"THE ADU CONDO LAW” AB 1033

If you are an advocate of affordable housing, then you need to know about an impactful California Bill that was made into law recently. This law is AB 1033, also known as the new, "ADU Condo Law."

AB 1033 grants California municipalities the authority to allow the subdivision and sale of accessory dwelling units (ADUs) on residential lots. AB 1033 aims to expand housing units, inventory, and homeownership opportunities throughout the state of California. Imagine this scenario: a first-time home buyer owning a free-standing home on a separate lot in the community they grew up in for less than tens of thousands of dollars below market value - what a concept!

AB 1033 provides another powerful tool to help municipalities up and down the state accomplish their Housing Element goals for the next eight years. HOWEVER, while states like Oregon and Texas have seen success with ADU sales as condominiums, AB 1033 leaves this decision to local governments; thus, the City Council of your town must "Opt-In" to this new law allowing the City to remove previous State law prohibitions against mapping and selling a single-family home and its ADU as condominiums. Even though this prohibition on condo conversion has been eliminated, it is up to Local Agencies to amend their codes to allow these entry-level homeownership opportunities.