Living Local - Should ADUs be legal in Manhattan?
Have you heard the acronym “ADU”? If you watch HGTV, you probably have. ADUs are becoming increasingly popular in many cities as a means of addressing the need for affordable housing and diversifying housing options. ADUs were also identified in Manhattan’s recently adopted Housing Market Analysis as an option to relieve some of the housing shortages and costs our community is experiencing.
ADU stands for Accessory Dwelling Units. They are a secondary residential unit that can be attached to an existing single-family home or built as a standalone structure on the same property. ADU’s primary defining feature is the addition of plumbing. If the unit has plumbing (whether it’s a shed, garage, partitioned off portion of a house, or even a tree house), it can be considered an ADU since the conditions are present for the structure to become a living unit.
Here in Manhattan, there is some controversy on the matter. As the Manhattan Development Code is written today, they are not permissible. One reason for this can be linked back to the subdivision of single-family homes by owners or investors.
Prior to modern zoning regulations (or any zoning regulations), investors were able to buy older homes, “chop” them up, and create multiple units in what was a traditionally single-family home. Driven by some public sentiment, and more defined zoning and code regulations, this practice has since been frowned upon. An argument can be made that this practice ruined these homes for future single-family opportunities. Additionally, safety and density concerns within traditionally low-density neighborhoods were raised. In some cases, the houses were and are unable to be maintained and have decreased in value. With the addition of new zoning and code regulations, the practice of modifying single-family homes has become more difficult, and in most cases, not possible.
There are two camps regarding ADUs. While ADUs can certainly provide benefits, it's important to consider both the pros and cons.
The benefits of ADUs:
Provide more affordable housing. It’s no secret that Manhattan residents would like to see more affordable housing options in Manhattan. It has also been shown that from a developer’s perspective, with the high cost of materials/lack of laborers, this can prove to be extremely challenging and hardly a savvy financial investment.
ADUs could help alleviate some of this strain as the structures themselves would generate more income for the developer and/or owner. The extra income generated from an ADU that is rented, may be enough income to allow the home-owner to purchase the property in the first place.
In turn, as a renter, the ADU may also be a more affordable option than other living options.
Create more inventory. If elderly parents want to live in their children’s ADU instead of on their own, that frees up those houses for other buyers. Or perhaps those same elderly parents would like a caretaker to live on the premises of their home, but not actually in it. This would allow for that scenario which also frees up more housing. More inventory means decreasing demand for housing, and therefore potentially cause housing prices to drop.
Cons of ADUs:
Potential increase in property taxes and insurance. As the value of your property increases with the addition of an ADU, you may face higher property taxes or more insurance exposure. This can make it more expensive to maintain your property which may potentially offset the rental income you generate from the unit.
Possible increase in demand for local utilities and current utility connections. As more people move into a neighborhood as a result of ADUs, there may be increased demand for services such as water, and sewer. This may be problematic in older neighborhoods (with aging plumbing and sewer). But with Manhattan specifically, many older neighborhoods already have ADUs grandfathered into regulations and are operating as such.
But do those cons outweigh the benefits?
I sat down with Phil Anderson, a long-time Manhattan resident and Planning Board member to get his take. He doesn’t think they do. He believes that ADUs would be beneficial to the community as long as they are “code compliant”. He emphasized the importance that they be regulated for safety. The housing lots must be a minimum of 7500 sq. ft., should be subservient to the main house and must have enough parking spaces. (One space per unit.)
In addition, if someone were to use their ADU as an “Airbnb” specifically, he believes it must be registered and permitted. This allows for increased safety and city will in turn benefit from the transient guest tax paid by the owner.
To quote Phil, he believes that ultimately “ADUs would greatly benefit our fair city and make more housing available and affordable.”
What do you think?
Tamara Burton l tamara@thealmsgroup.com l 913-484-0808
