ADU rules in Provo

A detached ADU is allowed, either as a detached accessory structure or inside one, sited in the rear and/or side yard. What limits it is the zone, not the ADU type: ADU use is a permitted use only in areas zoned primarily for residential use (RA, R1, R2, LDR, MDR, HDR, CMU, VLDR, RM, RC, any Project Redevelopment Option zone, and Specific Development Plan Overlay zones 2 through 5), and Section 14.30.020 then prohibits ADUs in all PRO zones, in R2 zones with a Performance Development Overlay (R2PD), and in areas designated RM, R16, R17, R18, R19 or R110, except where an in-code map shows an exception. West of Interstate 15, ADUs are permitted everywhere zoned primarily for residential use except SDP-5 and R2PD. Provo publishes the eligible area as an "ADU Overlay" on its Zoning Interactive Map, which is the practical way to check one address.

Internal ADUs (inside the house, including a basement conversion), ADUs in an addition, and ADUs over an attached garage are all allowed, but only in conjunction with a one-family detached dwelling. They face exactly the same zone-eligibility test as detached ADUs: permitted in the zones listed in 14.30.010(3), then carved back by the 14.30.020 prohibitions covering all PRO zones, R2PD, and the mapped RM/R16 through R110 areas. An addition may not alter the one-family character of the building, and only one front entrance may be visible from the front yard.

Chapter 14.30 sets no numeric maximum floor area for any type of ADU. The only size rules apply to detached ADUs: the accessory structure holding the ADU must have a building footprint and height less than the main dwelling, and may in no case be less than 200 square feet in area. For an internal ADU there is no city size limit at all, and state law reinforces that: Utah Code 10-21-303(1)(b) bars a municipality from restricting an internal ADU's size in relation to the primary dwelling, total lot size, street frontage, or internal connectivity.

Either the main dwelling or the ADU must be occupied by an "owner occupant", or no ADU is permitted at all. Section 14.06.020 defines that as someone holding 50 percent or more recorded ownership who occupies the unit with a bona fide intent to make it a primary residence, and it adds a strict shared-ownership rule: if a property has more than one owner and they do not all occupy the dwelling, none of them counts as an owner occupant. A temporary absence exception runs up to three years for a bona fide temporary job assignment, sabbatical, military or voluntary service, or placement in a hospital, nursing home or assisted living facility, but only if the owner lived there at least one year first and applied before leaving. Owner primary residence must be established at the initial rental dwelling license application and again at every annual renewal. The requirement is not preempted: Utah Code 10-21-303(3)(j) expressly lets a city bar renting an internal ADU where the dwelling is not the owner's primary residence.

A one-family dwelling with an ADU must have at least four off-street parking spaces, and two of them may be tandem (front to rear). Spaces may sit on a driveway in a required front yard only if that driveway leads to the minimum number of required covered spaces or the property is on the Provo City Landmarks Registry, and such spaces may never be between the primary dwelling and the street. In no case may the number of off-street spaces be fewer than the number of vehicles kept on the premises, and all parking must also meet Chapter 14.37. Because Provo already requires four spaces, Utah Code 10-21-303(3)(c)(i) bars the city from demanding an additional space for an internal ADU on top of that.

In an eligible residential zone, ADU use is a permitted use rather than a conditional use; the former Special Use Permit route at 14.30.040 was repealed by Ordinance 2025-60, so the older two-track process no longer exists. Approval is administrative through Development Services: an annually renewed rental dwelling license under Chapter 6.26, plus building permits for any construction or remodeling, plus a deed restriction recorded with the county recorder that runs with the land. The property must also be free of outstanding ordinance violations before an ADU can be authorized.

Operating an ADU requires a rental dwelling license under Chapter 6.26, and that license automatically expires one year after approval or upon transfer of the property to another owner, whichever comes first, so a buyer must license the ADU again. A deed restriction running with the land must be recorded with the county recorder. The ADU may not be occupied by more than three related or unrelated adults plus their minor children, and while the ADU is occupied the main dwelling loses the two extra related or unrelated individuals the "family" definition would otherwise allow. Chapter 14.30 itself sets no minimum lease term, but nightly renting is barred elsewhere in the code: Section 6.33.020(2) makes it unlawful to operate a short-term rental in any agricultural or residential zone, and Section 6.02.010 defines a short-term rental dwelling as one available to be rented for less than one month, so a Provo ADU must be let for a month or longer.