ADU rules in Nye County

Nye County's zoning code never uses the phrase 'accessory dwelling unit'; the second home it allows is called a guest residence. 'One guest residence not to exceed one thousand five hundred (1,500) square feet' is listed as a Permissive Use, meaning by right with no hearing, in seven of the eight single-family residential zones (RH-9.5, RH-4.5, RE-2, RE-1, SE, VR-20, VR-10) plus the BO Business Opportunity Overlay. The matching definition is 'guest building': an accessory building on a residential lot with a principal residence that is used for residential purposes, affixed to real property, and not a recreational vehicle. VR-8 Village Residential, MF Multifamily and MH Mobile Home Park do not list a guest residence as either a permissive or a conditional use, and a use not listed in a district is prohibited there until a zoning ordinance text amendment is approved.

A guest residence is a species of accessory building, and Nye County defines an accessory building as one 'which may be structurally attached to the principal building or detached', so the 1,500 square foot guest residence can be built as an attached wing on exactly the same by-right terms as a detached one. The VR-10 and VR-8 setback tables even carry a row labeled 'Residential and nonresidential accessory buildings'. What the code does not address is a unit carved out inside the existing house: each zone allows only 'One single-family residence per lot', and a single-family residence is defined as a dwelling unit with cooking, sleeping and sanitary facilities for the exclusive use of a single family, 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 not to exceed one thousand five hundred (1,500) square feet.' The guest building definition repeats the same ceiling. Because the cap is a flat number rather than a share of the primary dwelling, it is the binding constraint on Pahrump's typical one-acre-and-up lots. Ordinary accessory buildings get far larger allowances (100,000 sq ft in RH-9.5, 50,000 in RH-4.5, 20,000 in RE-2, 10,000 in RE-1 and SE, 3,000 in VR-20, 1,500 in VR-10, 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 20/5/5/20 in VR-10 and VR-8; 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 on the owner living at the property, and there is no affidavit or recorded-covenant requirement anywhere in the chapter. What the code does require is a primary home first: 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', and each zone allows one single-family residence plus one guest residence. 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, a guest residence 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 starts, then a building permit from Nye County Building and Safety in Pahrump (a building permit is generally required above 200 square feet, and 1,500 square feet of habitable space is well past that). 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. 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, 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 guest residence cannot be sold separately: it is an accessory building on the same parcel as the principal residence.