Dear Governor Newsom,

The Two Hundred is proud to support AB 69 which will help address California’s housing crisis by allowing

for the construction of more accessory dwelling units (ADUs). The Two Hundred’s mission is to close the racial wealth gap for communities of color by supporting homeownership, understand the impediments to policies that support building homeownership for low-income communities, and address them through our work.

ADUs are smaller, independent units on the same lot as a single or multi family home. Studies show that ADUs

cost less to both build and rent, making them an affordable and eco-friendly source of new housing.

Unfortunately, many low-income homeowners are unable to finance an ADU. While future rental income would

allow homeowners to manage additional loan payments, current lending tools do not take this into account

when determining loan eligibility. AB 69 helps fill this gap by providing homeowners with bridge loans so they

can finance ADU construction until they qualify for a traditional loan. AB 69 will direct the Treasurer to partner

with private mortgage lenders with existing track records of originating federally backed construction and ADU

lending. This program will be revenue neutral for the state by charging fees to offset administrative costs and

default risk. Initial capitalization of the program’s loan loss reserve would be provided by bonds.