This practice brief explores case studies of state interventions in backyarding to understand the limitations and potential in the sector and suggests what more supportive interventions for backyard dwellers could look like. It draws on a model that distinguishes areas of intervention based on the status of land ownership and the intention of the intervention. In so doing, the practice brief offers a reflection on the complexities of responding adequately to the unique needs and challenges that rise in the backyard housing sector, with particular attention given to backyard rental accommodation