2023 Legislative Session: Four Issues to Know About

The Casita Coalition is excited about the upcoming legislative session, where there are significant opportunities and challenges for the ADU industry. Here is our roundup of the major issues at this point:

Budget

Retain the $50 million appropriation for ADU construction in the 2022-23 budget that this year’s budget seeks to revert. This money has funded an extremely popular and oversubscribed program that allows people to build ADUs, expanding access to ADUs to low-and middle-income families that otherwise would not be able to take advantage of state ADU laws. This program helps ensure that ADU has an important and positive impact of ending the racial wealth gap in California. We urge the Legislature to vote NO on reverting the money for this important program. Sign our petition here.

Policy

Extend the owner occupancy sunset. Current law prevents local governments from imposing owner occupancy deed-recorded restrictions that require the owner to live on the site of the house until 2025. These make it much harder for homeowners to get loans to pay for ADU construction, and they are a substantial deterrent to homeowners worried about making a legal pledge to never move as long as they own their home without evicting their tenant. We urge the Legislature to extend this deadline so concerns about removing it can be addressed. Asm Ting has introduced a bill to eliminate owner occupancy entirely,  similar to a bill that had this solution removed due to opposition last year. The Casita Coalition is pushing hard for a 5-year extension to protect homeowners and their ADUs while we conduct a study to answer the concerns of leaders who oppose eliminating the ban entirely.  We think the Budget Act approach is the best and least risky approach and will continue working on that.

Allow local governments to regulate the sale of ADUs. Current state law prevents the sale of ADUs in virtually all instances. Changing the law to permit local governments to decide what is best to do in this regard could accelerate the production of affordable homeownership opportunities. By making more affordable housing available for sale, we can help close the racial wealth gap in California. We are excited to be working with Asm Ting on a bill in this area

Prevent separate meter requirements. Asm Mia Bonta is working on a bill that would prevent utilities from requiring ADU builders to install separate meters for utilities. Without statewide uniformity on this issue, the uncertainty of costs prevents homeowners from proceeding with their ADU projects. This bill would reduce uncertainty and cut excessive utility connection costs, potentially fast-tracking many projects.