Will new Arizona housing laws mean more duplexes, casitas in your area?

Arizona cities could get more dense developments without zoning fights, and tiny backyard homes will become much easier to build due to two bipartisan housing bills signed by Gov. Katie Hobbs on Tuesday.

Several pieces of legislation have been introduced to tackle Arizona's housing shortage during the past few years, but few have survived.

House Bill 2721, nicknamed the "middle housing bill," calls for cities with more than 75,000 residents to change zoning and other development regulations to allow for duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes and townhomes within one mile of their central business districts. It also requires those multifamily developments to occupy 20% of any new development of more than 10 acres.

"Tempe is totally landlocked, and we have to find new ways to create more housing," said Tempe Mayor Corey Woods. "I am excited about this bill because it will help us create more housing options across the age spectrum for our community."

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The League of Arizona Cities and Towns backed the bill.

House Bill 2720 calls for cities with more than 75,000 people to allow small backyard homes, known as accessory dwelling units or casitas, to be built on properties with single-family homes. The ADUs won't have design restrictions or need additional parking.

"Casitas represent a potent solution to bolster housing supply within established neighborhoods, all without necessitating additional land development," said Nicole Newhouse, executive director of the Arizona Housing Coalition.

Both bills drew criticism. The middle housing bill didn't go as far as earlier legislation that would have taken away zoning controls from municipalities and eliminated the possibility of cities imposing HOA requirements on new communities. That bill passed the Legislature but was vetoed by Hobbs in March after it drew backlash from cities.

Neal Haddad, president of the Neighborhood Coalition of Greater Phoenix, wrote in a letter to Hobbs that his group did not support the ADU bill because it would not protect against new ADUs being turned into short-term rentals.

The group also doesn't like that the bill allows more ADUs to be built on bigger lots.

Cities must comply with the middle housing law by January 2026 and the ADU bill by January 2025.

Reach the reporter at catherine.reagor@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-8040. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter: @CatherineReagor.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Will new Arizona housing laws mean more duplexes, ADUs in your area?