Secondary residences have been becoming popular in Austin. Secondary homes called granny flats refer to small housing units that share the same spot as the larger housing area. The housing apartment above your place, your granny’s small garage, and your backyard’s tiny guest house, may generate a good place for renters, as well as good income for property owners.
Granny flats in Austin can be built reaching 850 square feet of the space on various land properties of 7,000 square feet to the right, or on land properties of 5,750 square feet, as long as the neighborhood permits.
Even though, lawfully flats are permitted to be built in Austin, the surrounding city rules make flats difficult to construct. A legal city code mandatorily allows apartments to be supported only by a nine-foot wide driveway. Sometimes, legal rules require an additional dwelling for a granny flat, which can pose a problem in old neighbourhoods or may be expensive.
The encouragement of accessory units gives low-cost housing options for some cities. Survey shows that 34 % of population in Austin’s living in single-person household unit’s lure residential benefits to themselves. A review conducted by Opticos Design, Inc. of Austin’s land code encouraged changed in rules of the city to produce more options for residential choices.
Councilman Chris Riley and Co-councilman Mike Martinez proposed the resolution. They were scheduled to conduct a review on May 22, but their review was rescheduled to June 12. Current resolution mandates the city manager to form an ordinance ordering reduction of regulatory barriers on the construction of accessory dwellings smaller than 500 square feet in size.
