Compare ADU rules across Nevada

There is no ADU to attach an owner-occupancy condition to, so the code states no rule. What R1 does impose is a use restriction on accessory structures rather than on the owner: accessory uses and structures are permitted only if 'none shall be rented or occupied for gain', which forecloses renting a backyard building whether or not the owner lives on site. Renting out the single primary dwelling is not restricted by Title 11, and §11-3-3C separately allows a resident family to keep up to two nontransient boarders or lodgers in a one-family residence.

Ordinance read August 2026

No permit path for an ADU exists: the use is not listed as permitted or conditional in any residential zone, and Chapter 30 conditional uses in R1 cover only public and quasi-public buildings, private schools, educational, religious and cultural uses, tract offices, recreational facilities, childcare and community residences, and private heliports in R1-80. A variance cannot open the door, because §11-32-3A bars any variance 'to permit a use other than a use permitted in that zoning district'. The one theoretical hook is §11-20-2A, which lets the community development director decide whether an unlisted use is permitted or conditional in a zone (appealable to the planning commission after a hearing), but that cannot override the express §11-3-3B prohibition on inhabited accessory buildings, and the city's published FAQ answer is a flat no. Anything that does add a dwelling unit also needs a residential allotment under the voter-adopted Controlled Growth Management Plan.

Ordinance read August 2026

A detached ADU is allowed only on a lot of 12,000 square feet or larger, and only in the districts where the use table permits it. Carson City's use table lists the accessory dwelling unit as an administrative permit use in SF5A, SF2A, SF1A, SF21 and MH1A, a special use permit (conditional use) in SF12, SF6, MH12 and MH6, permitted as a primary use in the Agriculture (A) and Conservation Reserve (CR) districts, and prohibited in the mobile home park (MHP), multifamily duplex (MFD) and multifamily apartment (MFA) districts. The 12,000 square foot floor bites hardest in SF6, where the minimum parcel is 6,000 square feet (6,500 on a corner), so a large share of SF6 lots cannot host a detached unit at all. The rules date to the November 7, 2024 zoning rewrite (Ord. No. 2024-6 and Ord. No. 2024-7) and are unchanged in the code as codified through February 2026.

Ordinance read August 2026

An attached ADU is allowed on a lot of 6,000 square feet or larger, half the lot Carson City demands for a detached unit, but it faces the same district-by-district permit matrix: administrative permit in SF5A, SF2A, SF1A, SF21 and MH1A, special use permit in SF12, SF6, MH12 and MH6, and prohibited in MHP, MFD and MFA. The code draws the attached line mechanically: a unit counts as attached if it shares a common wall with the primary residential structure for a contiguous distance of at least 10 feet, so a basement or interior conversion or a full addition qualifies while a breezeway-linked cottage does not. An existing accessory unit may add a kitchen only on full compliance with Division 1, and a building permit is required if the structure itself is altered.

Ordinance read August 2026

The path depends entirely on the zoning district. In SF5A, SF2A, SF1A, SF21 and MH1A an ADU needs an administrative permit: a noticed hearing before a hearing examiner within 65 days, who must make six findings (master plan consistency, neighborhood compatibility, traffic, impact on adjacent property, public services, and health and safety), may impose additional conditions, and may refer the matter to the Planning Commission instead. In SF12, SF6, MH12 and MH6 an ADU needs a special use permit: a public hearing before the Planning Commission on the same findings. In the Agriculture and Conservation Reserve districts an ADU is permitted as a primary use. In MHP, MFD and MFA it is prohibited. Even the lighter administrative track is discretionary rather than ministerial, so Carson City has no by-right ADU permit in any residential district.

Ordinance read August 2026

A detached accessory dwelling is allowed only in five residential districts (SFR-1/2, SFR-1, SFR-2, RA-5 and RA-10) plus the agricultural and forest and range districts (A-19, FR-19/40); the residential use table marks it 'X' (prohibited) in SFR-8,000, SFR-12,000, every SFR-T townhouse district and MFR, which rules out most platted Carson Valley subdivision lots. The parcel must contain at least one-half net acre, must already hold an owner-occupied single-family detached home, and must not already contain two or more dwelling units. Only one accessory dwelling is allowed per parcel outside the agricultural and forest and range districts. A detached unit may sit in a rear or side yard; front or street-side yard placement is allowed only on parcels of at least one net acre in a district with a one-acre minimum, and only if it does not block the front of the primary residence as seen from the street and covers no more than 20 percent of that yard. Separately, chapter 20.560 requires a growth-management building permit allocation before the building permit can issue, and the county's own submittal guide puts that duty on the applicant.

Ordinance read August 2026

The code's own definition is 'an attached or detached dwelling unit,' so an attached wing, an addition or an internal conversion qualifies and runs through exactly the same review as a detached unit. The same gates therefore bite: eligible zoning district only, at least one-half net acre, an owner-occupied single-family main dwelling, and one accessory dwelling per parcel. Where the unit is attached, a separate entrance is allowed but only one entrance may be visible from the front property line. The county's January 2026 submittal guide adds an important line-drawing rule: an attached living area without kitchen facilities that has direct, heated access from a common area inside the primary dwelling is not an accessory dwelling at all, so a kitchen-free in-law suite is simply part of the house and needs no design review.

