Long Beach to Help Homeowners Build Granny Flats

Long Beach wants to support its backyard grannies.

The city has launched a program to help homeowners build accessory dwelling units, or granny flats, on their property, the Long Beach Press-Telegram reported.

The Backyard Builders Program will help homeowners finance, design, permit and construct a new ADU. Applications for the program are accepted through Nov. 30.

The program will provide up to 10 eligible homeowners with a 0 percent interest, 30-year loan up to $250,000 to design and build an ADU on their property. It will also provide ADU project management assistance at no cost to participating homeowners to guide them through the design, permitting, construction and lease processes.

In exchange, homeowners must agree to rent their ADU at an affordable rate to an individual or family who meets the program income limits.

First priority for the program will be given to homeowners who commit to renting their ADUs to households with a voucher from the Housing Authority for a minimum of five years.

“This new Backyard Builders Program shows our unwavering commitment to providing our community with more affordable housing options and financial flexibility,” Mayor Rex Richardson said in a statement. “This program will also directly support Long Beach property owners and sends the message that we are in favor of building new housing — quite literally — in our backyards.”

This program may help boost overall housing production in Long Beach, required by the state to construct more than 26,000 new housing units by 2029, more than half of them affordable for low- and moderate-income residents, according to the Press-Telegram.

Loan payments are not required during the ADU construction term, and no interest will accrue on the loan as long as the ADU is rented at an affordable rate to an income-qualified tenant. After the affordability period, interest rates will increase to 3 percent.

To be eligible for the program, applicants must own and occupy a single-family home or a multifamily home with up to four units in Long Beach.

A year ago, Long Beach sought to pass new ordinances intended to help streamline ADU and SB 9 construction. The proposals came as part of Long Beach’s broader, decade-long development push — which ranks among the most notable in Southern California.

— Dana Bartholomew