bad faith or to thwart the affordable housing.
Full Text of § 529.2
(b) In responding to a motion for undertaking, the plaintiff may seek to limit the amount of the undertaking by presenting admissible evidence that filing an undertaking will cause it, and in cases where the plaintiff is an unincorporated association, its members, to suffer undue economic hardship. If the court, after hearing, determines that the grounds for the motion have been established, the court shall order that the plaintiff file the undertaking in an amount specified in the court's order, taking into consideration any admitted evidence of plaintiff's economic hardship and avoiding causing the plaintiff to suffer undue economic hardship, as security for costs and damages of the defendant. The liability of the plaintiff pursuant to this section for the costs and damages of the defendant shall not exceed five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000). If the court concludes, based on all of the admissible evidence presented, that a bond in any amount would cause the plaintiff undue economic hardship, the court is authorized in its discretion to decline to impose a bond.
(c) If at any time after the plaintiff has filed an undertaking the housing development plan is changed by the developer in bad faith so that it fails to meet or exceed the requirements for low- or moderate-income housing as set forth in Section 65915 of the Government Code, the developer shall be liable to the plaintiff for the cost of obtaining the undertaking.
Plain-English Summary
Section 529.2 gives developers of qualifying low- or moderate-income housing a tool against lawsuits designed to delay their projects. If a plaintiff's suit, or the relief the plaintiff is seeking, has the effect of holding up a housing development that meets the income-restriction thresholds in Government Code § 65915, the defendant can move for an order requiring the plaintiff to post an undertaking — but only by showing the lawsuit is without merit and was brought in bad faith, vexatiously, for delay, or to undermine the project's affordable-housing character.
Unlike § 529.1's construction-delay bond, this section gives the plaintiff a chance to push back on the amount: the plaintiff can present admissible evidence that posting a bond would cause undue economic hardship, including hardship to the members of an unincorporated association. The court must weigh that evidence in setting the bond, and if it concludes any bond amount would cause undue hardship, it can decline to require one at all. When a bond is ordered, total liability is capped at five hundred thousand dollars.
The statute also protects against gamesmanship on the developer's side: if the developer changes the housing plan in bad faith after the plaintiff has already posted the bond, so the project no longer meets the affordable-housing thresholds, the developer becomes liable to the plaintiff for the cost of obtaining that bond.
Frequently Asked Questions
When can a defendant seek a bond under § 529.2?
When a lawsuit or the relief sought is delaying a qualifying low- or moderate-income housing project, and the defendant shows the suit is without merit and was brought in bad faith, vexatiously, for delay, or to thwart the project's affordable-housing character.
Can the plaintiff avoid posting a large bond by showing financial hardship?
Yes. The plaintiff can present evidence that the bond would cause undue economic hardship, and the court can reduce the amount or decline to require a bond at all if any amount would cause that hardship.
Is there a cap on the bond amount?
Yes, five hundred thousand dollars in total liability for the defendant's costs and damages.
What if the developer changes the project after the bond is posted so it's no longer affordable housing?
If the developer does that in bad faith, § 529.2(c) makes the developer liable to the plaintiff for the cost of obtaining the undertaking.
Amendment History
Amended by Stats 2024 ch 285 (SB 393),s 1, eff. 1/1/2025. Amended by Stats. 1982, Ch. 517, Sec. 124.5.
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
the Deering's California Codes Annotated / vLex. Enacted by the California Legislature.
Last verified July 28, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: bond to challenge housing project californiaaffordable housing lawsuit bond california