Cottage Housing

What Is Cottage Housing?

Cottage housing is a group of small, detached homes arranged around a shared open space such as a courtyard, garden or walkway. Washington’s Municipal Research and Services Center (MRSC) describes typical cottages as 800 to 1,200 square feet. It says the form offers some of the privacy and benefits of single-family housing with the lower cost and maintenance of attached housing.

Cottage clusters are an old form, sometimes called bungalow courts. A 2000 report by The Housing Partnership, a King County, Washington, nonprofit, noted that the Seattle area’s older clusters were built in the early 20th century, before the zoning then in force. Many cottage clusters are designed as pocket neighborhoods, where homes face a shared green.

How It Works

Cities usually allow cottage housing through a dedicated ordinance with its own standards. Common elements include:

• Size caps. The Housing Partnership’s report noted that Seattle’s cottage ordinance at the time limited cottages to 975 square feet. It said proponents generally put the upper limit around 1,000 square feet.
• Shared open space. Codes typically require common open space that the cottages are oriented around.
• Clustered parking. Cars are kept at the side or rear of the site so the center stays pedestrian-oriented.
• Cluster size. The report said a cluster should generally have at least four cottages and no more than twelve.

Cottage housing is one of the missing middle housing types, and recent state laws treat it that way. Oregon’s House Bill 2001 (2019) required its larger cities to allow cottage clusters in residential areas zoned for detached single-family homes. Washington’s House Bill 1110 (2023) names cottage housing as one of nine middle housing types. Cities of 25,000 or more must allow at least six of the nine, so cottage housing is an option under the law rather than a requirement in every city.

Example

The Housing Partnership’s report described the Third Street Cottages in Langley, Washington, built under a city cottage zoning ordinance. The project has eight cottages of 600 to 650 square feet on the main floor, plus lofts, and two shared utility buildings on two-thirds of an acre.

Why It Matters for Affordable Workforce Housing

The main financial advantage is land. The 2000 report estimated that land cost in a cottage project in a single-family zone would be 15 to 20% of total sales, versus the 25 to 30% customary in single-family development. MRSC cautions that the report’s economic and market figures are now outdated. Smaller homes on shared land can suit single people, couples, downsizing seniors and moderate-income workers. When combined with price or rent restrictions, such as those of a community land trust, cottages can serve as lasting affordable starter homes.

Criticisms and Limitations

Cottages are not cheap by default. MRSC notes that, depending on the neighborhood, cottages can be less affordable than other middle housing types. The 2000 report also warned that poorly designed, low-cost cottages could erode public support for the higher densities that long-term affordability requires.