Removing racist restrictions from real estate documents

We have helped the County’s Clerk-Recorder implement a new state law aiming to remove racist restrictions from historical real estate documents.  Though they were made illegal by the Supreme Court in 1948, many property deeds once contained terms that prevented African American, Asian American, or Native American people or families from owning or living in homes in many neighborhoods across Santa Clara County.  In 2022, the California Legislature passed Assembly Bill 1466, asking counties to identify and redact these racist restrictions from the property deeds in their official real estate records.  Since 2022, our Office has supported this important project by (1) drafting County ordinances to implement AB 1466, (2) creating user-friendly public forms available online to help homeowners eliminate racist restrictions in their own property deeds, and (3) reviewing and approving the redaction of almost 2,000 deeds that illegally claim to restrict who can live in neighborhoods throughout the county.  Our County’s implementation of AB 1466 has been cited as a model for other counties across the state and is considered an example of best practice.