The County of Santa Cruz is creating partnerships with homeowners motivated to build an ADU/in-law unit. In partnership with Hello Housing, the County has created an ADU Incentives program for homeowners to help make the process less overwhelming. Free feasibility and project management support provided by Hello Housing and paid for by the County is now available for homeowners who live in the Unincorporated Areas of the County. Our team of design and construction experts are ready to help you figure out what's possible with your property.
1
Online Application
Submit your online application. The application will (1) determine your initial eligibility (2) provide the HelloADU team with some basic information about your ADU/JADU vision and your readiness and (3) to confirm your understanding of what Santa Cruz County's HelloADU can and can’t do for you. It should take about 15-20 minutes to complete.
The County's program is subject to a waitlist for all applicants who have applied following the initial lottery. All new applications received will be placed on a waitlist in the order that they are received. This is an Active waitlist and will remain active until all open positions in the program are filled.
2
Remote Sessions &
Site Visits
HelloADU's team will reach out to schedule a phone conversation which includes a discussion about your potential project, potential costs, timeline and process. If following the phone call your project is a good potential candidate for the County's HelloADU program and you are still interested and ready to move forward, we will schedule a site visit.
At the site visit, we will walk your property together, learn more about your vision, review any sketches or drawings to date (if available), take measurements, locate utility connections, identify site conditions that may impact feasibility and construction cost, and discuss the pros and cons of alternative approaches.
3
Participation Agreement
If, following the site visit, you and Hello Housing mutually agree to move forward, you will be invited to submit a Participation Package which will include a Homeowner’s Participation Agreement and any other documents identified at the Site Visit that are needed for Hello Housing to make a final selection. Additional information may include evidence of financial plan in place to pay for the unit as well as participant income verification documentation.
To learn more about program eligibility and how to get answers to common questions please read through our Frequently Asked Questions.