Much Ado About ADUs: New Legislation and Emerging Legal Issues From California’s Attempt to Create Affordable Housing

Andrew Hall

Andrew E. Hall is senior counsel at the Blake Law Firm in Encinitas. Mr. Hall’s practice focuses on commercial and residential real estate, including landlord-tenant disputes, purchase and sale disputes, title insurance claims, Homeowners Associations disputes, and zoning and land use. Mr. Hall is also licensed to practice in Washington. Mr. Hall may be contacted by email at andrew@blakelawca.com or by phone at (858) 232-1290.

I. INTRODUCTION

It is no secret that California is in the midst of a housing crisis.¹ "The state is falling far short of meeting current and future housing demand with serious consequences for the state’s economy, ability to build green infill consistent with state greenhouse gas reduction goals, and the well-being of our citizens, particularly lower and middle-income earners."² In the last decade, less than half of the homes needed to keep up with the population growth were built.³ This, in turn, has created a trickle-down effect in that less housing has resulted in more demand and less affordability, particularly for renters and especially for low- to moderate-income households. In 2019 alone, eighteen bills were signed into law designed to jumpstart production, and as of January 1, 2020, six of those were implemented to encourage production of accessory dwelling units (ADUs) and junior accessory dwelling units (JADUs) by loosening restrictions.