CalHome Program: accessory dwelling units.

Existing law establishes the CalHome Program, administered by the Department of Housing and Community Development, to support existing homeownership programs aimed at lower and very low income households, among other purposes. Under the program, funds may be used to enable low- and very low income households to become or remain homeowners, and to provide disaster relief assistance to households at or below 120% of that area median income. Existing law also authorizes the department to make grants to local agencies or nonprofit corporations to construct accessory dwelling units and to repair, reconstruct, or rehabilitate, in whole or in part, accessory dwelling units and junior accessory dwelling units. This bill would specify that for home ownership development projects that include construction of accessory dwelling units or junior accessory dwelling units, neither the CalHome Program nor any administrative rule or guideline implementing the CalHome Program precludes those dwelling units from being separately conveyed to separate lower income households on separate parcels created pursuant to specified law. Existing law authorizes loan funds to be used for the purchase of real property, site development, predevelopment, construction period expenses incurred on home ownership development projects, and permanent financing for mutual housing or cooperative developments. This bill would require units within home ownership development projects that receive CalHome Program funds to initially be sold to and occupied by a lower income household and be subject to a recorded covenant, with a term of at least 30 years, which contains one or more specified provisions, including a resale restriction. This bill would require the department to implement the changes made by the bill into program guidelines and notices of funding availability released after December 31, 2024.