Should ADUs Count as Affordable Housing?

Without regulations or monitoring systems to ensure accessory dwelling units are rented at affordable rates, citing ADU construction toward affordable housing goals is a disingenuous way to avoid building multi-family housing.

1 minute read

June 21, 2023, 11:00 AM PDT

By Diana Ionescu @aworkoffiction


Rendering of shipping container-like ADU unit pre-approved by the city of Los Angeles

Los Angeles and other California cities have created sets of pre-approved ADU designs, like the one above, to streamline the process and lower permitting costs for homeowners. | Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety / ADU design pre-approved by the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety

Accessory dwelling units (ADUs) are often touted as one solution for the affordable housing crisis, allowing homeowners to gain extra income and provide housing for family members or tenants while maintaining the relatively low density of a residential neighborhood. Recent legislation has led to a spike in ADU permit applications in California, where the housing crisis has hit low-income tenants the hardest.

But should an ADU that will likely be used as a pricy short-term rental count toward a city’s affordable housing goals? Writing in The Real Deal, Steven Dilakian reveals that some wealthy Bay Area towns “lan to meet as much as 80 percent of their housing targets through accessory dwelling units.”

According to a report from a civil grand jury in San Mateo County, “this is a problem” because there is no regulation mandating that ADUs be made available or affordable to low-income renters. “The grand jury recommended that city councils stop using ADUs to meet state-mandated affordable housing targets until they have effective monitoring systems.”

Tuesday, June 20, 2023 in The Real Deal

Young Professional

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban and Environmental Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban and Environmental Planner

Get top-rated, practical training for planners

Overlapping highways

The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin

People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.

September 8, 2026 - Benjamin Schneider

The Hoover Dam blocking the Colorado River. The river's water level is noticeably low. The cliffs surrounding the blue water are brown and jagged.

US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico

A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.

September 11, 2026 - The Arizona Republic

Skyscrapers in Jersey City.

New Jersey’s second-largest city bans standalone data centers

Jersey City will continue to allow co-location facilities, such as those meant for research institutions that store their own data.

September 4, 2026 - The Cool Down

A New Jersey train approaches people waiting at the station.

Amtrak not solely to blame for New Jersey commuter rail's unreliability, report finds

A new study from the Garden State Initiative found that NJ Transit’s budget grew 20% across a 4 year period, but reliability declined significantly over the same period.

September 15 - Mass Transit

A tall, gray power plant billows smoke into a blue sky.

EPA erases limits on planet-warming pollution from power plants

Under Monday’s plan, power plants would still have some limits on how much mercury, arsenic and other contaminants they can emit.

September 15 - New York Times

A white RAPID bus. The lower half is light blue, and says RAPID in purple text. The bus is half visible, appearing from the left side of the image.

Phoenix announces new on-demand transit service, more frequent RAPID buses

Both new services will launch in October, and are part of Phoenix's Project Effective Access Solutions for Easing Congestion.

September 15 - KJZZ

FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?

After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.

Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold

The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.