ADU Program Provides Housing Affordability, Flexibility, and Stability
Habitat for Humanity of Metro Denver is proud to be the construction partner for the Single Family + ADU (SF+ ADU) Program with the Denver Housing Authority. The program helps existing homeowners to plan, price, design, finance, and build an ADU on their residential property, and then rent the ADU affordably.
In 2019, the West Denver Renaissance Collaborative (WDRC) launched the WDSF+ ADU pilot program in collaboration with the Denver Housing Authority (DHA) and a robust network of partners. Habitat Metro Denver acts as the construction partner.
Las ADU son una forma en que Hábitat y sus socios pueden proporcionar unidades asequibles adicionales en nuestro mercado competitivo y evitar el hacinamiento y la inestabilidad para los propietarios de viviendas existentes.
Photo above: Colorado Governor Jared Polis visited the home of ADU homeowner, Yoseph, in fall of 2023 to learn more about the program benefits.
¿Cómo funciona el programa?
- Meeting a need in specific neighborhoods: Habitat Metro Denver, alongside the other program partners, has focused its ADU construction in nine west Denver neighborhoods that are impacted by gentrification and residential destabilization. The program recently expanded to include all of Denver, since ADUs are now allowed citywide.
- Finding homeowners: WDRC finds and qualifies homeowners who have a large enough lot to accommodate an ADU, and have interest in the program.
- Ensure site infrastructure: Habitat Metro Denver collaborates with partners to ensure each lot can accommodate the infrastructure needed for an ADU (i.e. water, power, sewer).
- ADU construction: Habitat Metro Denver builds the ADUs, using seven low-cost ADU designs that have been approved by city building regulators and can be used by anyone in the Denver Housing Authority program, saving architecture and permitting fees. Habitat Metro Denver and The American Institute of Architects designed the floor plans, which range in size from a studio to a three-bedroom ADU.
- Provide financial support: The Denver Housing Authority and other partners support homeowners with financial counseling and support to fund their ADU project. Other local lenders are also helping to innovate ADU financing.
¿Cómo beneficia el programa a la comunidad de Denver?
- Proporciona viviendas asequibles para familias con ingresos bajos o moderados (LMI)
- Crea unidades adicionales de vivienda asequible en parcelas residenciales existentes.
- Ofrece a los propietarios de viviendas de larga duración la posibilidad de alojar a los miembros de la familia ampliada, lo que proporciona estabilidad a los propietarios y permite a los residentes de más edad envejecer en su hogar.
- Generar ingresos suplementarios para los propietarios que les ayuden a cubrir gastos de vivienda imprevistos y a pagar los impuestos sobre la propiedad, lo que puede suponer un reto para quienes viven con ingresos limitados.
- Proporciona seguridad en la vivienda tanto al propietario como al inquilino.
- Preserva las viviendas existentes y añade unidades asequibles coherentes con el carácter del barrio.
Policy Wins: State and City Action on ADUs
State of Colorado
- 2024 – House Bill 24-1152 (signed May 2024): Requires cities (1,000+ residents, in MPOs) to allow one 500–800 ft² ADU per single-family lot. Eliminates off-street parking mandates, owner-occupancy restrictions, and HOA bans under the Colorado Common Interest Ownership Act (CCIOA)—voiding them by June 30, 2025.
- July 2025 – House Bill 24-1007: Updates occupancy limits, enabling greater use of ADUs statewide.
- State support: Up to $8 million appropriated for low- and moderate-income homeowner loans and down-payment assistance.
City and County of Denver
City & County of Denver
- June 2023: Council passed zoning-code changes to streamline ADU construction—allowing two-story ADUs in urban areas, removing conversion barriers for existing structures, and extending parking exemptions.
- Nov 2024 – File 24-1302 & Council ordinance: Denver approved citywide ADU allowance across all residential zones; the bill went into effect in 2025.
ADU Homeowner Stories
Construir un futuro brillante para su familia mediante la adición de un ADU
11 Sep, 2024
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ADU Program Featured on Colorado Housing Finance Authority’s Podcast:
CHFA: The Buildout: A CHFA Podcast
Season Two – Episode Five | Small But Mighty: How ADUs Are Increasing Housing Supply
Until 2025, where you lived in Colorado determined whether or not you could build an accessory dwelling unit or ADU. But a new law sponsored by Senator Judy Amabile has changed that. Now, it’s easier than ever to build a little granny flat out back. When it comes to bridging Colorado’s housing supply gap, each and every ADU adds up.
In Denver, Renee Martinez-Stone with the Denver Housing Authority has helped homeowners to build ADUs through a partnership with Habitat for Humanity of Metro Denver. ADUs not only offset costs for homeowners, but also provide lower rents, allowing longtime residents to stay put. Jaime Gomez, CEO of Habitat for Humanity of Metro Denver, explains how these flexible units are disrupting displacement and becoming a valuable tool to address Colorado’s housing crisis.
Resources from this episode:
Necesitamos financiación y apoyo continuos de los municipios y socios locales para construir ADU asequibles y hacerlas asequibles para los propietarios que quieran construir ADU en sus terrenos.
Thank you to these partners for their work on the Single Family + ADU (SF+ ADU) Program
Más información y artículos sobre el programa:
- Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) Toolkit
- ADU Stories — West Denver Renaissance Collaborative
- “This completed ADU shows West Denver residents that they too can build generational wealth” – Denverite, 2022
- Green Mountain High School Partners to Build Habtat Denver’s First ADU
- Granny flats expand in west Denver. What about the rest of the city? – Denverite, 2020
- Does affordable housing end at the sidewalk? A west Denver project is figuring that out – Denverite, 2020
¿Está interesado en construir una ADU? Rellene el formulario de consulta
Formulario de solicitud de ADU
con la West Denver Renaissance Collaborative