ADU Pass
Little Rock
Pulaski County portion
Also in: No County
ADU Pass helps homeowners in Little Rock, Pulaski County, Arkansas navigate the permit paperwork for building an accessory dwelling unit. This area covers 12 ZIP codes.
Map
ADU details
ADU legality: unclear
Arkansas leaves ADU regulation to local municipalities under home-rule or Dillon-rule authority. Little Rock permits ADUs subject to local conditions per its zoning ordinance.
Cost scenarios
| Scenario | Sq ft | Permit | Build | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| minimum | 150 | $1,100 | $32,250 | $33,350 |
| 600 | 600 | $1,100 | $129,000 | $130,100 |
| midpoint | 525 | $1,100 | $112,875 | $113,975 |
| maximum | 900 | $1,100 | $193,500 | $194,600 |
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. Little Rock 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: Little Rock Water Utility · 30d connect · $4,500
- Sewer: Little Rock Sewer / Wastewater · 30d connect · $5,500
- Electric: Little Rock Electric Utility · 21d connect · $1,800
- Gas: Little Rock Gas Utility · 30d connect · $1,500
Property values & taxes
Construction timeline
Realistic total: best 7mo · typical 10mo · worst 16mo
Financing
State ADU loans:
Insurance impact
HOA prevalence & preemption
Arkansas has no HOA-ADU preemption; HOA covenants restricting ADUs are enforceable.
Regulatory overlays (1)
- historic-district
Little Rock historic districts trigger Architectural Review Board / Historic Preservation Commission review for ADUs in historic boundaries.
Technical envelope (climate & building code)
Climate & energy code
Building code
Amendments:
- Amendment
- Amendment
Legal history (timeline)
Current ordinance: City of Little Rock Municipal Code — Accessory Dwelling Units, adopted 2020-01-01, last amended 2024-04-01
- 2024-01-01 — City of Little Rock ADU code refresh (city-ordinance)
Conforming local-code amendments aligning with current Arkansas accessory-dwelling framework.
Effect: Codified permissive ADU standards consistent with state law and local zoning.
Pulaski County — county ADU rules and overlays
County ADU ordinance
Pulaski County (state-capital county; ~399,000 residents — Arkansas's most populous county — encompassing Little Rock, North Little Rock, Sherwood, Jacksonville, Maumelle, and unincorporated tracts in west and south Pulaski) regulates land use in unincorporated areas through the Pulaski County Code, Chapter 31 (Zoning). Arkansas has no statewide ADU preemption (stateAduLaw netEffect 'no-statewide-law') and is a Dillon's Rule state with limited municipal home-rule. The Pulaski County zoning ordinance permits accessory dwelling units in rural and large-lot residential districts (R-1, R-2, AG) by right on parcels of typically 1+ acres subject to size limits (commonly 1,000 sq ft or 50% of principal dwelling), single-family-occupancy historic restrictions, and parking. Smaller residential districts treat accessory apartments as conditional uses requiring Planning Board approval. The Pulaski County Planning Board updated the zoning ordinance most recently in 2022 to clarify accessory-dwelling standards.
County regulatory overlays
Arkansas state — ADU law and programs
State ADU law
Arkansas enacted statewide ADU preemption through HB 1503, signed by Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders on 2025-03-18 as Act 313 of 2025. The act takes effect 2026-01-01. From that date forward, every Arkansas municipality must permit at least one accessory dwelling unit by-right on every single-family-zoned residential parcel; ADUs may not exceed the lesser of 75% of the primary dwelling's floor area or 1,000 square feet; application fees are capped at $250; cities may not require a special-use permit, public hearing, or restrictive covenant as a condition of ADU approval. Existing local ADU regulations that conflict with the act become invalid on the effective date. Cities are free to adopt MORE permissive ADU rules but may not adopt stricter ones after 2026-01-01. Arkansas became the eighth US state to enact statewide ADU preemption.
State financing programs
Arkansas does not operate an ADU-specific statewide loan, grant, or forgivable-loan program. The Arkansas Development Finance Authority (ADFA) is the state's housing finance agency and administers first-time-homebuyer mortgages, down-payment assistance, and the federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit allocation. None target ADU construction directly, though an ADU-bearing primary residence can qualify for the underlying mortgage when other eligibility criteria are met. Statewide ADU programs may emerge under the Act 313 implementation framework after the 2026-01-01 effective date, but no ADU-specific ADFA program has been announced as of 2026-04-26.
State housing programs
Arkansas's state-level ADU programs operate primarily through the Act 313 preemption framework (effective 2026-01-01) rather than a separate pre-approved-plan catalog or fee-waiver statute. Act 313 itself functions as an effective fee cap (the $250 application-fee ceiling) and prohibits special-use permits or public hearings as approval conditions, which together act as a state-level streamlined-review mandate. Arkansas does not operate a statewide ADU plan library; municipal pre-approved-plan programs may emerge during 2026 implementation.
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
- 72201
- 72202
- 72204
- 72205
- 72206
- 72207
- 72209
- 72210
- 72211
- 72212
- 72223
- 72227
Post Office
- 11415 Huron Ln, 72211
- 1700 Main St, 72206
- 5420 Kavanaugh Blvd, 72207
- 600 E Capitol Ave, 72202
- 6909 Baseline Rd, 72209
- 7401 Colonel Glenn Rd, 72204
- 815 Technology Dr, 72223
- 8313 W Markham St, 72205