ADUs as Affordable Teacher Housing

Housing affordability is a major factor in California’s teacher retention crisis. When teachers can’t afford housing near their schools, there is higher turnover, resulting in reduced academic performance for students. 

ADUs have been touted as a solution to many failures of 20th century American land use policy, but they tend to be built by landlords and relatively wealthy homeowners and many (35-40% according to a UCLA study) are used as pool houses, guest suites, additional bedrooms for family members, and home offices rather than contributing additional housing units. 

Co-ADU is an effort to rebalance who benefits from ADUs towards justice and equity for historically underserved communities, making them a tool for providing badly-needed affordable housing through quiet density to neighborhoods of primarily single-family homes.