Qualified NYC Homeowners To Receive $400K To Build Basement Apartments & Backyard Cottages
As a New York homeowner you’ll soon be able to add some upgrades to your dwelling as the Eric Adams Administration is making moves on their plan to allow qualified NYC homeowners to create accessory dwelling units (ADUs) on their properties.
The announcement is part of the Adams Administration’s aim to address NYC’s housing crisis.
According to a press release, ADUs are defined as “any secondary independent unit on the same property as a primary home, including backyard cottages and basement apartments with separate entrances.” The ADUs will not only help homeowners afford to remain in their homes, but will also help to build generational wealth for families.
Deputy Mayor for Housing, Economic Development, and Workforce Maria Torres-Springer stated how the ADUs “can be life changing” for seniors struggling to age in place and young families stretching to pay the mortgage.
The ADUs will also serve as a solution to “create critically-needed housing as the city faces a historic housing affordability and shortage crisis.”
The Terner Center for Housing Innovation at the University of California at Berkeley notes that “ADUs have been shown to help homeowners provide a living space for loved ones or caretakers, bring in extra income, or provide extra space for families to grow, without significantly changing the look and feel of the neighborhood they are built in.”
And many are already on board with the idea of them.
In an AARP survey of people age 50+, seven out of ten respondents said they would consider building an ADU for a loved one who needs care.
Mayor Adams stated:
For our seniors fighting to stay in the neighborhoods they call home or young people struggling to find a living space, accessory dwelling units can be a lifeline to stable, affordable housing…We are facing a generational housing crisis. The only solution is to build more and make it easier, not harder, for homeowners to join government in addressing this crisis head on.
Adams’ Plus One ADU pilot program will provide up to $395,000 in funding to qualified NYC homeowners to build or convert an ADU of up to 800 square feet on their property. Homeowners will also receive financial and technical support, including predevelopment and construction resources.
The program will also allow up to 35 homeowners to add or convert a secondary home to their property.
The Plus One ADU pilot program first launched in 2023 and, in its first two months, heard from more than 2,800 homeowners with nearly 80% of applicants reporting they were interested in adding an ADU to their property.
The ADUs will make up just a portion of the 108,850 new homes Adams’ “City of Yes for Housing Opportunity” proposal will produce over the next 15 years.
NYC’s pre-approved ADU design library will follow proven models in cities like Los Angeles and Eugene.
Truthfully we’re wondering what NYC property is big enough to house a backyard cottage, but we’ll leave it up to the city to figure that one out.
More information can be found here.
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