The Backyard Homes Project is a City of Los Angeles based affordable housing initiative that helps homeowners build a new affordable rental Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) in their backyard.
The program, initiated by LA Más and now led by Office of: People, was developed to explore the viability of ADUs as an affordable housing option.
The goal was to promote stability for housing insecure tenants, while supporting homeowners in earning reliable income from their new rental unit. Launched in 2018, this program offered a one-stop-shop to support homeowners with technical assistance, including financing, design, permitting, construction, and tenant matching. Other program offerings include free landlord education and project management.
Participants that have received this support are committed to renting to a Section 8 voucher holder for a minimum of 5 years.
The program offered a suite of prototype ADUs in three different styles for homeowners to select from that could reflect the context of their community, or their personal culture.
Each ADU design prioritized architectural details, space efficiency, and affordable construction. This approach also helped save the homeowner time and cost in the design and permitting phase.
PROJECT PARTNERS:
GENESIS LA ECONOMIC GROWTH CORPORATION, JP MORGAN CHASE & CO., SELF-HELP FEDERAL CREDIT UNION, RESTORE NEIGHBORHOODS LA (RNLA), LA FAMILY HOUSING, ST. JOSEPH CENTER, HOUSING RIGHTS CENTER AND THE HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF LOS ANGELES (HACLA).