ADU rules in Reno

ADUs may be located in a detached accessory structure; allowed as an accessory use (A) in every residential zoning district (LLR, SF, MF), most urban districts, and the UT districts per Table 3-1. Adopted by Ord. 6727 on Oct. 8, 2025 after years of Reno councils declining to allow ADUs.

ADUs may be attached to and integrated with the principal single-family structure. Attached ADUs must meet single-family design standards, follow the detached-ADU area maxima in Tables 3-6 and 3-7, and their front door may not be visible from the street the principal home's front door faces.

There is no single citywide ADU square-footage cap; the detached accessory structure dimensional tables govern. Exact column spans in Table 3-7 (which of SF-5/SF-8/SF-11/MF-14 take the 1,200 sq ft cell versus MF-21/MF-30 at 2,400 sq ft) render ambiguously in both Municode and the PDF; the SF-3 and LLR values are explicit.

The ADU standards in 18.03.405(a), read in full, contain no owner-occupancy requirement for either unit.

Matches the AB 396 ceiling of no more than one additional space.

Table 3-1 designates the ADU with an A (accessory use permitted) in eligible districts, so an ADU meeting the 18.03.405(a) standards is allowed by right with a building permit; no conditional use permit or public hearing is required.

AB 396 lets cities bar ADUs from use as transient lodging, but Reno's adopted ADU standards contain no such prohibition; council coverage of the Oct. 8, 2025 adoption reported an explicit decision not to restrict short-term rental use in this ordinance. Citywide rental and lodging rules elsewhere in the municipal code still apply.