Virginia’s accessory dwelling unit debate works toward consensus

Virginia Public Radio

Rockingham’s County Planner Dylan Nicely presents details about the county’s accessory dwelling unit planning at a meeting of the Virginia Housing Commission’s ADU subcommittee in May 2024. (Credit: Brad Kutner / Radio IQ)

Accessory dwelling units – sometimes called “mother-in-law suites” – allow family, friends or tenants to move into an already occupied lot. They’re smaller, cheaper and some see them as a fix to Virginia’s housing shortage. But as Brad Kutner found out, balancing local and state authority on the issue is the first hurdle in the process.