Over the past six years, California's state legislature has passed a series of laws that allow ADUs in all single-family residential neighborhoods. Cities and counties are required to permit ADUs through ministerial approval (i.e., without discretionary review processes) and place guardrails on dimensional requirements. Across the state, ADU production has ramped up as architects, contractors, and other housing industry participants learn how to provide homeowners with somewhat standardized designs, financing tools, permitting, assistance, and overall project delivery. The number of ADUs permitted annually in the Los Angeles metro area rose from around 2,000 in 2017 to around 7,000 in 2019 and more than 13,000 in 2022. ADUs are more common in neighborhoods with medium to high incomes and home prices, although not in the very wealthiest communities.
Authors
- Acknowledgements and disclosures
- Funding for this research was provided by the Hilton Foundation. We appreciate the time and expertise shared by staff at Los Angeles County Development Authority, Pasadena Department of Housing, the West Hollywood Economic Development Department, and the Bloomberg Center for Public Innovation at Johns Hopkins University. Nick Marantz and Kevin Park provided thoughtful comments. Any errors or omissions are the responsibility of the authors.
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- United States of America
