California Counties Race to Strip Racist Covenants From Property Records
Key Takeaway: California counties are racing to strip racist restrictive covenants from millions of property records under a 2021 state law, but progress is wildly uneven, from Orange County’s finished software sweep to L.A. County’s decade-long paper mountain.
LAist reported on 19 October 2026: AB 1466, California’s 2021 law, requires every county to redact discriminatory covenant language from property records, but counties are moving at wildly different speeds.
Orange County finished in March 2026, processing more than 27,000 documents with software, while L.A. County expects to examine 50 million pages a year for roughly 10 years.
Uneven progress
Orange County completed the work in March 2026, running 27,000-plus documents through software, deputy recorder Sylvia Manzo told LAist.
In Los Angeles County the scale is daunting: the county retained an external vendor in 2024 and now faces a review workload LAist puts at 50 million pages per year across roughly ten years.
Yolo County faces 2.3 million documents in a four-year, multi-phase project costing “nearly a million dollars”, the Davis Vanguard reports, using a Stanford-developed AI tool at no cost.
Santa Barbara County has parsed thousands of documents reaching back to 1958, Noozhawk reports. Chief deputy clerk recorder Melinda Greene received no county funding and partnered with Santa Barbara City College and the Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation through a California Stop the Hate grant, finding covenants dating into the 1960s.
Why it matters
The Supreme Court ruled racially restrictive covenants judicially unenforceable in 1948 in Shelley v. Kraemer, but the discriminatory language remains in old deeds, LAist reports.
An early obstacle was a $75 state-mandated redaction fee; Yolo Assessor-Clerk/Recorder Jesse Salinas pushed for AB 1466 alongside DA Jeff Reisig, board chair Jim Provenza and then-Assemblymember Kevin McCarty, the Davis Vanguard reports.
Redaction does not erase history: originals are preserved and modified copies are issued, the Davis Vanguard reports, and redacted 1950s covenants remain available to view, according to Noozhawk.
“I said, ‘On top of it, we should not be charging to redact it,'”
Jesse Salinas, Yolo Assessor-Clerk/Recorder, to the Davis Vanguard
How to get one removed
Homeowners can file a Restrictive Covenant Modification Form with their county recorder, LAist reports, which lists the filing steps for Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego and Santa Barbara counties.
“It’s important for us to understand that it’s not 100 years ago. This is in the ’60s”
Melinda Greene, Santa Barbara County chief deputy clerk recorder, to Noozhawk
Key Story Metrics
| Figure | Reported Status |
|---|---|
| Law | AB 1466 (2021) (LAist, Davis Vanguard, Noozhawk) |
| Orange County | 27,000+ documents; finished March 2026 (LAist) |
| L.A. County | 50 million pages a year over ~10 years (LAist) |
| Yolo County | 2.3 million documents; ~$1M; 4-year project (Davis Vanguard) |
| Covenants void since | 1948, Shelley v Kraemer (LAist) |
✓ Verified
AB 1466, a 2021 California law, requires every county to redact discriminatory covenant language from property records (LAist, Davis Vanguard, Noozhawk). Progress is uneven: Orange County finished in March 2026 after processing 27,000-plus documents with software (LAist), while L.A. County retained an external vendor in 2024 and faces a review workload LAist puts at 50 million pages per year across roughly ten years. Software and AI tools are used to identify discriminatory covenants; redaction preserves original records while modified copies are issued (Davis Vanguard, Noozhawk); funding constraints are reported by Davis Vanguard and Noozhawk.
⚠ Still needs confirmation
Single-source details: deputy recorder Sylvia Manzo’s account comes from LAist alone; the Stanford-developed AI tool used at no cost, the ‘nearly a million dollars’ project cost and the $75 fee history come from the Davis Vanguard alone; Melinda Greene’s lack of county funding, the college and trust partnership, and the Stop the Hate grant come from Noozhawk alone.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are these covenants still enforceable?
No. In 1948, the Supreme Court ruled that racially restrictive covenants could not be judicially enforced; the words remain in old deeds. (LAist)
How do I get one removed from my property?
File a Restrictive Covenant Modification Form with your county recorder; LAist lists steps for LA, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego and Santa Barbara counties.
Does redaction erase the historical record?
No. Originals are preserved; modified copies are issued (Davis Vanguard); redacted 1950s covenants remain available to view (Noozhawk).
- LAist: Racist language in property documents, and how to remove it
- Davis Vanguard: Yolo County property covenants
- Noozhawk: Santa Barbara County redacts racist language from historical housing documents
Editor’s note: County-by-county figures are credited to the publishing outlet in the text.
