Ryan O’Housing

What’s in the Housing for the 21st Century Act? • Bipartisan Policy Center This explainer outlines the key provisions of the Housing for the 21st Century Act as passed by the House Financial Services Committee on December 17, 2025.

What's in the bill? Some good stuff. Including guidelines on how states should go about ADU adoption. bipartisanpolicy.org/explainer/wh...

Action Alert - email your representative with this easy link: actionnetwork.org/letters/pass...

The US House of Representatives will vote on the Housing for the 21st Century Act (HR 6644) later today. This is a landmark housing bill addresses multiple facets of our national housing shortage.

The webinar where HCD presented this guidance will be available sometime in the next couple of weeks but I wanted to get this up and out there early so everybody can brace themselves.

Ask me questions so that I make sure to cover answers in the video

Even if you don't want to get your hands dirty with SB 9, the logic behind this guidance also allows you to do:

1 Primary Home
+1 ADU up to 1200 sq ft or whatever the local ordinance allows
+1 Conversion ADU
+1 Detached ADU under 800 sq ft
+1 Junior ADU

The gist is that a homeowner could build:

SB9 Duplex (includes primary home and a second unit with SB 9)
+3 ADUs
+1 JADU with its own bathroom

that's a total of 6 units

And thanks to recent legislative wins, no occupancy requirement on the JADU with its own bathroom

The HCD is updating its guidance on ADU and SB 9 code - and the conclusion is shocking.

I'll make a short video breaking down the logic, but there are ways that homeowners can develop 6 units ministerially on a single family lot without owner occupancy requirements or lot splits.

It's working for me again too! WEEEEIRD

@cayimby.bsky.social getting this weird error when I try to go to your profile page

[sees another executive order related to housing]

Don't take the bait. Don't take the bait.

Don't make a political video. Don't make a political video.

There's a special move I see politicians do.

YIMBYs pass zoning reform.

Local elected finds ways to obstruct housing despite the reform. Then they say "This study shows that we didn't build enough and homes are still too expensive, so all that reform failed!"

What's this move called?

Generation Housing on Instagram: "Kick off the New Year with an opportunity to support a great new housing opportunity in Sebastopol! Email City Council at citycouncil@cityofsebastopol.gove or show up... Join the conversation to support affordable housing in Sebastopol. City Council will consider adopting state law AB 1033, allowing property owners to sell ADUs as separate homes. This policy creates a...

City of Sebastopol is looking allowing the separate sale of ADUs as starter homes (by adopting AB 1033) www.instagram.com/reel/DTIwqqY...

Write in to citycouncil@cityofsebastopol.gov to support it if you live, work or play in Sebastopol.

Love that the state is giving guidance to local agencies so quickly www.hcd.ca.gov/sites/defaul... pages 55-58 of the @california-hcd.bsky.social ADU handbook summarize new ADU rules that got adopted last year - VERY fast turn around, super helpful.

Is writing about NIMBYism particularly bad because there's constantly a fresh news story that you want to include about something obnoxious somebody is doing to obstruct housing?

holy @%!$. I think I am done with the first two chapters in my YIMBY book proposal.

Only took me 15 months 😅

www.how-to-adu.com/book-news-ry...
The landing page is still a work in progress. But you're getting in on the ground floor if you subscribe to email updates today ;D

The big new ADU law update for the year is here! Merrrrrry xmas. :)
www.youtube.com/@HowToADU/vi...

Interesting that a prohibition on retail alcohol sales in berkeleys zoning code was apparently causin a bit of a food desert! Couldn’t have grocery stores without booze sales in that district. Intriguing. Will have to read about that since it combines my current career and my former career in booze

Selling ADUs separately is up in Berkeley city council tonight - some thoughts #housingpolicy #accessorydwellingunits #ab1033 TikTok video by Ryan O'Housing

Correct video link sorry I posted the wrong one earlier. Eke. Comedy of errors begins www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8UQYWMh/

City Council Regular Meeting eAgenda December 2, 2025 Printer-friendly PDF agenda AGENDABERKELEY CITY COUNCIL MEETINGTuesday, December 2, 20256:00 PMSCHOOL DISTRICT BOARD ROOM - 1231 ADDISON STREET, BERKELEY, CA 94702Adena Ishii, MayorCouncilmembers:Dist...

Agenda berkeleyca.gov/city-council...

Participate on zoom cityofberkeley-info.zoomgov.com/j/1609660575...

I won’t be like covering the Berkeley meeting because I’m actually attending napa tonight and remote commenting in Berkeley when the ADU agenda item comes up.

Like the comedies where a guy goes on two dates at the same time ! 🤣

Don’t need to add live skeets to my spinning plates 😅

Giving Tuesday! Support Generation Housing or find a local housing org you can get behind - this is a movement driven by real community members showing up and advocating for more neighbors :) TikTok video by Ryan O'Housing

Berkeley city council should be considering the separate sale of ADUs tonight. Could be a long one but a good one. #ab1033 lots of good options. Most of the argument is HOW do we allow the separate sale rather than SHOULD we.

www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8UQJ1qS/

This is a great premise for a heist movie. Fake concert creates a massive log jam on major road nearby. Car chase weaving in and out pretending to be a self driving car.

chatgpt knows me better than most of my therapists. But still not as well as my bartenders.

omg chrome launched split view and I can't believe I've been doing this manually for like 15 years

If you love ADUs, this legislation would be VERY meaningful.

One small line would update the loan limit for renovation loans and explicitly say the money could be used for ADUs. Just one of the huge, zero-cost changes included in this bipartisan bill!

🚨 TAKE ACTION NOW 🚨

The bipartisan ROAD to Housing Act, passed by the Senate in October is major bipartisan action on housing! It's a housing bill that shifts many federal incentives for state and local housing policy.

We want to get this bill passed URGENTLY. Here's how you can help 🧵

That’s a big hurrah too!!! Thanks for weighing in Alfred. You know I also respect your general opinion and local knowledge a ton

And I need to hear out the public comment just like you to understand local sentiment too. You have a hard job balancing all these trade offs and I respect yall immensely.

I totally understand that and support your view. I think we will help marginally more people by creating more homes, rental inventory, and ownership opportunities but I could imagine a world where your supplemental is the best way to deliver on ADU’s promise. Would love to talk in person in detail

Hah yeah — I figured I’d post anyway and people will have time to read/digest it all. Love your work. Keep it up!

fwiw, i would love to talk with you about the pros and cons of protections here. There are a couple things I didn’t shoehorn into this format that might inform your policy!

Link to Lunaparra supplemental berkeleyca.gov/sites/defaul...