“The goal here was to standardize the process across the board,” said Muhammad Alameldin, director of growth for California YIMBY, a pro-development organization that has supported the new state laws. “The theme is that if you own a piece of property, you should be able to build on that piece of property.”
The state’s effort on backyard homes is considered its most successful policy to increase homebuilding in recent memory. In 2018, fewer than 9,000 backyard homes were permitted in California, making up less than 8 percent of the state’s total production, according to an analysis of state data by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, and shared with POLITICO. Last year, backyard home permits topped 32,000, representing a quarter of all homes approved in California, the analysis found.
Due to rising interest rates and high labor and materials costs slowing down construction, among other headwinds, it’s possible that housing construction in California would be declining without the boom in backyard homes.
Meanwhile, back across the pond
Labour in the U.K. wants a piece of that action as part of wider efforts to fuel building. But opponents are fueling dissent before a single new unit has even been approved.
The Conservatives have already sounded the alarm about “garden grabbing,” arguing the new rules will create a boom in one-bedroom flats to make up building targets, despite high demand for larger houses with sizable gardens for families.
“Britain needs more homes,” said Shadow Housing Minister Gareth Bacon. “But Labour’s top-down housing targets and density requirements will result in more blocks of flats being crammed into people’s gardens, rather than communities getting new family homes with gardens and parking spaces.”