The Policy Alignment

Opportunity

Los Angeles faces the most severe housing affordability challenge in the United States.

Despite significant efforts to encourage housing production, many sites remain vacant or underutilized for years because traditional development can be expensive, time-consuming, and difficult to finance.

512 W. Laconia is an example of a multifamily-zoned property that has remained underutilized for decades despite the City's desire for more housing.

Existing Housing Policies

Los Angeles has adopted programs such as ED1 and other housing incentives to accelerate housing production.

These programs play an important role in creating new housing opportunities.

However, they often rely on:

  • Large-scale apartment construction

  • Significant development costs

  • Multi-year construction timelines

  • Reduced parking requirements

  • Public incentives and subsidies

A Different Approach

Tinys on Fig explores whether an already legal housing type can provide another path to housing attainability.

The proposal seeks to:

  • Utilize an underperforming multifamily property

  • Deliver housing in months rather than years

  • Include on-site parking

  • Operate without public subsidy

  • Serve working residents already connected to the community

  • Maintain professional property management

The Policy Question

Tiny homes are already legal for residential occupancy in Los Angeles.

The issue is not safety.

The issue is not habitability.

The issue is not whether people can live in these homes—they already do.

The question is whether an existing legal housing type can be deployed at meaningful scale to help address workforce housing and housing attainability.

Why Explore a Pilot?

A pilot project would allow the City to evaluate whether:

  • Workforce housing can be delivered faster

  • Housing can be delivered at lower cost

  • Parking can be preserved

  • Underutilized land can be activated

  • Private capital can help address housing needs without taxpayer subsidy

If successful, the model could become another tool available to Los Angeles in its effort to address housing affordability.