Density is an essentialelement to solving the housing crisis plaguing California. In 2019,the state adopted several new laws to support density and make iteasier for property owners to add new units. Specifically, new lawsare facilitating the addition of accessory dwelling units or ADUs,and it could have a big impact in adding housing supply to themarket.

"Several California laws adopted in 2019 to facilitate accessorydwelling units directly benefit property owners," MattFogt, a partner at Allen Matkins, tellsGlobeSt.com. "The primary laws of interest are Assembly Bill 68,Assembly Bill 881, and Senate Bill 13. The three bills overlapsignificantly and amend California Government Code Section 65852.2.We anticipate that many multifamily owners will be able to quicklycreate additional units within their existing multifamily projectsbased on these recent changes.

However, it isn't only owners of single-family homes that arebenefitting. According to Fogt, the legislation could also make iteasier for multifamily owners to ad additional units. "There arethree significant impacts made by these new amendments that make iteasier for multifamily homeowners to add additional units with lesshassle: quicker approval processing, eliminated or reduced parkingrequirements, and eliminated or reduced fees," he says.