Enacted in 2019, AB 68 legalized the widespread construction of “Granny Flats,” or Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs), as easy-to-build affordable housing. ADUs are small, independent homes that are built alongside (or sometimes, within) an existing single- or multi-family home. In addition to traditional ADUs, AB 68 also legalized “junior” ADUs of 500 square feet or smaller, which must be built entirely within an existing home and have a functioning kitchen and bathroom.

Prior to AB 68, cities across California erected substantial barriers to their construction, including high fees, land use and permitting obstacles, and other “red tape.” AB 68 addressed all these issues by:

  • Reducing the maximum time for approved permits from 120 days to 60
  • Eliminating local ordinances that had the effect of banning ADU construction, such as minimum lot sizes and floor area ratios
  • Eliminating the requirement that garages converted to ADUs include 1:1 replacement parking
  • Allowing by-right approval (i.e., minimal process) for both an ADU and a JADU
  • Prohibiting cities from banning short-term rentals in ministerially-approved ADUs, and
  • Granting the state’s Department of Housing and Community Development the authority to evaluated whether local agencies’ ADU ordinances comply with state law
  • Existing single-family properties in California have the potential for roughly 1.8 million new ADUs.
  • Roughly 85 percent of these are single-family homes where building an ADU pencils out according to current construction costs and rents; the remainder are sites ideal for both an ADU and JADU

Click here for the market analysis of ADU production.

Click here for the official fact sheet.

Author: Phil Ting (D, AD 19)

Resolution:

AB 68 was signed by the governor on 10/9/2019

Assembly Floor (9/13/19): 66 Yes / 5 No

Senate Floor (9/13/19): 26 Yes / 10 No

Press Coverage

California’s New Accessory Dwelling Units Laws: What You Should Know – Forbes California housing legislation seeks to make it easier to build accessory dwelling units – VC Star Burbank amends ordinance regulating granny flats to meet new state mandates – Los Angeles Times Opinion: Finally, Governor signs AB 68 into law, effectively ending single-family zoning statewide – Long Beach Post

Supporters

  • AARP
  • ADU Task Force East Bay
  • AFL-CIO
  • Alameda County Board of Supervisors, District 5
  • Bay Area Council
  • Bay Area Regional Health Inequities Initiative
  • BRIDGE Housing
  • Building Industry Association of the Bay Area
  • California Forward Action Fund
  • California Apartment Association
  • California Association of Realtors
  • California Community Builders
  • California Teamsters
  • California YIMBY (Sponsor)
  • Casita Coalition
  • Center on Policy Initiatives
  • Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable
  • Economy
  • Chan Zuckerberg Initiative
  • cityLAB-UCLA
  • City of Oakland
  • Community Legal Services in East Palo Alto
  • County of Alameda Board of Supervisors
  • EAH Housing
  • East Bay Housing Organization
  • Eden Housing
  • Emerald Fund
  • Enterprise Community Partners
  • Eric Garcetti, Mayor of Los Angeles
  • Facebook Inc.
  • Greenbelt Alliance
  • Habitat for Humanity California
  • Hamilton Families
  • Hello Housing
  • Inspired Independence
  • LA-Mas
  • Larson Shores Architects
  • League of Women Voters of California
  • Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy
  • McDunn ADUs
  • Metropolitan Transportation Committee
  • MidPen Housing
  • Mikiten Architecture
  • Natural Resources Defense Council
  • Non-Profit Housing Association of Northern CA
  • Northern California Carpenters Regional Council
  • Oakland Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce
  • OpenScope Studio Inc.
  • Orange County Communities Organized for
  • Responsible Development
  • Partnership for Working Families
  • Political Solutions LLC
  • PreFab ADU
  • PICO California
  • Related California
  • San Diego Apartment Association
  • San Francisco Foundation
  • San Francisco Housing Action Coalition
  • Santa Cruz YIMBY
  • Silicon Valley at Home
  • Silicon Valley Community Foundation
  • SPUR
  • TentMakers Inc.
  • Terner Center for Housing Innovation
  • The Two Hundred
  • TMG Partners
  • TransForm
  • United Dwelling
  • Urban Displacement Project
  • Valley Industry & Commerce Association