It's Thursday! Get yer housing news right here.

☀️ Today's weather: Coast — Partly sunny, high 79; Inland — Sunny, high 95

• Heat advisory and beach hazards at the coast, extreme heat warning inland.
• Still.

🎧 Sounds like: "Who" by David Byrne & St. Vincent. Byrne is playing tonight at SDSU and Editor Geoff is very jealous. More summer concerts here.

🌕 Situational Awareness: There will be a partial lunar eclipse peaking tonight around 9:12pm.

🎂 Happy birthday to our member Barb McGill!

Today's newsletter is 1,070 words — a 4-minute read.

It could become easier to build condos and townhomes for people to buy instead of rent under a bill making its way through the California Senate.

Why it matters: The city has a plan to build denser housing like condos that people can actually (sort of) afford, but building industry experts say the threat of lawsuits over repairs hampers the effort.

• But new legislation aims to boost housing construction by making it harder to sue. Opponents say it takes away too much power from consumers.

San Diego's strained housing market could use the boost. The city already has limited homes for sale, high prices, historically low sales and low turnover rates as owners stay put.

Catch up quick: Currently, if you buy a new condo or townhome and something's wrong with it, you can sue the builder.

• A law passed in 2002 called the construction defect law goes further than that. It allows you to sue even before the builder gets a chance to fix the problem, or even if nothing's actually broken yet.
• Builders can be sued up to a decade after a condo is built. That risk is scary enough that developers have seriously slowed building condos and townhomes that are for sale instead of rent, Stefanie Benvenuto, policy adviser with the Building Industry Association of San Diego, told Axios.

By the numbers: Only 3% of new townhomes and condos built statewide are for sale, with the rest being rented, according to the Terner Center at UC Berkeley.

What they're saying: "When I am in policy discussions with my builders, the construction defect law comes up every time," Benvenuto said.

• She called the existing law a "monster villain out there looming" that deters the city's push to gently increase density and build more affordable condo and townhome starter homes.

The other side: Consumer attorney associations oppose the bill, arguing it could make it too hard for homeowners to pursue legitimate defect claims.

• The Consumer Attorneys of California declined an interview request with Axios.
• Consumer advocates and some builders worry the law could make the burden of proof too high for a lawsuit, per Pacific Beach Builder.

Case in point: A San Diego law firm said it won $4 million in several lawsuits where homeowners and HOAs sued developers for defects including leaks, cracks and "improper shower enclosure installation."

• Under current law, even if the builder fixed those problems, they're still liable to be sued, Saad Asad, spokesperson for the advocacy group California YIMBY, told Axios.

These lawsuits spike insurance costs for builders, so they're less likely to create homes for sale, Asad said.

More details

Speaking of building more housing, neighborhoods including City Heights, Rolando, Kensington-Talmadge and Normal Heights could see a big housing boost under a new city plan.

The big picture: The proposal would allow taller apartment buildings along busier streets like El Cajon Boulevard, Fairmount Avenue, Federal Boulevard and University Avenue, with less density in surrounding neighborhoods.

• It could almost double housing from 53,500 to 95,500 in the next 30 years.

The goal is to build denser housing around new transit villages, including a rapid bus line on Adams Avenue and the expansion of the trolley from San Ysidro, according to the plan.

• Farther back into neighborhoods, there would still be more density than now allowed, but not high-rise buildings.

Caveat: This plan is a draft, not final. The city is looking for feedback on it and will do a second draft this winter.

What they're saying: Some neighborhood leaders welcome the increased density.

• Paul Coogan, chair of the Normal Heights Planning Group, told the Union-Tribune his neighbors are OK with the plan but want it to include more parks.

Friction point: But others aren't thrilled. David Moty, chair of the Kensington-Talmadge Community Planning Group, told the UT the plan would ruin the ambiance of his neighborhood.

You can explore an interactive map here.

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🐾 The San Diego Humane Society is again overflowing with dogs after it took in 23 Chihuahuas from someone who was evicted. (SDHS)

• There will be no adoption fees Saturday. (NBC 7)

🚢 The USS Lincoln finally gets a breather in Thailand for a port call next week after the locally-based carrier logged more than 250 uninterrupted days at sea. Then they'll head for home. (Times of San Diego)

🕌 Years of tension erupted when Mayor Gloria visited the Islamic Center after the mass shooting in May. Muslim community members booed him and told him to leave. (Voice of San Diego)

• The rupture came after years of strained relations.

🌡️ Recess is on hold at San Diego Unified during the heat, plus there are more water breaks, schedule changes and moves into air-conditioned spaces. (KPBS)

New apartments here are getting smaller, according to a new survey from RentCafe.

Why it matters: They might be smaller, but they aren't cheaper.

By the numbers: The size of San Diego's new apartments dropped by 9%, from 911 to 827 square feet over the last decade, according to the survey.

• The average apartment rent went up by about 70% over the past 10 years, according to Zillow.
• That's from $1,781 on average in 2016 to $3,038 in 2026.

The national trend

Some of you feel very strongly about expensive ice cream.

• Yesterday, the zoo's souvenir shake dominated a Salt & Straw double scoop with 89% of the vote. Kind of not surprising, TBH.
• And 82% of you thought the Gaslamp Ghirardelli hot fudge sundae was very much not worth it.

I'm guessing those two are headed to the finals, but there could be an upset! Cast your votes here.

👩🏻‍🍼 Kate is on parental leave.

🤯 Claire doesn't even recognize herself. She went out two nights in a row. On week days!

This newsletter was edited by Geoff Ziezulewicz.