Two family house? (apartment, rent, neighborhoods)

[joradino99]

Hi all--

This is a fairly obscure question, but I thought I'd take a shot at asking people on the forum before I go to the trouble of contacting realtors and trying to dig up zoning codes. Does anyone have experience with converting an in-house unit into an apartment?

Here's the situation: I currently rent in DC. My parents live elsewhere, but have recently retired and have some health problems. They're beginning to think of moving down here so that I can help take care of them as they get older. Ideally, they'd like to be in the same building as my husband and I, but in a separate space so we can lead largely independent lives. They're used to suburban living and would prefer not to give up the detached house with a private yard--but very few of these have been converted into two-unit buildings.

What we think would probably make the most sense is for us to buy 5 or 6 bedroom house near Rock Creek and renovate a bit to carve out a two bedroom in-law suite for my parents inside it with a private entrance and kitchen. Target neighborhoods include Mt Pleasant, Crestwood, Cleveland Park/Cathedral Heights, Van Ness, and Chevy Chase (want to keep a shortish commute to Farragut).

Does anyone happen to know if zoning restrictions in any of the neighborhoods I've named would permit this? (We wouldn't be building an addition: just converting one of the bedrooms into a kitchen and knocking down a wall or two.) Are there any unexpected requirements to meet (i.e. beyond complying with general building codes)? Does it matter that the "tenants" would be family?

Having some general sense of what we're getting into re legal restrictions would really help our decision making about the practicality of this idea.

Thanks in advance!