They’ve been called “in-law apartments” and “granny flats.” But the small homes known as accessory dwelling units, or ADUs, are increasingly being used to house adult children, or for extra rental income for homeowners.
More than a year after Massachusetts legalized ADUs statewide in single-family housing zones, production of the small homes is climbing. More than 1,600 applications were filed in the law’s first year, and more than 1,200 permits were issued, according to state data. But a new report from Boston Indicators says that legal change alone won’t spur enough construction to help the state’s broader housing shortage.
“This was a step in the right direction, but it was still a conservative step, and that’s holding back the state from seeing as much ADU production as people need and as the state really could use,” said Amy Dain, a senior fellow at Boston Indicators who authored the report…