Why it matters
City of Yes for Housing Opportunity passed in December 2024 and is projected to add about 82,000 homes over 15 years. Its accessory dwelling unit amendment took effect September 30, 2025, allowing ADUs citywide in one- and two-family homes for the first time — but only a minority of residential lots qualify once zoning district, lot conditions and flood restrictions are applied. The city permitted 22.8% more new homes in 2025 than in the same 2024 period, with much of the growth in alterations and office conversions rather than new construction. The ADU for You platform launched in March 2026; Plus One ADU intake, offering up to $395,000 in combined HPD and HCR assistance, reached capacity and closed on June 12, 2026.
“ADUs are legal citywide now” is accurate as zoning text and misleading as a listing claim. Between the citywide permission and a specific backyard sit the zoning district, the lot dimensions, the flood designation and the building code. Your job is to find out which of those says no before an owner prices the house as if none of them did.
What it changes
Check the lot, not the law. Zoning district, lot coverage, required yards, existing floor area and flood-zone status each independently disqualify a property — any one of them is enough.
Mapped flood areas are where most ADU conversations end. Confirm the flood designation before you type the word “potential” into a listing.
Plus One ADU intake closed June 12, 2026 after reaching capacity. If you quoted the $395,000 program to an owner earlier this year, call them back — the availability changed, and they may have built a renovation budget around it.
The 2025 permitting growth is concentrated in alterations and conversions. If you cover neighborhoods with soft office stock, that is where the actual volume has been, not in backyard cottages.
Never market development potential as an entitlement. “Zoning may permit an accessory dwelling unit subject to DOB review” is defensible. “Add a rental unit for income” is a representation you will own if it turns out to be wrong.
Next steps
- Run the flood map and the zoning district before writing any development language.
- Get an architect’s feasibility letter before you or the owner assign a dollar value to an ADU path.
- Re-verify the status of any incentive program the week you mention it, not the season you learned about it.
- Put opportunity and uncertainty in separate sentences, so neither one gets quoted alone.
From field note to send
See what the listing email actually looks like
Compare the four single-listing designs before deciding whether a $99 send fits this property.