An example of Backyard ADUs’ accessory dwelling unit, installed at a property in Concord. While the company has a standard catalogue of designs, buyers can customize them. Photo courtesy of Backyard ADUs
Less than a year after a new state law went into effect legalizing accessory dwelling unit construction on most lots statewide, 550 new ADUs have been approved, according to new data compiled by the state Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities
Before Gov. Maura Healey’s Affordable Homes Act, many towns and cities explicitly or implicitly banned ADUs, or set very high bars for their approval. Now, ADUs under 900 square feet can be built by-right in single-family zoning districts statewide excluding Boston, which has its own, more limited ADU law and which wasn’t covered by the measure in the Affordable Homes Act. Regulations implementing the law’s ADU provision went into effect Feb. 2.
“Massachusetts needs more homes to drive down costs for everyone. That’s why, with the Legislature, we legalized ADUs by right in the Affordable Homes Act,” Healey said in a statement Sept. 26. “ADUs can help seniors afford to stay in the communities they love, give families a chance to earn some extra income or provide an individual with disabilities more independence. It’s great that hundreds of people across Massachusetts are taking advantage of this effective way to build more reasonably-priced homes – which will benefit us all.”
Plymouth, the state’s largest municipality by land area, reported the most ADU applications with 32, while Milton and Worcester followed with 25 and 24 respectively. The 550 units approved statewide broke down into 289 attached/interior ADUs and 261 detached ADUs, state data showed.
“The Healey-Driscoll Administration is using every available resource to end our housing shortage, and the data is clear: This one change is unlocking more housing while filling a need for many families,” Housing and Livable Communities Secretary Ed Augustus said in a statement. “The goal of the Affordable Homes Act was to give renters and homeowners greater choice over where they live and to lower their costs. Streamlining the process for building an ADU will continue to prove essential in solving our housing crisis.”
Image courtesy of the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities
