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APRIL 1992 I AMERICAN PLANNING ASSOCIATION Accessory Units: The Back-Door Approach to Affordable Housing Census data indicate that people are living in smaller house- holds than they did 20 or 30 years ago. There are more single people, either because they are marrying later, divorced more often, or living longer after their spouses die. Working women are having fewer children, meaning houses built during the height of the baby boom are often too large and too expensive. Yet federal dollars for affordable housing have dried up, forcing city officials to seek inexpensive ways to augment the supply of lower-cost housing in their communities. What can planners do? One thing, some planners and government officials say, is to change zoning laws to allow accessory apartments. Accessory apartments are indepen- dent, complete living units typically created from surplus space in a single-family home. These units are also called second units or, in Hawaii, ohana units. To many, they're known simply as mother-in-law apartments or granny flats. Such terms, however, besides being in- suiting, imply that only a certain kind of resident can use accessory apartments. In truth, just about anyone can benefit. The benefits extend to the homeowner and the com- munity. Accessory units add affordable housing stock with- out dramatically changing the nature of neighborhoods, while also keeping the American dream of home ownership alive even when housing costs seem prohibitive. By keeping more residents within established neighborhoods, they also reduce sprawl while adding to the tax base. Potential Martin Gellen, in Accessory Apartments in Single-Family Housing (Rutgers, Center for Urban Policy Research), estimated in 1985 that from 10 to 18 million U.S. single- family'houses have enough surplus space to be candidates for conversion. Not all owners, of course, want to make the change, and the design of some houses makes conversion too difficult. But Gellen points out that converting only 15 percent of these dwellings over a 10-year period would add 150,000 rental units to the market each year. Patrick H. Hare, a planning consultant and coauthor of Creating an Accessory Apartment (McGraw-Hill, 1987), estimates that 15 million of the 48 million single-family houses in the U.S. have enough space to accommodate an accessory unit, His estimates for potential conversion, however, are much more modest than Gellen' s. Communities that allow accessory apartments typically average one conversion yearly for every 1,000 single-family homes, says Hare. At this rate, if all zoning ordinances nationwide permitted, he would expect only 48,000 conversions yearly. Nevertheless, Hare says it would still be an important contribution to the supply of rental housing stock. An accessory apartment is an inexpensive option for both homeowner and renter. Construction costs are lower than for free-standing rental units because the main building structure is already in place. Although costs vary widely, Hare estimated in 1987 the average cost for conversion at $16,500, and new rental units between $40,000 and $60,000. Though that was five years ago, Hare believes the The disadvan- tage of a garage com,ersion is that it elitninates parking. Fre- quenlly, new pnrking must be provided on site. GARAGE BEFORE " CONVERSION competition for construc- tion jobs has kept the cost of conversion about the same. However, a lack of financing and fewer tax incentives has made new multifamily development even more expensive. Partly because of these low development costs, the renter generally gets an apartment at below market rates. Hare points to a Montgomery County, Maryland, survey that found that homeowners .renting to nonfamily members generally charged $140 per month less than the market rate. Family members often paid nothing or a token amount. The occupancy of second dwelling units, Hare notes, often switches from stranger to needy relative and back again as ownership and family needs change. Obstacles Despite the beriefits and potential of accessory apartments, there is often resistance from communities or individual homeowners. Th6.American dream has long included a detached single-family home with a wide lawn. Multifamily housing, especially rental housing, is often perceived as threatening to an area's appearance raising density and bringing in people who are "less desirable" than homeowners. Renters, of course, use heat, electricity, water, etc., and high rates for such utilities are another detrimental factor. II