View tiny homes in Los Angeles in a self-guided tour of ADUs

If you’ve read our coverage of accessory dwelling units, you know that they are one of the most popular housing solutions in California, with almost one-fifth of the newly permitted housing units in 2022 categorized as ADUs.

With mortgage rates high, California’s ADU laws constantly changing to help alleviate the housing crisis and the median price of a home nearing $750,000, it’s not surprising that homeowners are choosing to stay put and add tiny homes in their backyards for extended family or extra income.

If you’ve been curious about ADUs and the design, budget, permitting, and construction process, you can tour several in person on Feb. 10 in a self-guided tour sponsored by housing advocates Homeplex, Sidekick Homes and How to ADU in conjunction with the ADU Academy.

The Los Angeles edition of the SoCal ADU Tour will feature more than 10 homes in Mid-City and on the Westside and offer the opportunity to talk to homeowners — including lower-income state grant recipients and multi-generational families — who have gone through the ADU design and build process.

“The goal with this event is to inspire a lot of homeowners to take the leap and plan and build their ADUs,” said tour organizer Ryan O’Connell. “We want to give them a big boost where they learn as much as possible in one day, in a low-pressure environment, where they see real projects completed by real homeowners.”

The ADUs range from under 500 square feet to a 1,200-square-foot two-story unit as well as modular, pre-fab units, and ground-up projects. Participating builders and designers include Sidekick Homes, Building Blocks, NEO Builders, 360 Builders, Bunch ADU, Abodu and Maxable, who will also be on-site to answer questions.

To offer a broad look at ADUs, the tour will include several ADUs under construction, one listed for sale, multiple garage conversions, and another brought up to code after the city of Los Angeles issued a citation for an unpermitted unit.