ADU rules in Nye County

Since September 21, 2026 Nye County's zoning code names the second home outright. Ordinance No. 630 (Bill 2026-12, adopted 5-0 on September 1, 2026) made 'One guest residence or an approved Accessory Dwelling Unit as defined in (17.04.110) not to exceed one thousand five hundred (1,500) square feet' a Permissive Use, meaning by right with no hearing, in all seven single-family zones (RH-9.5, RH-4.5, RE-2, RE-1, SE, VR-20 and VR-10). The new definition calls an ADU 'a secondary, subordinate, independent residential dwelling unit which may be a site-built home or a manufactured home located on the same parcel as a legally established primary single-family residence'. The BO Business Opportunity Overlay was not amended and still allows only 'One guest residence not to exceed one thousand five hundred (1,500) square feet'. VR-8 Village Residential, MF Multifamily and MH Mobile Home Park list neither, and a use not listed in a district is prohibited there until a zoning ordinance text amendment is approved.

Nye County defines an accessory building as one 'which may be structurally attached to the principal building or detached', and a guest residence is an accessory building used for residential purposes, so the 1,500 square foot unit can be built as an attached wing on the same by-right terms as a detached one; the VR-10 and VR-8 setback tables carry a row for 'Residential and nonresidential accessory buildings'. The new ADU definition adopted in 2026 does not say attached or detached; it describes a 'site-built home or a manufactured home' on the same parcel as the primary residence. What the code still does not address is a unit carved out inside the existing house: each zone allows only 'One single-family residence per lot', so an interior conversion is not clearly authorized. Confirm interior conversions with the Planning Department before designing one.

Every zone that allows the use caps it identically: 'One guest residence or an approved Accessory Dwelling Unit as defined in (17.04.110) not to exceed one thousand five hundred (1,500) square feet', and the guest building definition repeats the same ceiling. The cap is a flat number rather than a share of the primary dwelling, so it is the binding constraint on Pahrump's typical one-acre-and-up lots. A manufactured home used as the ADU must also meet 17.04.820, which sets a floor of 400 square feet of living area, a permanent foundation, conversion to real property, siding and roofing similar to nearby homes, and an age limit (built within 6 years in RE-1, SE and the VR zones, 10 years in RH-9.5, RH-4.5 and RE-2). Ordinary accessory buildings get far larger allowances (100,000 sq ft in RH-9.5 down to 1,000 in VR-8) but those are expressly 'not to be used for residential purposes'. Accessory-building setbacks run 25 ft front, 5 ft side, 5 ft rear and 25 ft street side in RE-1 and SE, and 20 ft front, 5 ft side, 5 ft rear and 20 ft street side in VR-10; buildings on one parcel must stand at least 5 ft apart unless an administrative waiver is granted.

Nothing in chapter 17.04 conditions a guest residence or ADU on the owner living at the property, and there is no affidavit or recorded-covenant requirement anywhere in the chapter, including in the ADU provisions added in 2026. What the code does require is a primary home first: an ADU must sit 'on the same parcel as a legally established primary single-family residence', and it is 'unlawful to construct, erect, or locate an accessory building or accessory use on any lot or parcel without an existing principal residential dwelling unit or principal building'. Tenants may therefore occupy both units. This is a local drafting choice, not state preemption: Nye County sits below the AB 396 population threshold, so NRS 278.257 does not reach it.

Table 17.04.730-1 sets parking by use and lists 'Accessory dwelling: 1:1 dwelling unit', so one off-street space is required for the guest residence on top of what the primary home needs (2 spaces minimum, plus 0.50 space for each bedroom over two). Spaces must sit on the premises and be surfaced with at least 2 inches of asphaltic concrete over a 95 percent compacted base or a double chip seal with an approved dust palliative, and no on-street parking counts toward the minimum. The rural exemption in 17.04.720(B) waives parking, driveway and landscaping improvements only for farming and agricultural uses on RH and RE parcels, not for dwellings.

In every zone that allows it, the guest residence or ADU appears under 'Permissive Uses' rather than 'Uses Subject To A Conditional Use Permit', so there is no Pahrump Regional Planning Commission hearing and no discretionary findings. The path is administrative: a zoning review application to the Nye County Planning Department before any construction or manufactured home placement, then a building permit from Nye County Building and Safety in Pahrump (required above 200 square feet). Zoning review approval is good for 180 days and needs a scaled plot plan, setbacks and building separations, a dust control plan, HOA sign-off where applicable, and well/septic locations or an intent-to-serve letter. A manufactured home ADU also needs the 17.04.820 installation application (manufacturer, model, serial number and manufacture date); only waivers of its design standards go to the Planning Commission. In VR-8, MF and MH the use is not listed at all, so it would take a zoning ordinance text amendment rather than any permit.

Chapter 17.04 imposes no minimum lease term, no owner-occupancy condition and no rental ban on a guest residence or ADU, so renting it out long term is unregulated by zoning. Renting under 30 days is another matter. Pahrump Town Ordinance No. 76 (Bill No. 2026-01, adopted February 18, 2026, effective March 9, 2026) rewrote Chapter 8 Article V of the Pahrump Town Code: a short-term vacation rental is 'a permanent residential dwelling unit or any portion of such dwelling unit, rented for occupancy for a period of less than thirty (30) consecutive calendar days'; only the owner of record may register; each owner is capped at five registrations per Nevada business license; occupancy is four people for the first bedroom plus two per additional bedroom to a maximum of sixteen; and registered rentals must be at least 300 feet apart, a distance the ordinance says is not waivable (PTO 74 had required 1,000 feet). Registration means a State of Nevada business license, a Town of Pahrump business license, a Nye County Planning business license review that includes septic capacity, plus monthly transient lodging tax returns to the Nye County Treasurer under the countywide 1 percent tax on lodging rented for under 30 days. Operating instead as a bed and breakfast inn is a conditional use requiring a hearing. The unit cannot be sold separately: an ADU is defined as sitting on the same parcel as the primary residence.