Report: Building codes critical for rethinking Ohio’s housing crisis

By Nadia Ramlagan

Carriage houses, also known as accessory dwelling units, are being proposed in many Ohio cities as a way to combat the housing affordability crisis among seniors and older adults.

New research shows how cities can make it easier to build these units. The units are often multi-generational, a smaller property behind the main house older or younger family members can live in.

Erica Spaid Patras, director of research at the Greater Ohio Policy Center, noted they may also be rented out.

"When they are rented as rental units, they tend to rent for less than market rates, so they're a bit of affordable rental housing," Spaid Patras explained.

Many cities have already changed residential zoning codes to accommodate accessory dwelling units in the face of an unprecedented housing crisis but a Greater Ohio Policy Center report found making changes to building codes regulating sewer requirements in the city of Columbus could potentially spur development.

Allowing the unit's sewer system to connect directly to the sewage line of the main house would make the units easier to build. Without the need for an independent sewer connection, construction costs could be lowered by tens of thousands of dollars, Spaid Patras pointed out.

"By allowing the accessory dwelling unit or the carriage house to connect the sewer to the main house, you save a lot of hassle and expense of the project," Spaid Patras emphasized.

According to a 2021 AARP survey, nearly half of older adults said they would consider living in an accessory dwelling unit and nearly 70% said they would consider building a unit on their property for a loved one who needed care or a family member or friend who needs a home.