But truth be told, an adult child stuck at home isn’t as cute as his Failure to Launch rom-com character lured to independence thanks to Sarah Jessica Parker.
Since SJP isn’t here to help, Brisbane parents are taking a novel approach to accommodating their adult children: they’re banishing them to glammed up granny flats and adding value to the family home in the process.
University of Queensland urban and social planner Laurel Johnson has told The Weekly Times that Brisbane was seeing a resurgence of the granny flat as more children stayed at home longer.
“Where people have a big enough yard, the secondary dwelling is a good option, not costing much more than an extension,” she said.
“It can generally be developed without town planning approval and the costs of a subdivision don’t apply.’’
In Brisbane, a secondary dwelling could be up to 80 square metres as long as it was within 20 metres of the main house, and council regulations would permit a range of family members to live there.
In Ipswich, the council regulations allow you to rent a granny flat out to whoever you like.
While some property owners have used granny flats as a strategy to add value and earn a rental income the trade-off is that selling a house with a granny flat can limit your home’s appeal to a narrower market.
So before you add a granny flat be clear about whether your motivation is driven by family or finances and plan accordingly.
Ready to kick your kids out of the nest? Show them our listings for rent.
