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The CalHFA $40,000 ADU Grant Is Closed: Here's What Actually Works in 2026
By Matthew Paetz, Vera Home · Last verified: October 28, 2026
The short answer
No. The CalHFA ADU Grant Program, which offered up to $40,000 toward pre-development costs, is fully allocated and closed. It has not accepted new applications since December 28, 2023.
If anyone contacts you claiming they can get you this grant, CalHFA says it is a financial scam. Do not engage. If they give you names or phone numbers, forward them to marketing@calhfa.ca.gov.
What the program was
The grant covered up to $40,000 in pre-development and non-recurring closing costs for an ADU project: site prep, architectural designs, permits, soil tests, impact fees, property surveys, and energy reports. It was real money, and it helped real homeowners, which is exactly why its ghost keeps showing up in search results.
Why you're still seeing it advertised
Dozens of builder and lender pages were written while the program was live and never updated. As of this writing, multiple ranking pages still present the $40,000 grant as available, including pages last updated years ago. Search engines don't know the program closed; they just know the pages are old and linked-to.
This is the single most common piece of outdated ADU financing information on the internet right now. If a builder's "ADU financing guide" leads with the CalHFA grant, that tells you everything about how current the rest of their numbers are.
What actually works in 2026
With the grant gone, LA County homeowners are financing ADUs three main ways:
1. HELOC (home equity line of credit). The most common path. You borrow against the equity in your existing home, draw as construction progresses, and pay interest only on what you use. Works best if you have meaningful equity and steady income.
2. Construction or renovation loan. A single loan that covers the build, often converting to a standard mortgage when the ADU is complete. More paperwork than a HELOC, but purpose-built for projects like this.
3. Cash-out refinance. You refinance your existing mortgage for more than you owe and take the difference in cash. Whether this makes sense depends entirely on your current rate. Trading a low existing rate for a higher one just to fund an ADU rarely pencils out.
The right choice depends on your equity, your current mortgage rate, and your timeline. A local lender who has actually closed ADU loans, not just conventional mortgages, is worth finding before you commit to plans.
How to spot the scam
CalHFA's warning is blunt: anyone approaching you about getting the ADU grant is running a financial scam. Red flags:
- Unsolicited calls, texts, or door-knockers mentioning the "$40,000 ADU grant"
- Anyone asking for an upfront fee to "secure" or "reserve" grant funds
- Paperwork that references the CalHFA ADU Grant as a current program
Real government programs don't find you. You find them on .gov and .ca.gov domains.
The bottom line
The $40,000 grant was real, and it's gone. Anyone telling you otherwise is either working from a stale webpage or running a scam. The financing paths above are what LA County homeowners are actually using in 2026.
Planning an ADU? Start with our free lot check, zoning, fire, and historic overlays from public records in about 15 seconds, and browse line-item ADU budget reports built on real Los Angeles County costs.
Sources: CalHFA ADU Grant program page (calhfa.ca.gov/adu/lender/index.htm), program update dated December 28, 2023: "The latest round of ADU funding has been fully allocated. If anyone approaches you saying they can help you get an ADU Grant, it is a financial scam."