We have a triplex with a large detached garage on South Logan and looked into popping the top on it for an ADU a few years ago and were told “No” immediately by a planner.

You can call your 'city planner' and get these answers.Hope that helps.

I've seen the process only through the lens of commercial real estate but not yet a single residence to know the barriers or likelihood of getting approval, but hopefully the planner you work with can help give you an idea.

I think it is a festinating topic but I think the financial engineers and central planners are great at keeping asset prices high. 

Part of your action will be to visit the city and or county planners to determine if what you would like to do is permittable.

Hell hath no fury like a city planner scorned . . . in Murica.  

Before counting on that as a revenue stream, contact your local city planner and ask about legality.If you are considering the property, I would just raise rents to include the utilities.

I've begun correspondence with the city planners and an architect to try and develop a general set of parameters in what to look for in a property that will be conducive to this strategy.

If you are a risk taker who can make decisions on the fly with basic information, then the learning curve isn't that great.On the other hand if you are a planner who makes a plan and then a plan for the plan and then another plan just for good measure. 

Now one of my problems is that I do not understand the difference between a Tax accountant, CPA, Tax Planner, Financial Planner and Financial Advisor!