Side by side · Georgia
Compare ADU rules across Georgia
Flexible on where you build? The same backyard cottage can be routine in one city and impossible next door. This table puts 2 Georgia cities side by side so you can shortlist the friendly ones before reading a single ordinance, or narrow it to just the cities you are deciding between. Every value is summarized from the city's own code; open a city's page for the full notes, citations, and fine print.
The short answers
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| City | Detached ADU | Attached / internal | Max size | Owner occupancy | Extra parking | Approval |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlanta | Allowed | Not allowed | 750 sq ft, and the accessory building may not exceed 30 percent of the main structure's floor area or cover more than 25 percent of the rear yard; in R-5 the ADU also counts toward the lot's FAR cap (0.50 of net lot area on conforming lots) | Not required | None. 'Accessory dwelling units: No parking required' in both the R-4/R-4A and R-5 parking schedules (added by Ord. 2019-09). | Permitted use |
| Decatur | Allowed | Allowed | 800 sq ft max (300 sq ft min), excluding garage or ancillary storage; also capped at 40 percent of the principal dwelling's floor area and two bedrooms | Required | ADUs are subject to the Sec. 7.1 parking requirements; the Sec. 7.1.3 off-street parking table has no explicit ADU line but requires 1 space per dwelling unit for residential uses | Permitted use |
Summarized from each city's ordinance text, most recently read July 2026. Tap a value marked with an info icon to see exactly what it depends on, straight from the ordinance. Nearly every value has zone, lot-size, or process caveats beyond that; the per-city pages carry the full notes and code citations. Treat this as orientation, not a permit determination.
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Reading the table
- Detached ADU is the make-or-break column for backyard cottages: minimum lot sizes (often 8,000 to 14,500 sq ft) hide behind many of the "Allowed" values, so check your lot before celebrating.
- Attached / internal (basement apartments, additions) is legal almost everywhere and is usually the path of least resistance.
- Approval: "Permitted use" means staff-level sign-off; "Conditional use" means a public hearing, which adds time, cost, and uncertainty.
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