Multi-generational housing typically means multiple generations of one family — grandparents, parents, adult children — living together on a single property, sometimes in one home and sometimes across a main house plus a separate secondary unit. As this living arrangement becomes more common, HOAs are increasingly asked to weigh in on occupancy limits, parking capacity, and whether existing single-family-oriented rules actually fit these households.
Boards often need to revisit occupancy limits written into governing documents years ago with a different household model in mind — a strict per-unit occupancy cap designed for a nuclear family can unintentionally restrict a legitimate multi-generational household. Parking is another common flashpoint, since more adults per household often means more vehicles than the community's parking rules anticipated.
Many multi-generational households rely on an accessory dwelling unit — a smaller secondary living space on the same lot — to give an aging parent or adult child some independence while staying close. Whether this is allowed depends heavily on the community's restrictive covenants, which may prohibit secondary structures outright, allow them with design review, or simply not address the question at all because they predate ADUs becoming common.
Boards facing more ADU requests than their covenants anticipated often need to decide whether to formally update the rules rather than handling each request as an ad hoc exception, since inconsistent handling tends to invite disputes.
