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Accessory Dwelling Units - Providing more Living Space



Accessory Dwelling Units – commonly known as ADUs if you are familiar with real estate lingo. These are the “tiny houses”, “granny units”, “In-law units”, backyard cottages”, “or secondary units” that you can build somewhere on your property to house well, your in-laws, granny, friends, or rent out for extra income. Many Air B&B’s’s across America are simply ADUs, or Junior ADU’s which means an area built within the confines of your home (basement, attic, master suite conversion.)
Many people will buy a house because it has an ADU and that extra rental income can be quite a windfall in helping pay the mortgage. It could also come in handy if the folks want or need to move close to you – then they can help with your mortgage! There are many advantages to having these ADUs besides money $$$. But there is no doubt that having an ADU on your property increases the value mainly because of all the options they provide. Spare work out area, office space, music room, yoga studio, writing studio, get-away-from-the-rest-of-the-family space. I am sure people with ADU’s have been making good use of them during the Stay-at-Home times. 

There are even calculators for figuring out how much it would cost to build and ADU and what the cost benefits would be in return for rent. Every county or city in California have their own requirements for ADUs but the CA Department of Housing and Community Development has improved various provisions in order to promote the development of ADUs. California housing is at a premium and making it easier for people to include ADUs on their property will only increase the much needed housing, particularly in Santa Cruz and Monterey counties. At one time it was a huge challenge to get approvals for ADUs not to mention a huge cost in permits. But with the new mandate from the state, counties have been strongly encouraged to find ways to allow people to build the extra housing without breaking the bank. 

The addition of an ADU to your property brings you one step closer to the family compound idea so many people seek. Having a compound of family or close friends sharing some space, but not all, is a common desire for many seeking housing. It is not just cost effective, but the strength of community that comes with it is an old-fashioned idea that is coming back into popularity. Many like the idea of having people they know and maybe even love, living close to them to share in responsibilities, take care of the yard or look after pets when others are away or travelling, sharing in costs by buying in bulk, having multi-generational residents provides advantages such as babysitting for some and yard or home maintenance for others. All with people you know or trust. Co-housing doesn’t come without issues, of course, but it is a new – old way of thinking and it is very popular in the Santa Cruz and Monterey areas I serve. 


There is a lot more to know about ADUs but this gives you an idea of what they are what they can be used for. If you are interested in knowing more, check out your county or city’s website and review their parameters. For Santa Cruz County click here and for Monterey County here. If you live in a particular city you’ll have to look up that city’s requirements. It’s good to know, just in case you get that call that Mom wants to come visit – and she doesn’t leave 😊.

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