These 4 homeowners built tiny homes in their yards to be better caregivers for their loved ones

Lena Koropey's mother was diagnosed pinch Alzheimer's disease astir a decade ago. Since then, she's watched her once-independent mother travel to trust connected others for astir each portion of regular life.

"It's decidedly getting harder each year," Koropey, 48, told Business Insider.

Six years ago, Koropey bought a three-bedroom location successful Mattituck, connected Long Island's North Fork, wherever she lives pinch her mother and a live-in caregiver. The location is only 1,300 quadrate feet, but it sits connected half an acre, giving Koropey room to rethink their surviving statement arsenic her mother's information progresses.

"I've created spreadsheets and mapped retired various scenarios, including building a mini cottage aliases an accessory dwelling portion (ADU) connected our property, moving to different house, or, arsenic a past resort, placing my mother successful a attraction facility," she said. "For now, we've decided to build an ADU."

Koropey plans to build a 750-square-foot location connected the spot and move into it herself, leaving her mother successful the main location pinch her caregiver and acquainted surroundings.

"There is nary cleanable solution, but my spot gives maine the elasticity to accommodate our surviving statement arsenic her needs alteration and, ultimately, to attraction for her astatine location for arsenic agelong arsenic possible," she said.

People are building ADUs for loved ones who request care

An ADU is simply a mini home, often built successful a backyard. They typically scope from 150 to 1,200 quadrate feet, and costs $100,000 to $300,000 to build, earlier extras for illustration permitting fees. As ADUs person grown much popular, immoderate states, including California and New York, connection financial assistance to homeowners who build them.

Business Insider has spoken pinch dozens of group complete the years astir why they built ADUs connected their properties. Some needed other abstraction aliases a location office, while others saw an opportunity for rental income. Increasingly, families are besides utilizing ADUs to support loved ones who request attraction adjacent by.

Rachael Reiner, head of pre-construction and task guidance astatine the Bay Area-based ADU institution Villa, told Business Insider that the inclination has grown successful fame arsenic multigenerational living becomes much common. According to Reiner, 75% of Villa's income truthful acold successful 2026 person been for multigenerational surviving purposes.

"The mostly of our ADU projects are driven by families seeking to equilibrium independency pinch accessible care," Reiner said. "These spaces supply either aging relatives aliases loved ones requiring support the autonomy they desire while ensuring they stay adjacent to family for support and oversight."

For the Kuchtas, building an ADU opened the doorway to much disablement services

Building an ADU isn't needfully cheap, but successful an costly lodging marketplace for illustration California, it tin still beryllium a much affordable option. That was the lawsuit for Todd Kuchta, who lives successful Napa County pinch his wife, Gabrielle, and son, Jacob.

Jacob has autism and needs thief pinch regular tasks for illustration taking medicine and preparing meals, but he still wants his independence. When he told his parents he was fresh to move out, they cautiously weighed their options.

They could bargain a larger home, giving him much space, aliases move Jacob into supported housing, wherever he'd person his ain room and unit disposable to thief pinch his needs. But neither action seemed affordable. Jacob's aesculapian support costs unsocial could sometimes transcend $9,000 a month.

Instead, the Kuchtas decided to build an ADU connected their spot successful 2023.

Jacob's 480-square-foot, one-bedroom location costs them $248,000 to build— acold little than Napa County's $907,440 median location value successful August. They financed it successful portion done Napa County's Affordable ADU program, which offers forgivable loans to homeowners who rent the units to low-income tenants for astatine slightest 5 years.

"Napa County provided $63,000 arsenic a forgivable loan, and we worked pinch Redwood Credit Union, which provided an further $160,000 indebtedness arsenic a 2nd mortgage," Kuchta, 60, told Business Insider. "We utilized a information of Jacob's disablement income to thief screen the ADU rent, which, successful turn, offsets our monthly mortgage."

Not only is Jacob, who turned 28 this year, thrilled to unrecorded connected his own, but he has besides gained entree to much support. He's now eligible for further disablement services done the authorities of California, including an in-home adjutant for 8 hours a time during the week. Kuchta's woman besides became certified arsenic an In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) supplier and is paid to thief attraction for him.

"The ADU has provided america conscionable what we request to supply independency to Jacob and supply america pinch the expertise to proceed supporting him while having much freedom," Kuchta said.

Shalini Karnani Bonjour's mother tin comfortably property successful place

For immoderate families, an ADU tin beryllium a measurement to support an aging loved one adjacent earlier a wellness rumor aliases an emergency arises.

When Shalini Karnani Bonjour's begetter died successful 2024, she didn't want her mother surviving connected her own hundreds of miles distant successful Michigan.

"My mom was 78, and my hubby and I didn't consciousness comfortable having her truthful acold away, particularly erstwhile it came to her day-to-day needs," Bonjour, 50, told Business Insider.

After helping her mom waste her location and move to California, Bonjour and her hubby explored different surviving options for her, including renting an apartment, moving into an independent-living community, aliases moving into assisted living. But "none were ideal," she said.

In 2024, the mates purchased a 2,222-square-foot location successful the Coachella Valley to unrecorded successful pinch their boy and Bonjour's mother. The pursuing year, they began building a 1,100-square-foot accessory dwelling portion for her mother connected the property.

"When group show my hubby and maine we're smart aliases beardown for doing this, I think, 'What different action do we have?' I'm an only child. Who other will beryllium location to take attraction of my mother?" she said.

When completed, the location will person 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and a walk-in tub successful the superior bathroom. The $475,000 task has costs much than they initially expected, and building has been much analyzable than anticipated, but Bonjour said it will beryllium worthy it.

"We emotion wherever we live, and building this connected our spot intends we tin enactment adjacent to my mom while still giving her independency and a location of her own," she said.

James Richard Cornell wanted to beryllium a much hands-on caregiver

About 11 years ago, James Richard Cornell's mother called him to opportunity she was over surviving connected her own.

"My mother was surviving successful Florida, and arsenic she sewage older, she would ever say, 'Let maine cognize erstwhile you're fresh for me,'" Cornell, 63, told Business Insider newsman Noah Sheidlower. "It was clear her clip to return attraction of the location she had was getting shorter."

Within weeks, Cornell and his relative helped their mom battalion up, sold her home, and moved her successful pinch him. He has been helping attraction for his now-87-year-old mother, who later developed dementia, ever since.

At first, she lived successful a chamber successful Cornell's home. But aft becoming willing successful mini homes, she decided she wanted 1 of her own. Around 2013, Cornell built her a astir 1,000-square-foot location successful his beforehand yard. His mother covered astir 90% of the $110,000 cost, while Cornell handled overmuch of the building himself.

"When I locomotion retired my beforehand door, I tin look to the right, and she's correct there," he said. "She's conscionable 30 feet disconnected the area of my house."

That proximity has go important arsenic his mother's wellness declines. Cornell gives her medicine doubly a time and installed an siren and monitoring strategy truthful she tin alert personification if she needs help. His friends besides thief pinch her care, giving Cornell immoderate relief.

"Nursing homes are awfully expensive, and I promised her years agone that I would return attraction of her until her last days," he said. "She's done truthful overmuch for me, truthful it's fitting that I return it. If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't beryllium wherever I americium today."