Granny Flat or In-Law Suite? Which is More Prudent?

Published: August 19, 2011
By: Dona DeZube
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If you need to house aging parents or adult children, or if your family is multi-generational, what’s better — an in-law suite or a little granny cottage in the back yard?

This accessory dwelling unit, or granny flat, is in Bainbridge Island, Wash. Zoning laws here dictate that ADUs are accessories of larger residences with no more than 800 square feet of finished living space. Image: Coates Design

If you need to house aging parents or adult children, or if your family is multi-generational, what’s better — an in-law suite or a little granny cottage in the back yard?

Our data says you’ll spend less remodeling the basement or adding an in-law suite to your attic. But a USA Today feature suggests you consider building a small house or cottage in the back yard.

For instance, the article notes that in Vancouver, detached cottages or “laneway houses” have become popular: “[Architect James Tuer] … designed several, including one that cost $200,000 and rents for about $1,600 monthly. He says the owners have aging parents who may live there, or they may use it themselves at some point and rent out their main house.”

A Seattle builder is also building backyard cottages in the neighborhood of 800 square feet and at a cost of about $125,000.

Building a second house on your property means a trip through the zoning process versus the much simpler permit process you follow when you remodel existing square footage.

And if you don’t live in a trend-setting metropolis, zoning rules will likely keep you from building a second house on your lot unless you physically attach it to your existing house and put a family member in it rather than a renter. If that’s the case for you, maybe grandpa or the kids can make do with an apartment in the space over the garage.

How are you accommodating in-laws, grown kids, or renters in your home?

Dona DeZube

has been writing about real estate for more than two decades. She lives in a suburban Baltimore Midcentury modest home on a 3-acre lot shared with possums, raccoons, foxes, a herd of deer, and her blue-tick hound.

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Granny cottage for sure. No one needs to see bed head. Seriously, for the sake of privacy and the ability to live independently, the cottage is the way to go.
Posted by Anne on October 27, 2011