10 Ways Your ADU Can Support Your Retirement

As I’ve interviewed homeowners, designers, and builders about ADUs over the past several years for the ADU Case Studies Project, one thing that has impressed me is how many people are using an ADU as part of their retirement plan. ADUs can provide housing flexibility, additional income, one-floor living to age-in-place, proximity to family members and caretakers, or even just a place to call home when traveling.

AARP has been supporting creation of ADUs – which may take the form of backyard cottages, guest houses, and in-law suites – through several initiatives recently, including the following publications:

I recently worked with AARP VT to develop Is There an ADU in Your Retirement Plan? (a 2-pager featuring case studies of ADUs in Burlington, VT). Here are the long-form posts of those 3 case studies:

• Ruby Perry & Andy Simon’s ADU: Inspiration for the Neighborhood
• Amy Magyar’s ADU: Friend Next Door & Nest for Me
• Brooks & Brian’s ADU: Retirement Plan for Mom & Us

With wonderful ADU resources now available and many states updating their ADU regulations, I expect we’ll continue to see more people adding an ADU to their retirement plans.

Now, without further ado, here are the top 10 ways an ADU can support you in your retirement:

1. Create Housing Flexibility: Live in either your primary residence or your ADU, selecting the housing type best suited to your current space and accessibility needs, swapping as needed. Over the course of your lifetime your ADU could serve as an office, a guest house, a short- or long-term rental. (See Carrie & Sterling Whitley’s ADU: Housing Stability for Two Generations)
2. Live Close to Family: Coordinate with your grown children so you live in one unit and they (and potentially their children) live in the other. Support each other in daily life, which may include: childcare, grocery shopping, home repairs, cooking, gardening, companionship, etc. (See Dennis & Stephanie Martin’s SDU: Trading Places with Our Daughter)
3. Age In Place: Design an ADU for accessibility so you can age-in-place in the community you already know and love. (See Robert Albano’s ADU: 2 Units for Aging-In-Place)
4. Secure Additional Income from a Long-Term Rental: Rent out either your ADU or your primary dwelling, securing additional income to supplement your fixed retirement income from Social Security, pension, and savings. Rental income will likely keep up with inflation better than your fixed income and could enable you to remain on your property, even if you might otherwise be priced out of your neighborhood. (See Martha Metzger’s ADU: Rent Now, Move in Someday)
5. Host Friends & Family: Make your ADU a guest suite, providing a place for friends and family to stay nearby without them being under foot during their visit. (See Bob & Jenny Harris’ ADU: A Mother-In-Law Wing)
6. Rent Short-Term: If your community allows it, you could also rent your ADU short-term, meeting new people from around the world, while bringing in additional income. (See Joan Grimm & Rita Haberman’s ADU: Carving-Out a Studio)
7. Downsize to Maximize Your Time & Energy: Downsize into your ADU, reducing the costs, time, and energy of maintaining a larger household. (See Walt Drake’s ADU: A Father-in-Law Unit in My Own Backyard)
8. Have a Caretaker Nearby: Live in either your ADU or your primary dwelling and offer the other to a caretaker, friend, or family member who can provide support, companionship, and (potentially) rental income, enabling you to retain your independence as long as possible. (See Sylvia Allen & Martha Shelley’s ADU: A Home for A Friend)
9. Increase Your Property’s Value: Take comfort in knowing that you’ve likely increased the value of your property so that when the time comes to sell or pass it on to your children your property is a more valuable asset than it was before you created your ADU. (See Bob & Adrienne Stacey’s Future ADU: Well-Planned Beforehand)
10. Travel With Your ADU as Home Base: Rent out your primary dwelling long-term and make your ADU your home base, traveling the world. (See Evelyn Brom’s ADU: Another House for the Other Street)

About linamenard

Hi. My name is Lina Menard and I'm a small house dweller, designer, blogger, and builder. I'm currently collecting ADU Case Studies for AccessoryDwellings.org. Through my company Niche Consulting LLC, I help people design and build the home (and life) of their dreams! I also tell my stories about simple living in small spaces - like a travel trailer, a yurt, a backyard cottage, and tiny houses on wheels - at Niche News.

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