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I'm currently in construction on the lower level of my house in Oakland, which will be split in half and include an ADU (accessory dwelling unit) that we'll be
by sxates 7y ago
I'm currently in construction on the lower level of my house in Oakland, which will be split in half and include an ADU (accessory dwelling unit) that we'll be able to rent out.
There are two ways of doing this in Oakland, and presumably most places - the Legal proper way, and the not-legal way. Most seem to be the latter.
But we wanted to do things right. Oakland has a housing shortage and we have more square feet than we need, and we were renovating the house anyway. And according to the city, they're trying to encourage ADU's to help with that housing shortage, so we went that way.
But that means we're subject to a whole new set of zoning and construction regulations. Originally I wanted to keep a (locking) interior door between the main house and the ADU so we had the flexibility of having it as a guest room or literal mother-in-law suite if we weren't renting it. Zoning shot that down - ADU is required to be completely separate space.
Oh and that 'separate space' is quite literal. Separate HVAC, separate electrical, separate sewer plumbing to the lateral with separate cleanout, and 1-hour fire rated separation on shared walls and ceilings.
Some of that makes sense and I'd want to do anyway, but it means a simple 400sq. ft. 1 bedroom ADU in an existing building is about a $100k buildout.
The previous owner rented the downstairs space as it was - not legal, no real separation from the main house, shared everything. That was pretty much free for her.
I wonder if there's a middle ground somewhere. A 'legal' way to dense up our housing but without the great expense of rebuilding it from the inside out first. This seems like something that we'll be seeing a lot more of in the future, but I can't imagine most people will want to spend what I'm spending to do it 'legally'.
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- rayiner 7y agoI don’t understand how you Californians put up with so much government. It’s not even good government. It’s not like you can point to great public services and whatnot to make up for it.
- spraak 7y agoIt seems like the "In Soviet Russia" jokes could now be applied to California (in the sense of regulations, I'm not claiming that California abuses humm rights as much as Soviet Russia did)
- scarmig 7y agoMost places have ridiculous zoning regulations. It's only so painful in California because there aren't many convenient places left for greenfield development.
- sxates 7y agoWell the upside is that the city actually allows this at all. If I were still living in Texas, land of freedom, this would be completely forbidden in most cities.
- HarryHirsch 7y agoIf you are renting to a roommate and the guy knocks over a candle or falls asleep smoking in his bedroom you notice straightaway and can escape or try and put out the fire. But if you live next to a studio apartment and the fellow sets his kitchen on fire you may not notice until it's too late for you. Proper fireproofing is absolutely essential in multitenant units. There is nothing wrong with Oakland insisting on proper code, especially after that warehouse fire a few years back. NYC seems a bit more permissive towards not-so-legal landlords, and every few months the NY Post reports a building fire with really avoidable casualties. From circumstances you suspect out-of-code rentals.
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- mieseratte 7y ago> Oh and that 'separate space' is quite literal. Separate HVAC, separate electrical, separate sewer plumbing to the lateral with separate cleanout, and 1-hour fire rated separation on shared walls and ceilings. Sounds like you wanted to rent out a bedroom, not an apartment.
- spraak 7y agoÅhh yeah, you noticed a subtle but important detail
- sxates 7y agoWell I think when it's part of a main house there's probably a middle ground. I've got a separate exterior entry, building out a full kitchen, bathroom, etc. Not trying to just rent a room. But I think we'd do well to find ways to permit spaces like this that are "lower end" or somewhat integrated with the main house.
- zrobotics 7y agoNot sure how applicable this is, since it is (1)a different jurisdiction (2)a house built in '48 with a 1-bed apartment with kitchen & bath added in 86; but my brother's house has the apartment separate from the main house with a connecting HVAC/laundry room. As many apartment buildings also have shared laundry, perhaps investigate that route. Sharing laundry with a tenant isn't much of a bother, and in my brother's house the apartment was quite literally built for the mother-in-law. There is still separate HVAC, but in this case all that is needed is an adjoining laundry room w/ 2 fire rated doors.
- JudgeWapner 7y agoAll these regulations seem like regulatory capture for current landlords and an indirect tax imposed by the contractor industry in general. Just another barrier to keep people who don't have money from competing with those who do.