California must fix its housing crisis with increased density and duplexes or convert more peroperty to fourplex

It can be difficult to buy a house in the Boise Idaho area as prices continue to rise. Cash buyers from markets with higher home prices (but not just California) help drive up prices, experts say.

Offering homeowners the opportunity to reimagine their property and potentially create a duplex isn’t a poison pill — it’s a chance to increase the housing supply in California, expand revenue for homeowners and widen access to those who otherwise might be priced out of renting or owning a house.

Earlier this year, the Sacramento City Council unanimously voted in favor of a proposal to consider updating their general plan to allow for duplexes, triplexes and fourplexes in neighborhoods currently zoned for single-family homes. The teeth-gnashing that ensued erupted into an echo chamber of NIMBYism.

Strip away the caustic, tired arguments and there lies the glaring bottom line: a lack of trust among neighbors and fear of change. This is why Sacramento’s proposed land use modifications come with safeguards to ensure that neighborhoods can expand to include more options, such as those in neighborhoods like Midtown, where single-family homes and beautiful Victorian duplexes sit side-by-side.

The proposal in Sacramento — similar to those cities like Berkeley and San Jose are exploring — signals that local municipalities are grappling with ways to help alleviate the housing crisis and bolster affordable housing statewide. Now is the time to move forward with a statewide solution that can help.

I introduced Senate Bill 9, the California Housing Opportunity & More Efficiency Act, at the beginning of this legislative session to meet that need. The bill would streamline the process for a homeowner to create a duplex or subdivide an existing lot up to four units in residential areas. It builds on the successful approach of Accessory Dwelling Units and incorporates the option of creating intergenerational wealth for families, thus providing opportunity and stabilizing neighborhoods.

It also includes safeguards, including placing a limit on individuals from receiving ministerial lot splits on adjacent parcels, thereby preventing investor speculation-fueled purchases. It also prevents profiteers from evicting tenants in order to build and bring in more rental income; provides that local governments maintain control of zoning and design standards; preserves historic neighborhoods and includes additional amendments to further clarify that the bill would only allow up to four units.

It is effectively the same bill I introduced last year. Like that bill, which had garnered support from a majority of both houses and passed the Assembly before dying at the end of last session due to the clock running out, SB 9 also has momentum and widespread appeal. It is also needed now more than ever. That’s why I brought it back this legislative session and why I’m working harder than ever to get it across the finish line.

Demand continues to increase. By 2025, our state will need an estimated 1.8 million new homes to meet the growing demand. Right now, we are only building about 80,000 new homes per year — not nearly enough to meet the needs of struggling California families.

This severe lack of housing has had a deep impact on our state and all who live here, leading to overcrowding, long commutes and an undue disadvantage for lower-income families. It has also contributed to people falling into homelessness. Homeownership is not only the ticket to the middle class, but also a prerequisite to building wealth that gets passed on to future generations.

I became a first-time homebuyer in 1992. I was 30 years old, working at a community health clinic and I remember worrying about affording the mortgage and being overwhelmed by the paperwork.

For me, owning a home was a huge deal. My parents never owned a home — at one point we didn’t even have running water. Growing up, I dreamt of owning a single-wide trailer. When you come from that level of poverty, the thought of being able to call a duplex home could change your life.

We cannot continue to let the naysaying and the booming voices of the extreme NIMBYs drown out the pleas of mom-and-pop homeowners who want to become part of the solution and the families who just want a chance to attain the California dream.

One success stories in West Oakland to convert duplex into fourplex:

a duplex of 3000sf land, existing 6/2 rented to UCB students at very good price, The owner paid 700K for it. with another 600K, another duplex could be added in 3 months with 1000sf each floor of 3 bed 2 bath each which would triple the rental income. the mortgage would be $3000 month.

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