Can I convert my basement or garage into an apartment in Royal Oak?
No, not in a one-family district. Royal Oak allows one single-family dwelling per lot (§ 770-21E(2)), so a separate basement apartment would create a second dwelling the zoning does not permit. Two-family dwellings are allowed by right in the Two-Family Residential district (§ 770-36), not in One-Family zones.
A garage apartment is blocked twice over. Detached accessory buildings may not combine utility services in a way that makes them easily convertible to habitable space (§ 770-22A(11)), and no general accessory dwelling unit provision exists to legalize the unit.
The narrow exception is senior accessory housing (§ 770-71): one unit for an elderly related person, within or attached to the house, approved as a special land use, owner-occupied, capped at 600 square feet.
If your property is in a Two-Family district, different rules apply. Confirm your zoning with the planning division at 248-246-3280.
Sources
Full text: Royal Oak ordinance on eCode360. Applies to districts: 1F, 1FL, 2F.
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