Tucson
Pima County portion
Also in: No County · Pinal County
ADU Pass helps homeowners in Tucson, Pima County, Arizona navigate the permit paperwork for building an accessory dwelling unit. This area covers 32 ZIP codes.
Map
ADU details
ADU legality: allowed-with-restrictions
Arizona partially preempts local ADU restrictions; cities retain authority over design and setbacks. Tucson permits ADUs subject to local conditions per its zoning ordinance.
Cost scenarios
| Scenario | Sq ft | Permit | Build | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| minimum | 150 | $4,950 | $34,200 | $39,150 |
| 600 | 600 | $4,950 | $136,800 | $141,750 |
| midpoint | 575 | $4,950 | $131,100 | $136,050 |
| maximum | 1,000 | $4,950 | $228,000 | $232,950 |
Fee breakdown
Viability (permitted uses)
- Long-term rental: yes Long-term rental of ADU generally permitted; landlord-tenant law and any city rental-registration ordinance apply.
- Short-term rental: with-restrictions STR rules vary by city. Tucson regulates STRs separately from ADU permitting; check local STR ordinance and HOA covenants.
- Office rental: with-restrictions Detached office rental requires home occupation permit or rezoning.
- Home office: yes Home occupation permitted with restrictions on signage and customer traffic.
- Studio / workshop: yes Personal artist studio is a permitted accessory use.
- Agriculture: with-restrictions Limited urban agriculture permitted in residential zones; livestock varies by district.
- Relative support: yes Family-occupancy ADU explicitly permitted in single-family zones.
Utilities
- Water: Tucson Water Utility · 30d connect · $4,500
- Sewer: Tucson Sewer / Wastewater · 30d connect · $5,500
- Electric: Tucson Electric Utility · 21d connect · $1,800
- Gas: Tucson Gas Utility · 30d connect · $1,500
Property values & taxes
Construction timeline
Realistic total: best 7mo · typical 11mo · worst 16mo
Financing
State ADU loans:
Insurance impact
HOA prevalence & preemption
Arizona has no HOA-ADU preemption; HOA covenants restricting ADUs are enforceable.
Regulatory overlays (2)
- historic-district
Tucson historic districts trigger Architectural Review Board / Historic Preservation Commission review for ADUs in historic boundaries. - hillside-overlay
Hillside grading and hillside-development standards apply on parcels exceeding the city's slope thresholds.
Technical envelope (climate & building code)
Climate & energy code
Building code
Amendments:
- Amendment
- Amendment
Legal history (timeline)
Current ordinance: City of Tucson Municipal Code — Accessory Dwelling Units, adopted 2020-01-01, last amended 2024-04-01
- 2024-01-01 — City of Tucson ADU code refresh (city-ordinance)
Conforming local-code amendments aligning with current Arizona accessory-dwelling framework.
Effect: Codified permissive ADU standards consistent with state law and local zoning.
Pima County — county ADU rules and overlays
County ADU ordinance
Arizona state — ADU law and programs
State ADU law
Arizona has enacted statewide ADU preemption in two waves. HB 2720 (signed 2024-05-21, codified at A.R.S. § 9-416.18) requires every Arizona municipality with population of at least 75,000 to permit ADUs on single-family parcels by 2025-01-01: at least one attached and one detached ADU on every single-family lot, plus a third detached ADU on lots one acre or larger if at least one unit is income-restricted. HB 2928 (signed 2025-05-28) extends the same regime to counties, with a 2026-01-01 compliance deadline; counties that fail to adopt compliant regulations by that date must allow ADUs by-right on every residential parcel. Both bills cap ADU size at the lesser of 75% of the primary dwelling's gross floor area or 1,000 sqft, prohibit additional parking requirements, prohibit design-matching mandates, set a 5-foot maximum side and rear setback, prohibit additional impact fees keyed to ADU status, and forbid public-street-improvement conditions. Owner-occupancy may be required by a city or county only when the ADU is operated as a short-term or vacation rental and only for ADUs constructed on or after 2024-09-14. Critically, both bills explicitly preserve the enforceability of private CC&Rs, so HOAs may continue to ban ADUs.
State financing programs
Arizona does not operate an ADU-specific statewide loan, grant, or forgivable-loan program. The Arizona Department of Housing (ADOH) administers the State Housing Trust Fund, federal HOME and CDBG pass-through, the federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit allocation, and the Arizona is Home down-payment-assistance and mortgage product line. None target ADU construction directly, though an ADU-bearing primary residence can qualify for the underlying mortgage when other eligibility criteria are met. The Arizona Industrial Development Authority issues mortgage credit certificates and revenue bonds that can flow through to ADU-bearing properties on the same basis as conventional homes.
State housing programs
Arizona's state-level ADU programs work through the HB 2720 / HB 2928 preemption framework rather than through a separate pre-approved-plan catalog or fee-waiver statute. The state itself does not maintain an ADU plan library, but HB 2720 and HB 2928 effectively waive impact fees keyed to ADU status by prohibiting cities and counties from imposing them. Pre-approved plan libraries are emerging at the city level (Tempe received a 2025 AARP Community Challenge Grant for an ADU Design Challenge that will populate its standard plan library). No statewide ministerial-approval timeline mandate exists beyond the general preemption requirements; cities and counties retain discretion over the review process so long as they do not impose conditions HB 2720/2928 forbids.
Federal (United States) — ADU-relevant rules and programs
Federal ADU law
The United States has no federal statute that directly regulates accessory dwelling unit entitlement or design. Land-use authority over ADUs resides with states and local governments under the traditional police power. Federal engagement is limited to financing (Fannie/Freddie/FHA/VA/USDA), flood insurance (FEMA/NFIP), and discretionary housing programs (HUD), which are recorded in sibling sections of this file.
Federal financing programs
Federal housing-finance agencies and GSEs set nationwide underwriting rules that govern whether an ADU can be financed, appraised, and counted toward mortgage qualifying income. The relevant actors are Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, FHA (HUD), VA, and USDA Rural Development.
Federal tax credits
There is no ADU-specific federal tax credit. ADUs may incidentally qualify for existing federal energy-efficiency and clean-energy tax credits when the ADU construction includes qualifying measures.
Federal housing programs
HUD administers several discretionary programs that can fund ADU-related activity at the grantee's election, but none is an ADU-specific program.
ZIP Codes
- 85701
- 85704
- 85705
- 85706
- 85708
- 85710
- 85711
- 85712
- 85713
- 85714
- 85715
- 85716
- 85718
- 85719
- 85726
- 85730
- 85734
- 85735
- 85736
- 85737
- 85741
- 85742
- 85743
- 85745
- 85746
- 85747
- 85748
- 85749
- 85750
- 85755
- 85756
- 85757
Post Office
- 1099 S Pantano Rd, 85710
- 11900 N La Canada Dr, 85737
- 1501 S Cherrybell Stra Rm 205, 85726
- 1700 E River Rd, 85718
- 2100 E Speedway Blvd, 85719
- 255 N Rosemont Blvd, 85711
- 315 W Valencia Rd, 85706
- 4700 W Valencia Rd, 85757
- 5450 E Madera St, 85708
- 6281 N Oracle Rd, 85704
- 6460 E Grant Rd, 85715
- 7959 N Thornydale Rd, 85741
- 975 N Silverbell Rd, 85745