Backyard Cottages
Creating Affordable Housing is a Priority for ADU Owners
How accessory dwelling units can benefit homeowners and renters alike.
ADU Permits Spike in Sacramento County
Backyard cottages, known as accessory dwelling units, are touted as one solution to the rising cost of housing.
ADU Demand Grows Across the West Coast
In communities from California to Washington, permit applications for accessory dwelling units outpace the ability of permitting and construction to keep pace.
That ADU Would Make a Nice Airbnb
An Airbnb co-founder is jumping in the pre-fab backyard cottage game—but will too many ADUs become short-term rentals to make a difference for housing costs?
San Diego Residents Challenge the City's ADU Regulations
Residents in some of the city's single-family neighborhoods worry about the potential impacts of ADU construction on local character and parking.
With Regulations Loosened, Granny Flat Construction Soars in California
Less restrictive permit laws and pre-fabricated, pre-approved building options are spurring more homeowners to build backyard additions.
Los Angeles Streamlines ADU Permits with High-Design Templates
Los Angeles' ADU Standard Plan Program will offer homeowners a set of pre-approved designs that will save them time and money.
Seattle Companies Want to Drive Down Prohibitive ADU Costs
Legal barriers to accessory dwelling units may be disappearing in some places, but costs can still be prohibitive. Several companies are stepping forward with more affordable options.
Appetite for ADUs Rises in San Jose
San Jose has issued a steadily-rising number of ADU permits in recent years. Now, Mayor Sam Liccardo has implemented measures to ease the process for homeowners who want to build granny flats.
Suburbs Encouraging Accessory Dwelling Units
Renton, a suburb of Seattle dealing with skyrocketing housing prices like many of the communities in the region, is allowing new density in residential neighborhoods in the form of backyard cottages.
Seattle's Backyard Cottages Encouraged
Don't call them granny flats or inlaw units! These are separate units that can only be built on lots of 4,000 sq. ft. minimum. Only 50 have been built or permitted since the trial began in 2006. The goal is to bring affordabllity to SFH neighborhoods
City of Costa Mesa
Licking County
Barrett Planning Group LLC
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Tufts University, Department of Urban and Environmental Policy & Planning
City of Universal City TX
ULI Northwest Arkansas
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