granny flats
Backyard guest cottages
Granny flats are small secondary dwellings on the same property as a main house, typically used to house aging parents or adult children.
The term reflects their common purpose: keeping elderly relatives close while maintaining separate living spaces.
Also called in-law suites, accessory dwelling units, or mother-in-law apartments: They converted the garage into a granny flat.
- casitaSmall house, Spanish-speaking regions
- in-law suiteSecondary dwelling for relatives
- annexSupplementary building or seizure
- guesthousesSmall residential lodgings
- self-contained unitComplete system needing nothing external
converted garage · studios · dwellings · mother-in-law apartment · backyard cottage · garden · independent living · accommodations · residences · accessible housing · downsizing · rental income · porch · aging in place · multigenerational living · aging parents · empty nesters · little houses
- housingapartments, home, house, houses, homes
- small dwellingstiny house, tiny home, tiny homes, tiny houses, micro apartment
- housing trendshousing bubble, housing shortage, affordable housing, gentrification, suburbanization
- urban planningcity planning, zoning map, master plans, zones, zoning reform
granny flatsmain house
Estate's principal residence
primary residence · principal residence · family home · main building · single-family home
granny flatsmansion
Large, stately home
estate · McMansion · manor house · grand estate · luxury home
granny flatsapartment complex
Group of residential buildings
nursing home · assisted living facility · high-rise · housing development · retirement community
granny, flat, gran, grannies, flats, grandmother, grandmotherly, grandma, flatten