A new way to explore housing policy across Virginia
Despite the best efforts of some, no housing problem can be solved by a single person. Success always requires a team, a team always needs a leader, and a leader always needs the best information available to make the right calls. Like coaches on the sidelines, housing leaders need a playbook they can trust.
That’s why we launched our own Playbook more than a decade ago, in partnership with Virginia Tech’s Virginia Center for Housing Research (VCHR), after meticulously compiling the vast range of housing policies and programs across the Commonwealth. For the first time, policymakers, housing advocates, and others in affordable housing had a single Virginia-specific resource to better understand and compare the tools available to address challenges in their community.
Keeping Playbook updated, however, proved challenging. Our dynamic policy and program environment, as well as logistical hurdles associated with surveying every locality in the state, meant that a true refresh always required more resources than we had at any given time. Working in our favor, meanwhile, was our ongoing effort to take HousingForward’s data visualization to the next level with projects such as Sourcebook and the Virginia Zoning Atlas.
Rethinking Playbook
Last year, we decided Playbook deserved a different approach. Instead of trying to collect all the different policies and programs into a single platform, we think it’s more useful to look deeply into individual issues one at a time. Have you ever wanted to understand how every jurisdiction is implementing a certain housing policy? We certainly have!
The first release in our new Playbook collection dives into an attention-grabbing policy that’s been subject of spirited local debates, complicated research efforts, and even proposed state legislation: accessory dwelling units, or ADUs.
The need for thorough data on ADU policies in Virginia was made clear by Senate Bill 304 from the 2024 General Assembly session. The bill, which would have required localities to permit ADUs by-right in most cases, drew extended debate and no shortage of questions. Despite passing the Senate, lawmakers in the House sent it to the Virginia Housing Commission for further study instead.
The life and death of SB 304 demonstrated how a comprehensive understanding of each jurisdiction’s approach to ADUs would be required to have any truly productive conversations in the future. With the introduction of competing ADU bills in our current General Assembly session, we hope that legislators and advocates alike can use this resource to better appreciate the range of ADU ordinances in Virginia, and how the bill might affect each jurisdiction.
HB 1832 closely follows SB304’s approach to mandate ADUs as a permitted use in single-family areas, while HB 2533 (endorsed by the Virginia Housing Commission) simply adds ADUs as one element localities should consider when updating their comprehensive plans.
Explore the ADU Playbook Today
Our Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) Playbook is the first iteration of a series we intend to continue. While each Playbook may look completely different from one another in how they are structured, or how much information is collected, we think that’s a good thing. This flexibility will help future Playbooks highlight the range of ways Virginia’s communities tackle housing challenges — and to spur others to take action.
Here are some of the features you’ll find in our ADU Playbook:
- Interactive map and table to explore how 159 municipalities handle ADUs in local ordinances
- Custom score from 0 to 100 that reflect how restrictive each locality’s ADU policy might be
- Special typology to organize localities into 5 categories based on their ADU approach
- Explainers on ADU concepts, research, and legislation
- Statewide and regional summaries
Like the Virginia Zoning Atlas, we did have to limit coverage of smaller jurisdictions, so incorporated towns with fewer than 5,000 people are excluded. For a full description of our process, check out the Methodology tab on the app.
ADUs in perspective
As our colleagues at The Mercatus Center previously highlighted, ADUs are just one additional tool to solving our housing supply challenges. AARP is also a big proponent of ADUs, as it is offers a major age-in-place opportunity. In our own work, we often recommend ADU reform as a way to increase housing supply in communities in need of more diverse housing, especially for seniors and young adults.
With greater uniformity and predictability in ADU regulations, an ADU industry can be better supported, leading to new business creation (new ADU builders and contractors), new lending products (ADU construction loans and refinancing options), and ADU support services (property managers, permit expediters, ADU designers, etc.).
Success in all of those factors would mean housing markets that are more robust, inclusive, and affordable. We hope this new tool is an important step toward that future.