Photo: Maria Orlova

What do you call a small house in the backyard?

A backyard tiny home is a residential building code compliant structure often referred to as an Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU), granny flat, backyard cottage, micro-cottage or even a casita in Southern California. The homes are typically smaller than the existing “big” home on the property, making them relatively tiny.

backyardadus.com - How to plan a backyard tiny home project - Backyard ADUs

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Homeowners should determine what they can build on their property before worrying too much about the cost and how to finance construction. It is tempting for people to simply call their local planning department and ask “How can I build a backyard home?” But it will serve you a great deal more to do some research on your own first, including taking a look at your town’s ADU regulations. This will allow you to prepare more specific questions and help you get the most out of your local planners’ expertise. Some examples of questions you might have are:

Could you show me where I can get more information about the rules for building an accessory dwelling unit on my property?

There is also an enormous amount of information on our website (https://backyardadus.com), including links to the ADU rules of many towns. Read on to see an overview! We have also created D.I.Y. property evaluation guides that will walk you step by step on how to determine what you can build. Our team actually uses these guides when we create our custom property reports. If you want to dig into your town zoning bylaw independently, here is what to look for: Towns in New England will title their ADU section as “Accessory Apartments,” “Supplemental Apartments,” and “Accessory Dwelling Units”. When reviewing this section you must confirm whether a “detached” ADU is allowed, review the restrictions, and what the permitting process consists of.

Set Backs

Each zoning bylaw has a section that defines how close a structure can be built to neighbors. Set back requirements are different per zoning district and can be found in separate tables often called “Area Regulations,” or “Dimensional Regulations.”

Accessory Structures

If a detached ADU is considered an accessory structure, you must review the rules for accessory structures in your town. These can include special set back rules, height restrictions, design requirements, and privacy barriers.

Parking Design:

If the ADU bylaw requires parking to be provided you will need to find the bylaw’s parking section. The zoning bylaw will define exactly how big a parking spot needs to be, where it can be located, and what materials can be used to build it.

Open Space Requirements:

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Town zoning ordinances often define the maximum amount of ground that can be covered by structures. Zoning bylaws most commonly refer to this as “Building Coverage Ratios” or “Open Space Ratios.”

Environmental:

Environmental is probably the most difficult part to understand as the rules have some ambiguity and leave room for flexibility. The biggest items homes owners will see are related to restrictions on removing trees, drainage, and runoff.

Step Three: Ballpark Construction Estimate

Once you know what you can build it’s time to get a ballpark number on construction cost. Unfortunately, a ballpark number is really difficult to get from a General Contractor. They don’t like providing these types of estimates for fear of being held to them later on and they simply don’t have time! When you do get in touch with a GC you will want to sound very confident about doing your project and your ability to pay for it. If you don’t, they will think you are “window shopping” and will not allocate the time to producing a quote. Additionally, don’t be afraid to follow up about the quote once per week until you have it. Backyard ADU provides fixed prices for our ready-to-build homes, with our standard specs on typical lots to save you time. Check Backyard ADUs prices.

Step Four: Financing Options

First off– financing should not be a reason not to do a backyard home project. I (Chris Lee) have a background in Real Estate Financing and there are so many creative strategies to paying for a backyard home. I have also been blown away by how many publicly funded options are available in Massachusetts to help people with disabilities and seniors age in place.

Cash:

If you are consolidating households the proceeds from a home sale can be used to fund the construction of the new home.

Massachusetts’ Home Loan Modification Program:

$50,000 at 0% interest with no repayment due until the home is sold. This funding is available to help modify a home (building a backyard home counts) for people with disabilities or to help seniors age in place. An accessible backyard home does count as a modification.