All kinds of factors have led to an increase in multigenerational living arrangements across Northern California in recent years. The interest in main-level living has grown in the past decade or so.

Because of 2020’s sheltering in place, adult children moved back home either from college or from rentals they could no longer keep. In other households, the sandwich generation welcomed the older generation into their home for better safety and security.

Then in January of 2021, California’s Health and Safety Code required cities and counties to develop plans to incentivize and promote accessory dwelling units (ADUs) on homeowners’ private property at affordable rent for qualified tenants.

In some cases, the ADU benefit applies when the unit is rented to the younger generation who are just starting out or to seniors who need independence closer to family. And, for some, when the owner waives the financial incentive, an approved ADU can serve as a home-based office, studio or part-time guest residence.

Just a few months after the ADU legislation, California Proposition 19 came along. Now people over the age of 55 and people with certain disabilities are able to transfer the base taxable value of their existing home to the purchase of a replacement home in California.

All of this opportunity came about just as the suburbs, and even the exurbs, were regaining popularity among buyers. The result? Multigenerational housing grew even more important in the eyes of buyers and builders.

Builders were ready. As recently as 2018, builders in some communities have been offering new-home plans with additional bedroom suites on the main level, clever new flex spaces and private-entry suites above garages or attached to homes.

Some have factored in multigenerational living as a given. Others are leaving the decision to buyers, but providing the foundational elements, such as wiring, plumbing and more, so that homes are ready for immediate or eventual multigenerational living.

Preplan for multigen living

Another feature may include a fully functioning living suite inside the home.

This suite, which lives like an independent apartment with or without its own private entrance, can include a bedroom, bathroom and a living room with an efficiency-style kitchen or a kitchenette area.

Lennar Homes, for example, calls its offering Next Gen — The Home Within a Home. Several communities in the Bay Area and Northern California offer next-gen floor plans.

Not sure if an entire living suite is the best choice yet? Perhaps some buyers may prefer to use this space for other purposes during the first five years or so of ownership and would not want the square footage divided into a separate living area.

Before construction, ask the builder if the home can include roughed-in plumbing — both outside or underground and inside the home itself — to simplify the future conversion of a certain area of the home to an independent living space with bathroom and kitchen.

Consider new homes featuring cohousing

Though centuries old in other parts of the world or in small, cultural enclaves within the U.S., cohousing communities are a relatively foreign idea across most of North America.

Consisting of fully equipped dwellings, cohousing communities include extensive shared amenities determined by future community members during construction.

But in recent years, clusters of local residents have been forming interest groups in preparation for new construction of cohousing opportunities. They’re people who want the benefits of homeownership in this historically tight market and are eager to do so cooperatively with other like-minded buyers.

One of the newest emerging new-home cohousing opportunities, Mission Peak Village, is currently forming in Fremont. There, people who take part in the formation of Mission Peak will coordinate with architects, designers and planners in creating the community.

Cohousing communities such as Mission Peak intentionally include a mix of generations. Cohousing provides a strong, friendly neighborhood in which everyone feels connected; older generations might help the younger generation with child care, while the younger generation might help the older generation with technology or heavy labor.

In some cohousing communities, the cooperative resident groups partner with a developer. And in any cohousing community, resident participation is central to the community’s formation and endurance.

​Certain facilities in a common house area of the community are designed for sharing. These features may include a dining area and high-end kitchen, a lounge, workshops, office spaces, exercise rooms, craft rooms, libraries and guest rooms.

Cohousing communities re-create a traditional sense of community with intentional design and planning. As owners of their own homes and the joint, shared facilities, residents work together to maintain the property and meet the needs of residents in all generations.