Are you a senior in a home that has become too big to manage — or too full of stairs or tight bathrooms — who cannot see how to sell and still afford to stay in Amherst? Do you have an aging parent, or an adult child, who needs a place to live nearby but on their own? Would a little rental income take the edge off rising property taxes? These are among the situations an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) can address. An ADU is a small, self-contained second home on the same lot as an existing house —a backyard cottage, a converted garage or basement, or an addition with its own entrance, kitchen, and bath, often designed for single-floor, step-free living.

You might still think of ADUs as mainly a developer’s play — a way to profit from Amherst’s student-housing market. Lately that has been the story: the recent debate over size standards in units built for students makes it easy to conclude ADUs are someone else’s game. But for some Amherst homeowners, an ADU could solve a problem they already live with. The Amherst Municipal Affordable Housing Trust sees ADUs as a way for homeowners — not only developers — to meet their own needs while helping expand the affordable, year-round housing Amherst needs.

If you have been assuming this would mean years of permitting battles, that is no longer the case. Since early 2025, state law gives homeowners the right to add one ADU — with no special permit, no zoning hearing, and no need to win over the neighbors. But we do not expect you to become an expert in any of this. The Trust can sit down with you and walk through the options in plain language.

That is the real purpose of this piece. We are looking for the homeowners who are even a little curious, so that a Trust member can meet with you, show you real examples, and help you picture whether an ADU makes sense for your situation and how you would go about it.

You may wonder how regular homeowners pay for this. The state now offers an ADU loan of up to $250,000, priced for owners who cannot easily borrow against their homes, along with help to study whether your lot even works before you spend real money. For some owners, rental income from the new unit can help cover the payments over time. We can point you to all of it — you do not need to master any of these programs today. That is what the conversation is for. The Trust is also exploring how we might directly support new affordable ADUs.

An ADU built by a homeowner can play a different role than one built by investors. It might keep a senior in the home she loves, accommodate a grown child coming home, or welcome a tenant who becomes a neighbor. And each one adds a home to a town that badly needs them, on a street that stays a neighborhood.

One Amherst homeowner, Tobias Baskin, told us what it meant for their family:

“My wife and I built an ADU on our property for a family member. Through a series of unfortunate events, he had nowhere to live. He has been happy in the ADU; we have a family member in our midst. This is a blessing. I cringe to consider how we would have coped had building the unit been impossible.”

You do not have to decide anything now. You just have to raise your hand. Take our short survey at http://amherstma.gov/ADU-Survey, and a Trust member will follow up.

Gastón de los Reyes is chair of the Amherst Municipal Affordable Housing Trust.