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The popularity of Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) is on the rise across the country. A new law in Massachusetts will not only make it easier for residents to build, but supersede parts of a Winchester bylaw passed in November 2022.
Gov. Maura Healey on Aug. 6 signed the Affordable Homes Act into law, authorizing $5.16 billion in spending during the next five years, along with 49 other initiatives to counter rising housing costs, including ADUs.
The new law allows ADUs under 900 square feet by right on single-family lots. The ADUs can be attached or detached and can take the shape of a basement or attic conversion, a backyard dwelling or addition to a home.
“This new policy replaces a patchwork of zoning regulations across the state with a uniform law that allows homeowners on single-family lots to add these small units without needing a special permit or variance unless they want to add more than one,” a release from Healey’s office states. “Construction of ADUs is still subject to local building codes. The Healey-Driscoll Administration estimates that between 8,000 and 10,000 ADUs will be built across the state over the next five years due to passage of the law.”
The new law goes into effect in February 2025.
Winchester bylaw
According to Winchester’s bylaw, ADUs may be built on both single or two-family lots “to create housing for people age 62+ and for those with disabilities. Many people wish to live near familiar systems: multigenerational family members, friends, activities, services, and medical care. ADUs are a flexible housing option that makes this possible.”
There are several requirements in the town’s bylaw for ADUs, including that the property must be “a primary residence of either the owner of the property or the beneficiary of the trust that owns the property.” The ADU cannot be rented out and must also function as a separate dwelling, with two independent exits, living space, cooking facilities and a full bathroom.
Winchester Planner Taylor Herman is expected to meet with state officials on Aug. 28 to go over the new ADU requirements. Because many other communities have ADU laws, like Winchester, Herman said the state will most definitely allow municipalities leeway to update their rules and regulations.
“By February 2025, we will have to update our bylaw to conform,” Herman said. “We really only have two restrictions that need to be changed. One is the age restriction, which requires a person be over 62 or disabled. That’s not allowed under the new state law.”
The other, Herman said, is based on design guidelines. He said Winchester’s regulations are broader than the state’s, which is more specific when it comes to accessibility and where to place the ADU on a lot, among other standards.
He added Town Meeting will still need to vote to update the bylaw, either this fall or next spring.
“If [Town Meeting] says yes [to the update], we will have more control over the design standards,” Herman said. “But if they say no, then we will have to comply with the exact language [of the state law]."
Herman said Winchester can add more to its design standards, but it can’t be more restrictive than the state law. In other words, the town can still have a say in the style, size or height of the ADU.
“We can mold it to what we want,” he said, “as long as it’s not restrictive to what can be built.”
Herman said so far, only two ADUs have been permitted for construction in Winchester under the 2022 bylaw, but neither have been actually built.
ADU popularity, controversy
ADUs have become something of a phenomenon sweeping towards the East Coast in the past several years, whether in the form of in-law apartments, conversions, or tiny houses.
According to a June 6, 2024 story in Yahoo! Finance, the popularity of ADUs has surged in California, where with “the median home price reaching $900,000, both citizens and legislators are seeking alternative housing solutions. A California Department of Finance study reveals that ADUs accounted for 20% of new home construction 2023.”
That means that one in every five new homes built in California in 2023 was an ADU, doubling from 2020.
“The newfound popularity of ADUs proves that necessity is the mother of invention,” the article reads. “California home prices have been relentlessly marching towards unaffordability for the past several decades, and a lack of inventory is one of the main contributing factors.”
Herman said it’s not only California, but the Pacific Northwest and Texas that are finding ADUs an alternative to the lack of affordable housing.
“The state is trying to make this popular,” Herman said. “Massachusetts isn’t the only one to do it, but they are being more aggressive about it. But, Massachusetts is not alone.”
Herman said some might see ADUs as controversial, but there’s a lot more opportunity in ADUs than most people consider.
“Winchester has a huge problem with people being able to age in place,” Herman said. “People’s kids go off to college and they want to downsize and they don’t want to live in a large house. This is an option for that.
“People fear that this is an affordability thing, but it’s not,” he continued. “This is a way to increase housing options.”
And, Herman added, it’s important to note that even if you build an ADU in Winchester, there are still restrictions. For example, you can’t have an ADU and put it on Airbnb because the town does have ways to enforce that.
Otherwise, it’s still an option.
“I see a significant opportunity for people to create a great living space for their families,” Herman said. “When people come in to talk about ADUs, it’s not that they can’t afford to live here. I don’t see that as being the case.”
