Accessory dwelling units are becoming more popular in the U.S., especially in California. More people are spending the money to build ADU’s on their property. Can you live in an accessory dwelling unit though?
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Origin Of Accessory Dwelling Units
ADUs have been around for hundreds of years. They were originally known as carriage or coach houses. Their original purpose was to act as storage and sleeping quarters for workers that people didn’t want sleeping in their main home.
Accessory Dwelling Units saw a surge in development around the mid-twentieth century as a way to give families more space on their land to live comfortably.
They have gone by many names throughout the years including:
- Backhouse
- Cottage
- Granny flat
- Guesthouse
Accessory Dwelling Units Today
Today, many accessory dwelling units are built for the purpose of people living in them. These mini-homes offer an affordable housing option for low-income families. They also offer space for older generations to live close to their children but still have their own privacy.
Many cities are starting to relax their regulations on building ADU’s to encourage more people to build them on their property. They are doing this for the sole reason of combatting the ever-growing housing issue many cities face. The more ADU’s that are built and rent out at affordable rates, the more people have the chance to get off the streets and into a home, they can afford.
Therefore, the main purpose of an ADU is to be lived in. It can be used for storage or a guest house, but most are built for people to live in.
Stipulations To ADUs
ADU development is not an easy development task. In order for an ADU to be livable, it needs to meet a plethora of standards. For starters, the ADU itself has to be a certain amount of square feet, and the rooms within it (like the kitchen) also need to be a certain number of square feet.
The ADU also needs to meet basic living standards, so it needs:
- Running water
- Plumbing
- Heating/cooling
- Electricity
Without these basic necessities, an ADU can not be lived in.
