03-09-26-WS - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Allowing and Restricting Uses Communities get to decide whether to let ADUs be used just like any other housing type or to create special rules for them. Some municipalities prefer the simple approach: regulating ADUs like other homes. So if a home -based child-care service is allowed to operate in the primary dwelling, it is also allowed in an ADU. Conversely, communities sometimes adopt ADU-specific regulations in order to avoid undesirable impacts on neighbors. Examples of those regulations include: Limiting short-term rentals ADUs tend to work well as short- term rentals. They're small and the owner usually lives on -site, making it convenient to serve as host. However, if ADUs primarily serve as short-term rentals, such as for Airbnb and similar services, it undermines the objective of adding small homes to the local housing supply and creating housing that's affordable. In popular markets, short-term rentals can be more profitable than long-term ones, allowing homeowners to recoup their ADU expenses more quickly. In addition, short-term rentals can provide owners with enough income that they can afford to occasionally use the ADU for friends and family. A survey of ADU owners in three Pacific Northwest cities with mature ADU and short-term rental markets found that 60 percent of ADUs are used for long-term housing as compared with 12 percent for short-term rentals. Respondents shared that they "greatly value the ability to use an ADU flexibly." For instance, an ADU can be rented nightly to tourists, then someday rented to a long-term tenant, then used to house an aging parent. ADUs intended primarily for visting family are sometimes used as short-term rentals between visits. Cities concerned about short-term rentals can regulate them across all housing types. Doing so might mean that special rules are not needed. An approach employed in Portland, Oregon, is to treat ADUs the same as other residences except that any financial incentives (such as fee waivers) to create them are available only if the property owner agrees not to use the ADU as a short-term rental for at least 10 years. Requiring owner occupancy Some jurisdictions require the property owner to live on -site, either in the primary house or its ADU. This is a common way of addressing concerns that absentee landlords and their tenants will allow homes and ADUs to fall into disrepair and negatively impact the neighborhood. Owner -occupancy rules are usually implemented through a deed restriction and/or by requiring that an annual statement confirming residency be filed. Some cities go further, saying ADUs can be occupied only by family members, child- or adult -care providers, or other employees in service of the family. Owner -occupancy requirements make the financing of ADUs more difficult, just as they would if applied to single-family homes. But as ADUs have become more common, owner -occupancy restrictions have become less so, which is good. Such requirements limit the appraised value of properties with ADUs and reduce options for lenders should they need to foreclose. Enforcing owner -occupancy laws can be tricky, and the rules have been challenged in courts, sometimes successfully. However, according to a study by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, more than two-thirds of properties with ADUs are owner - occupied even without an owner - occupancy mandate. ■ A The zoning code of Brevard, North Carolina, a city of fewer than 10,000 residents, allows ADUs, which are referred to as "secondary dwelling units" and are allowed "within residentially -zoned, single-family and duplex lots." The code states that such homes "shall be encouraged and designed to meet housing needs," adding that "[s]econdary dwelling units shall be accessory and subordinate to the primary living quarters." In the image at left, the one-story cottage is the primary dwelling. The apartment above the detached garage is the secondary dwelling. The ABCs of ADUs I AARP 17