“GRANNY FLATS” aka ACCESSORY DWELLING UNITS COULD ADD VALUE TO YOUR HOME
“Granny flats”, officially known as ACCESSORY DWELLING UNIT (aka ADU) could help LA’s housing shortage while adding value to your property. In the past decade, there has been an average of 80,000 homes a year built in California — 100,000 units below what’s needed to keep pace with population growth through 2025, according to a recent report by the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD). There are 50,000 unpermitted ADUs across the city. (Because of strict regulations, only 644 had been approved in Los Angeles between 2003 and 2016.
Thanks to a new state law though, California homeowners will have an easier time building small second dwellings on their property. The law gives owners of most single-family residences the option to construct accessory dwelling units—informally known as back houses, granny flats, or in-law units—as long as they comply with certain guidelines.
To provide some background, this past September the State of California amended sections of State law that require local jurisdictions to allow ACCESSORY DWELLING UNIT (aka ADU). What that means is the State law has taken effect in Los Angeles until such time as the City passes a new ordinance, one that is compatible with the State law. California Sen. Bob Wieckowski wrote a bill that put the state in charge of ADUs. It passed in September 2016, revoking all ADU city-level ordinances — from parking restrictions to fire sprinkler requirements to cumbersome costs — and established a new, comparatively lenient, baseline criteria for approval.
“It tilts the balance of power in favor of second units and the importance that they can play in helping us meet our housing needs,” Wieckowski, a Democrat who represents California’s East Bay and part of Silicon Valley, told Business Insider. On January 1, 2017, the law went into effect. Wieckowski sees Los Angeles as the poster child for a new wave of housing development that could help alleviate California’s housing crisis.
What does this mean for existing homeowners??
A recent memo clearly notes that, as of January 1, applicants can apply for permits as long as their proposed second dwellings meet the standards imposed by the state. But city officials are already working on a set of local requirements that promise to be a bit stricter than those imposed by the state. On December 15, the City Planning Commission recommended new regulations for accessory dwellings to the City Council.
The city requirements would limit the size of accessory dwellings to 640 square feet or 50 percent of the square footage of the main house—whichever is larger—up to 1,200 square feet. The state requirements simply set a blanket limitation on the size of such units at 1,200 square feet. The LA-specific rules would considerably limit the possible scale of second units for many homeowners.
It’s unclear at this point how many homeowners will elect to build new units, but many affordable housing scholars have argued the development of even small numbers of these units can have numerous positive benefits on an area’s housing market.
For more details and facts on “granny flats” check out:
Things to consider before building a “Granny Flat (aka ADU)
Content Credits: Curbed LA, Business Insider