For years, the housing crunch has been getting progessively worse in many areas, with Los Angeles, California being one of the worse. Recently, Accessory Dwelling Units, or ADU's have been becoming increasingly popular. An ADU is a "tiny home" built on your property, either as an attached conversion or as a detached conversion.

An attached conversion is the most common, and is referred to as a "garage conversion". This is the type that takes an existing building on your property, such as your garage, and converts it into a complete living space. you can then rent this space out for additional income. A detached conversion is built on your property, but is not attached to your current home. It follows the same plan, turning an unused, or underused, space into a habitable space that you can then rent out.

Tiny homes are a trend nationwide, and are a great way to simplify your lifestyle. Garage conversions are an example of taking it one step further. Building a garage conversion, or detached conversion, onto your existing property not only helps to alleviate the lack of housing, it also gives you a pretty passive income. Once the price of the ADU is satisfied, you then can use the rent money to pay other expenses.

Accessory dwelling units are perfect for couples, or single people. They are more affordable than traditional rental properties, and are often located in areas that are difficult to find a home in. Santa Monica is known for its lack of affordable housing, and accessory dwelling units are helping to combat that.

All in all, these housing units are a benefit for both the renter and the landlord. It allows people to find affordable housing, and puts extra money into the owners bank account. Are these the answer for the housing crunch? While long term affects remain to be seen, these units are certainly a promising venture!