An ADU on your Austin property is the middle ground between “move in with us” and an assisted-living facility. Your parents keep their own front door and their own routine; you're a short walk away when something matters. We design these with accessibility in mind and handle the permitting end-to-end.
The decision usually narrows to three options: parents stay in their current home as it gets harder to manage, parents move into yours, or parents move into a facility. Each of those has a real cost — financial, logistical, or emotional — that families try to weigh against the alternatives. An ADU is a fourth option that sidesteps most of the trade-offs.
They keep their privacy. They keep their independence. They keep a separate front door, which matters more than people expect until they actually live through it. And you're there in minutes when something happens — the fall, the confused phone call, the appointment they can't drive themselves to. The walk from your kitchen to theirs is probably shorter than the walk to your laundry room.
Bryker Woods Garage Apartment · Austin, TX.
Service area
Serving Austin and the surrounding metro: Downtown Austin, South Austin, East Austin, North Austin, West Austin, Bouldin Creek, Hyde Park, Tarrytown, Clarksville, Mueller, Crestview, Allandale, Travis Heights, Zilker, Barton Hills, Cherrywood, Round Rock, Pflugerville, Cedar Park, Leander, Georgetown, Hutto, Bee Cave, Lakeway, West Lake Hills, Rollingwood, Sunset Valley, Manor, Buda, Kyle, and Dripping Springs. Travis, Williamson, and Hays counties.
Aging-in-place design is a different conversation from generic ADU design. The cost difference between a unit that's accessible from day one and a unit that isn't is small if the choices are made up front. Retrofitting accessibility into a finished space costs five to ten times what including it from the start does. Same for the discussion you don't want to be having in five years.
Single-story, ideally
A second story sounds like a fine idea right up until the day stairs become hard. Most of the units we build for aging-parent cases are single-story. If a two-story plan is what the lot can fit, we put the parents' primary suite on the ground floor and treat the upper level as flex space.
Doorways, hallways, thresholds
Wider interior doors (32 inches clear minimum, 36 inches better). No thresholds at the front door or shower. A bathroom with grab-bar blocking already in the wall framing so the bars can be added later without a remodel. A walk-in shower instead of a tub. These are framing-stage decisions, not finish-stage ones, so they need to be on the plan before permit submittal.
Light, vision, and falls
Better lighting in hallways and bathrooms. Switches at consistent heights. Contrast between countertop and floor at edges. Falls are the biggest single risk factor for older adults living alone; design that reduces them is design that adds years of independent living.
The Abstract / Cedar Park · Cedar Park, TX.
What about resale
An ADU on a Travis County property typically increases the appraised value by an amount that's a meaningful fraction of its build cost — the multigenerational angle widens the buyer pool. Whether the math fully pencils out depends on your specific lot, the local comps, and how long you stay. We'll walk through your numbers honestly when you call. We'd rather you not build than build something that doesn't make sense.
The Austin permit side
Building an ADU for an aging parent goes through the same Austin permit process as any other ADU. The HOME Phase 1 amendments allow up to three dwelling units on most SF-1, SF-2, and SF-3 lots of 5,750 square feet or larger; smaller lots may still qualify for a single Small Lot Single-Family unit under HOME Phase 2. We handle the eligibility check, the site plan, the impervious-cover math, the AB+C Portal submittal, and the inspection sequence. You handle the design choices that matter for your parents — which we'll walk through with you.
From conversation to keys
Four steps. The accessibility decisions get made up front; the rest is the same ADU process.
Step 01
Talk through needs
What does mobility look like now and in five years? Are we planning for a walker, a wheelchair, both? We don't need certainty — we need the bracket.
Step 02
Accessible design
Single-story plan if the lot allows. Wider doors, no thresholds, walk-in shower, grab-bar blocking. Framing-stage decisions, not finish-stage.
Step 03
Permit & build
We handle the City of Austin paperwork end-to-end. You stay out of the AB+C Portal. Six to nine months from contract to Certificate of Occupancy on a typical lot.
In Austin, adus are limited to 0.15 FAR (ratio of the floor area of your structure as compared to the size of your lot) or 1100 square feet, whichever is smaller. For instance, if you had a 5000sf lot, your adu would be limited to 750 square feet or smaller.
How many stories can my ADU be?
In Austin, all residential structures are limited to 32' in height, as measured from the grade to the midpoint of the roof. In practice, though, they are typically limited to two stories.
How far away from my house does the ADU have to be?
The adu will need to be a minimum of 10'-0" from the main structure.
How close to my property line can the ADU be?
Recently completed in Austin
Finished builds across Austin and Travis County. Each links through to the project.
In Austin, the typical side yard setback is 5'-0" and 10'-0" at the rear.
Does an ADU require driveway access?
This depends on where you live. If you are in Austin and live near a transit center (see link below), then you are not required to provide an extra parking space for the adu. If you are required a parking space for the adu, it will need to able to be accessed without someone from the main house having to move their car. http://www.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=d7485d285dd24f1ca6bfcfddf01f4771
