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I think this is somewhat questionable. California recently passed the laws to open the floodgates, so we'll soon be seeing how this plays out in reality. The points I've seen are:

* Modern requirements means building an ADU cost hundreds of thousands of dollars (at least here in CA).

* ADU significantly increase property value, and loan/insurance requirements are tougher for rental properties, making ownership harder.

* ADUs are rentals, which are 100% loss for the occupants. Building affordable condos would do much better at helping people build wealth. ADUs drive gentrification, from the point above, making ownership harder.




I'm not talking about ADU's, if you read the comment and attached article.

And in any event, ADU's are great. They add a lot of housing in a very incremental way.

Condos are good too, but a lot of states need to reform their condo defect laws.


I think ADUs are fine, but I think to say they add a lot of housing is an exaggeration.


It depends on how easy they are to build, of course, but it looks like they could help a lot:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/05/21/adu-grann...

Of course they're just one of many things cities can do to confront their housing shortages.




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