Ordinance read August 2026

Elko has no accessory dwelling unit category at all: a search of the whole city code returns zero hits for "accessory dwelling unit." What the code does allow, by right in every residential district, is a "Guesthouse or servants' quarters" as an accessory use, and 3-2-5(E)(8)(b) states flatly that detached guesthouses and servants' quarters are permitted in any district. The catch is that nothing in the code says such a building may be an independent home. "Guesthouse" is not defined, and 3-2-2 defines a dwelling unit as a single unit with permanent provisions for living, sleeping, eating, cooking and sanitation, while the RS and R1 districts permit only "One single-family dwelling ... with each dwelling unit on its own parcel of land." A detached guest quarters without a kitchen is straightforward; a detached unit with a kitchen is a second dwelling unit and is not a listed use in RS or R1. In the R2, R, RO and RB districts a duplex, triplex or fourplex on one lot is a principal permitted use, so a genuine second unit is available there through the multi-family use categories rather than as an accessory unit. Confirm the kitchen question with the Planning Department before designing.

Ordinance read August 2026

Attached or internal accessory space is on the same footing as detached space. 3-2-2 defines SERVANT QUARTERS as "an attached or detached building, or part thereof, housing persons employed on the premises," and every residential district lists guesthouse or servants' quarters among its accessory uses, so an attached wing or converted basement used as accessory quarters is contemplated. Turning that space into a self-contained second unit is a different matter: a building with two attached dwelling units is a two-family dwelling under 3-2-2, and a duplex is a principal permitted use only in R2, R, RO and RB (minimum 6,000 square foot lot, and 3-2-2 requires the two units be totally separated by an unpierced wall). RS and R1 permit one dwelling only. The R and RB districts separately allow renting rooms in the principal building to no more than two roomers per dwelling unit, provided adequate additional off-street parking is supplied.

Ordinance read August 2026

A detached ADU is allowed by right as an accessory use, but only in seven of Fernley's eighteen zoning districts: GR20, RR5, RR1, RR½, SF20, SF12 and SF9. Table 32.06.150-2 leaves the 'Dwelling, accessory' cell blank for SF6, the city's densest single-family district (6,000 sq ft minimum lot, seven units per acre), and for every multifamily, mixed-use, commercial, industrial and public district; a blank cell means 'use is not permitted'. Within an allowed district the ADU may be a new building or an existing accessory building converted to living space, but only one ADU is permitted per lot and none at all on a nonconforming lot. Mobile homes, RVs and travel trailers may never be used as an ADU; a tiny home on a permanent foundation may.

Ordinance read August 2026

An ADU may be 'adapted from part of the main structure', so basement, addition and internal-conversion units are expressly contemplated, and the code definition of an accessory dwelling unit covers a unit attached to the principal dwelling as well as one in a detached building. The attached form clears the same zoning gate as the detached form and no more: allowed in GR20, RR5, RR1, RR½, SF20, SF12 and SF9 only, one per lot, and not on a nonconforming lot. Where the unit is attached a separate entrance is allowed, but only one entrance may be visible from the front property line.

Ordinance read August 2026

Detached ADUs (including tiny houses 200-400 sq ft) are allowed only with a special use permit in the O-L, R-E, R-EL and R-1 districts on lots of at least 6,000 sq ft with a single-family principal dwelling; allowed subject to individual review in PUD/PID, MUD and PCD planned districts; prohibited (blank cells) in the R-CL, R-2, R-3 and R-4 districts. Mobile homes, RVs and travel trailers may not be used as ADUs.

Ordinance read July 2026

The code does not distinguish attached from detached ADUs in Table 17.20-3; the same special use permit route applies in O-L, R-E, R-EL and R-1. For planned districts the code states nothing shall be construed to prevent an ADU from being located within or inside the principal dwelling (17.20.030.F.2.b(i)). A separate 'garage conversion' use is conditional in most residential districts (17.20.030.F.6).

Ordinance read July 2026

In the base single-family districts (O-L, R-E, R-EL, R-1) an ADU requires approval of a special use permit through a special use review (a discretionary public-hearing process), not a by-right building permit. In PUD/PID, MUD and PCD districts ADUs are shown as P but remain subject to the individual review procedure and applicable development agreements. A kitchen-less guest house/casita, by contrast, is permitted by right in O-L, R-E, R-EL, R-1 and R-CL.

Ordinance read July 2026

Detached accessory dwellings are allowed in the rural and lower density suburban zones (LDR, MDR, HDR, LDS, GR, GRA) and in Medium Density Suburban, but Table 110.302.05.1 shows a flat dash for High Density Suburban and for all three urban residential zones (LDU, MDU, HDU), so a detached backyard unit is simply unavailable there even though single-family homes are. Two gates bite elsewhere: the parcel must be at least 12,000 sq ft (about 0.28 acre), and on any parcel half an acre or smaller, plus every MDS parcel regardless of size, an Administrative Review Permit under Article 809 must be approved before the building permit. Only one accessory dwelling unit or guest quarters is allowed per parcel, and neither is allowed on parcels with cottage court or multifamily development. In the Tahoe Planning Area (Incline Village and Crystal Bay) Section 110.220.85 layers TRPA Code Section 21.3.2 on top and requires an administrative review permit in every case.

Ordinance read August 2026

The review path turns on the ADU type, the zone and the parcel size. An attached unit is an allowed use ('A') in every residential zone, so it needs only a building permit. A detached unit is allowed by right on parcels larger than half an acre in LDR, MDR, HDR, LDS, GR and GRA; the dagger in Table 110.302.05.1 means administrative review is required on parcels half an acre or smaller. In Medium Density Suburban the table reads 'AR', an Administrative Review Permit in every case, and in High Density Suburban and the urban zones a detached unit is not allowed at all. An Article 809 administrative review is a written staff decision by the Planning and Building Director: no public hearing is held, but owners within 500 feet are noticed and get 15 calendar days to file written testimony, the applicant gets 7 days to respond, and the Director may approve, condition, modify or deny the request, with appeals to the Board of Adjustment. Tahoe Planning Area accessory dwellings always require an Article 809 permit and separate TRPA review.

Ordinance read August 2026