Learn more about our legislative work

Casita-supported and sponsored bills launched the Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU)  revolution and continue to enhance ADU/JADU and middle housing-related state law annually. Our legislative successes catalyzed the  growth of ADUs as the fastest growing housing type in California, with more than 113,000 ADUs permitted since 2017. Our legislative momentum would not be possible without our extended community of  members, supporters, and ecosystem partners. We continue to rely on and appreciate your support letters, petition signatures, and network sharing of our calls to action.

Our 2026 ADU and Middle Housing Sponsored & Supported Bills

Casita Coalition is proud to support California legislation to advance ADU and middle housing solutions. This year’s slate of priority bills focuses on removing the structural barriers that prevent middle housing from being built at scale, from construction costs to ownership pathways. Stay tuned for opportunities to support these bills!

Casita sponsoring:

AB 1070 (Ward) Requires HCD to study construction costs related to building code and potential updates to reduce costs for projects with 3-10 units, through a working group and regular studies. Status: Headed to Senate Rules Committee for assignment.

SB 1116 (Caballero) SB 684/SB 1123 small lot subdivision streamlining cleanup. Improves and updates small lot subdivision standards, requires municipalities to track and report projects permitted under these frameworks to HCD. Status: In Senate Local Government Committee.

Casita supporting:

AB 1903 (Wicks) Long-awaited reform to construction defect liability rules that have prevented developers from building low-cost ownership homes as condos.

AB 1815 (Wicks) Prohibits local agency from imposing building standards on factory-built homes (modular/HCD) that exceed CA building code.

AB 748 (Harabedian) Requires cities and counties to have preapproved primary home and multifamily plan programs (catalog homes.)

SB 996 (Padilla) Treat manufactured homes as real property to provide lower-cost, more flexible finance options.

SB 1117 (Cervantes) Changes how ADU Impact fees are calculated for ADUs larger than 750 square feet to bring down costs.

SB 1196 (McNerney) Addresses long delays in ADU Energization applications and connections.

AB 1738 (Carrillo) Creates a new option for remote virtual inspections for some projects seeking a building permit, including ADUs and JADUs.

SB 1117 (Cervantes) Updates the calculations for ADU impact fees. Existing law prohibits impact fees on ADUs under 750 sf—this bill would change calculation to impact fees only on the square footage in excess of 750 sf.

AB 2533 (Carrillo) Unpermitted Unit Legalization—Now in Implementation Phase—Download the Info Sheet

This important new law helps to preserve existing informal ADU rentals and the important role they play for homeowners while ensuring the safety of tenants. The new law specifies the code standards local agencies must use to assess safety, cuts fees and charges for lower resourced homeowners, and requires cities to provide a checklist of standards that units will have to meet, upfront.

Download the info sheet for jurisdiction staff and ADU professionals.

AB 1033 (Ting) Separate Sale of ADUs as Condos—Now in Implementation Phase—Download the Info Sheet

Only 15% of Californians can afford to purchase a home. The economic impacts to the state, communities and families are immense. In the many places in the US where this is common, ADU condos commonly sell for 30-40% less than single detached homes. The new rule allows cities and counties to opt in to this allowance under AB 1033, creating an attainable new starter home supply for those priced out of the market and helping to redress historic housing harms. Congratulations to the Cities of San Jose and Santa Cruz for completing the opt in process, and to Berkeley and the other cities in progress now!

Want to encourage your city to opt in? Download our info sheet now.

Thank you for helping us protect our collective housing policy wins

Casita Coalition monitors the legislative and regulatory landscapes for both opportunities and threats, and we have had to rapidly and effectively address and eliminate significant threats to middle housing progress on several occasions. Two examples below:

State-exempt ADU law interpretation: We took action to reinforce the legislative intent that established the ‘by-right’ state exempt category. If unchallenged, this would have set back CA ADU law by many years and decimated the factory-built ADU industry

SB 1055 (Min) undermined state ADU law that protects homeowner rights

• This bill proposed a dangerous precedent by 'rewarding' cities and counties that have met their Regional Housing Needs Allocation goals for the year for affordable housing by allowing them to reduce the height standards of attached ADUs to 16', below current state law, and shorter than the home the ADU is attached to in some cases

• It would create a confusing patchwork of standards that would change each year, reducing ADU production and disproportionately burdening lower resourced homeowners and builders

• Current ADU height standards are reasonable and based on local zoning for the property--and make ADUs above garages possible when attached to 2-story homes

ADU policy wins have permitted more than 113,000 ADU homes over the last seven years. Your collective action has kept these attainable homes possible for Californians.