Help Homeowners Add New Housing Program: accessory dwelling unit financing.

Existing law provides for the creation by local ordinance, or by ministerial approval if a local agency has not adopted an ordinance, of accessory dwelling units to allow single-family or multifamily dwelling residential use in accordance with specified standards and conditions. This bill would require the Treasurer, within 6 months of the effective date of these provisions, to develop the Help Homeowners Add New Housing Program with the purpose of assisting homeowners, as defined, in qualifying for loans to construct additional housing units on their property, including accessory dwelling units and junior accessory dwelling units. The bill would, with regard to the development of the program, require the Treasurer to consult with the California Housing Financing Agency and the Department of Housing and Community Development and would authorize the Treasurer to consult with private lenders. The bill would require the program to be developed to provide partial loan guarantees and other credit enhancements for homeowners in order to induce private lenders to issue loans for the construction of additional dwelling units, as specified. The bill would require the state to partner with private lenders with a history of originating federally backed construction loans or loans for accessory dwelling units and require originating lenders to retain a specified amount of risk determined by the Treasurer. The bill would require the Treasurer to develop minimum criteria for homeowners and originating lenders to participate in the program, as specified. The bill would require the Treasurer to establish a premium, fee, and interest structure to adequately cover the risk of loan defaults and the actual operating costs of the program, and would require those moneys to be deposited into the Help Homeowners Add New Housing Account. Existing law establishes the California Housing Finance Fund and continuously appropriates all money in the fund to the California Housing Finance Agency for purposes of financing the various programs that it administers. The bill would establish the Help Homeowners Add New Housing Account within the California Housing Finance Fund and specify that the moneys in the account are continuously appropriated for purposes of the program. The bill would require the agency, in coordination with the Treasurer, to issue revenue bonds in a principal amount determined by the Treasurer to be necessary to provide sufficient funding for the purposes of the program, as specified. The bill would specify that the bonds do not constitute a debt or liability of the state or of any political subdivision thereof, as specified.