The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has come up with an exciting new plan to make it easier for people to afford homes, especially in busy cities. They want to help more families become homeowners, and they've got a clever idea.

This plan involves something called Accessory Dwelling Units, or ADUs for short. These are like little houses that can be built on the same property as a regular house. People can rent them out to others, and this can really help increase the number of homes available, which is super important in crowded areas.

The head of HUD, Marcia L. Fudge, is really happy about this plan. She says it's all about making sure there are more affordable homes available and helping families build wealth over time. In simple words, it means more people can own a home and make their homes more valuable.

The plan is especially focused on helping families who might not have a lot of money. They want to make sure these families can enjoy all the good things that come with owning a home.

One of the cool things about this plan is that it's flexible. That means it can work for lots of different people. It's going to make it easier for many folks to qualify for a special kind of home loan called an FHA-insured mortgage. For some borrowers, they can even count 75% of the money they get from renting out an ADU when applying for this loan.

But that's not all! This plan also gives some important rules to the people who decide how much homes are worth (they're called appraisers). And it even lets people use this plan to build new homes with ADUs. The best part is that you can start using this plan right now if you're looking to buy a home and your lender is approved by FHA.

This plan is part of a bigger effort by the Biden-Harris Administration to fix housing problems in our country. They really care about making homes more affordable and helping people become homeowners. So, this new plan is a big step in the right direction!