Legal Freedoms in California

I was walking in our local 4th of July Celebration Parade in one of the San Jose neighborhoods. I had an opportunity, while we were staging, to speak with a realtor friend of mine. Of course, since I just started digging into ADUs here on this Website the day before, I could not hold back my excitement. She told me there was California Legislation allowing Local Governments to allow the separate sale of ADUs, if the locality felt that fit into their plans.

I used an unnamed search service to pull up information on this and found the article linked below. She had me search for “San Jose” and low-and-behold here’s what appeared on my smart-phone and well of knowledge:

LIST: AB 1033 Participating Cities

So far, the only city to opt into using AB1033 is San Jose (Zoning Ordinance Update PP23-007). San Jose opted into AB 1033 in June 2024, with the bill taking effect July 18th.

I have to say, this opens up some possibilities and incentives for existing Homeowners with some space to spare on their property to consider putting that land to work, initially to increase inventory of affordable living spaces, with an option down the road for that renter to become a first time home buyers themselves!

Soap Box Time

As you might see in future articles, I hate the idea of Massive High Density buildings being the only option. In order for them to be built, takes several years at best. In the case of Rentals they are likely owned and operated by someone NOT Local, based on everyone of the most recent constructions in downtown San Jose. Even if they are sold as Condominiums, the residents tend to be isolated by design from each other and other neighbors. By having some part of the new residents spread across all of the wonderful neighborhoods and becoming part of the communities is my hope for our future

Article: AB1033 and the Future of ADU Sales in California