The houses can be on the small side but they should never be called tiny homes.
They are, in fact, Accessory Dwelling Units, and come in a variety of shapes and sizes in Connecticut and further.
To look at Sheri Koones’ new book on such structures is to enter a trip that can start in Mystic, zoom up to Avon and then take you across the country, with stops at ADUs in Minnesota, Washington State, Texas, Oregon, Denver and California and elsewhere. They are homes added on the property of a main house.
Koones studied and writes about the structures for several reasons, including that she sees them as a part of the solution to the lack of housing nationwide, and that she sees them providing advantages for green living, privacy, multi-generational opportunities, keeping neighborhood style intact, offering rental income and providing outdoor space and more.
Koones chooses the locations she shares carefully, focusing on what is unique in each location. The book “ADUs, The Perfect Housing Solution,” recounts that a 790-square-foot Mystic ADU, for example, has green features the owners wanted, such as large triple pane windows, and underwent a blower door test so the home would be properly sealed. It is designed by Unity Homes. The couple who had it built has another home on the site, which is rented out, Koones wrote.
The 1,316-square-foot Avon home also is designed to be green, or net-zero, but also has the goal of being a space three generations can live in, with a separate but attached ADU. The architect/planner was James Wolf of Wolfworks Inc., according to Koones.
Koones notes that, in general, fewer older adults today want to live in senior facilities and that the generation of boomers is more active than previous generations, participating in sports and more interested in traveling than maintaining a large house.
“Living in an ADU is a wonderful solution for them. They can live close to their adult children and can help with childcare,” she said. “If the parents need additional help later in life, their family is close by.”
Regarding the Avon multigenerational house, Koones said, “The main house and ADU are connected with a porch giving both the parents and adult children the privacy they may want.
“The older parents can feel comfortable traveling without worrying about their home; the older parents can spend quality time with their grandchildren,” she said.
The ADU housing style, on average running 600 to 1,200 square feet, also can have benefits for other generations, including millennials, Koones said.
“Millennials are facing a much more difficult situation than in previous years. They are graduating from college with massive loans and a difficult housing market,” she said. “Many of them are not able to purchase homes until much later than previous generations did.”
However, in communities where zoning permits it, “some of them would like to live in a home close to where they grew up but are priced out of that market,” she said.
“If they build an ADU on their parent’s property, they can live much more affordably and stay in the area they prefer,” Koones said. “If they have children and outgrow the ADU, in some cases they can switch residences with their parents; with the young family moving into the main house and the parents into the ADU.”
Not universally accepted in Connecticut
The Connecticut Association of Realtors®, notes that an ADU “can provide options for children returning from college or seniors wanting to be close to family. They can also provide rental income to homeowners, which can be applied to mortgage payments.”
But the association also warns: “The requirements vary greatly from town to town.”
Koones does not address zoning in depth, as rules differ so widely, even across Connecticut. She said the homeowners she featured also do not share specific costs, but all sought not to ”be excessive” with expenses. Costs vary widely depending on location, materials, permits, local labor and more, according to Koones.
The CT Mirror has reported that more than two-thirds of Connecticut towns opted out of a 2021 law on streamlining regulations about Accessory Dwelling Units, but “most towns still allow units of this type in some form, citing a report from advocacy group Desegregate Connecticut.
The Mirror story notes that 54 towns did not opt out and are subject to state law, and 115 opted out. It cites the report as noting many of those that opted out set up their own regulations for the units and that a “majority of Connecticut towns — 67% — allow accessory dwelling units that at least partially satisfy the state law’s requirements,” also citing the report.
Bloomfield is one of the Connecticut towns that rejected state rules on ADUs, or so-called in-law apartments. Officials in Bloomfield, however, said they were not trying to avoid more non-traditional housing but sought to maintain local control.
‘A great opportunity’
Given the housing shortage in Connecticut and many areas across the country, Koones said she believes “ADUs are a perfect housing solution.”
Other advantages, she said, can include adding housing units that don’t alter the nature of a community, as most ADUs are built in the rear of the main house and typically are “hardly visible, if at all to passersby,” she said.
ADUs can also offer more outdoor space and privacy than apartment houses or multiplex units would, she said. This includes for people who work at home, Koones said.
Koones noted that the possibility of adding income is an advantage to ADUs, as the couple who built the Mystic structure does, by using it and renting out the home on the site.
“Many people rent out their ADU for added income and to help pay their own expense,” Koones said. “This has been particularly advantageous for homeowners that want to retire; the added income from the ADU makes this process easier.
“ADUs would provide a great opportunity for young adults to return to the state after they graduate and would allow some seniors to remain in their homes after retiring, with the money they receive from renters,” she said.
Koones said ADUs have other purposes, including when homeowners don’t want to build a larger house on their lot but need extra space. “The ADU can then function as a comfortable place for visiting relatives and friends, as a place to entertain or just relax in a quiet space, or as a place to work from home, away from the activity in the main house.”
The housing style can also help people who can’t afford to live in the communities where they work, with a smaller more economical residence closer, and resort communities, such as ski areas, that need temporary affordable housing during the season. There also are companies that can provide predesigned ADUs, she said.
Koones said ADUs also generally take less time to build than many other housing structures. Those featured in her book seem to meld with the local landscapes in style, color choices and settings.
“It’s one of the hottest topics in home construction right now,” she said.
Koones said she has been writing books about ADUs for several years and also has spoken in public about them and audiences were very interested in the housing style, seeking more information for their personal use.
“When I consider the shortage in affordable housing, I think there is a great deal of interest because of the practical implications of incorporating an ADU into one’s main home.”
Koones said she wrote the book to provide “information and inspiration to anyone who is thinking about building an ADU or dreaming of one in the future.” There are an estimated 1.5 million ADUs in the U.S. and that number grows by about 9% annually, she said.
“This is an opportunity for (people) to see what an ADU can look like and what they can aspire to,” Koones said. “All of these are great examples of the possibilities.”
Regarding Connecticut, Koones said, many houses are on large parcels of land, “providing plenty of space for additional housing units.” She said she has found many of the people she speak to are not aware of the existence of the ADU styles of housing, but “when they get information about them, they begin to think of all the ways they can benefit from building one on their property.”
“The 25 examples in the book demonstrate the vast design possibilities, the many ways they can be built, and the methods of making the smallest of spaces feel larger than they are,” she said. “Included is information about some of the products and design possibilities that can also help to maximize the space. At the back of the book is a listing of resources — professionals to help design and build the units and some of the products used.”