Opening the Door to Unconventional Homes

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While housing underproduction remains a problem nationwide, demand for new housing has risen disproportionately in rural areas since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, a growing number of rural homeseekers seem to be investing in nontraditional homes that rely on alternative construction methods or unconventional building materials. From shouses and barndominiums to 3D-printed houses and shipping containers, grain-bin, Quonset, and earth-shelter homes, these dwellings represent a departure from the standard stick-built playbook, offering builders and occupants a chance to embrace creativity and sustainability.

Because these housing types break the conventional single-family detached residence mold, they can face various regulatory barriers, including explicit prohibitions and an uncertain relationship to specific zoning and building code provisions. The housing industry is often a step ahead of zoning and building regulations, producing new product types to address the demands, constraints, and preferences of today's buyer. Consequently, it is important for planners and local officials to periodically reevaluate existing barriers to new and unconventional housing types.

This issue of Zoning Practice explores the rise of unconventional housing types and their potential to address housing shortages and diversify the housing market. It begins with a guide to different types of nontraditional housing before examining common regulatory barriers and potential regulatory reforms that planners and local officials may be able to use to foster housing innovation and advance sustainable, resilient, and inclusive housing solutions.

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