Housing: Alternative Options

Elder cottage housing opportunities, or ECHO (also called granny flats and modular housing) are movable trailer houses that can be attached to existing homes and removed when no longer needed. The Administration on Aging renamed these accessory units in 1998. The concept originated in the state of Victoria, Australia, in 1972, traveled to the Scandinavian countries, and then to Canada (in the 1980s) and the United States (by the 1990s).

These units are designed to meet the physical needs of the elderly and provide the opportunity for them to live independently or semi-independently, but still be near family or friends. Although usually installed on the property of adult children, ECHO units can also be used to form housing clusters for the elderly on small tracts of land that are leased by nonprofit corporations or local housing authorities.

The major barriers to the development of this form of housing are rigid zoning laws, lack of public information, and concern about decreases in neighborhood property values.

Despite attention from the media and from housing professionals, granny flats have been successful only in part. Use and acceptance have been greater in other countries than in the United States. It is possible that the concept will become more agreeable to Americans as the proportion of elderly persons increases to an expected 20 percent of the population by 2030.