ADU Pass
Fulton County
ADU Pass helps homeowners in Fulton County, Georgia navigate the permit paperwork for building an accessory dwelling unit. We cover 9 cities and 45 ZIP codes in this county.
Map
County ADU details
County ADU ordinance
Fulton County (state-capital county; ~1,066,000 residents — Georgia's most populous — encompassing Atlanta, Sandy Springs, Roswell, Alpharetta, Johns Creek, Milton, Union City, College Park, East Point, Fairburn, Hapeville, Palmetto, Chattahoochee Hills, and unincorporated south Fulton tracts) regulates land use in unincorporated areas through the Fulton County Zoning Resolution, administered by the Fulton County Department of Community Development. Georgia's HB 514 (2025 session, vetoed; reintroduced 2026 as HB 374) is the closest the state has come to ADU preemption; it has not been enacted, so Georgia's stateAduLaw remains netEffect 'no-statewide-law'. Unincorporated Fulton County permits 'accessory residential structures' / 'accessory apartments' in agricultural and large-lot residential districts (AG-1, R-1, R-2, R-3) by right subject to lot-area minimums, size caps (commonly 1,000 sq ft or 50% of principal dwelling), and owner-occupancy. Smaller residential districts treat ADUs as conditional uses requiring Board of Zoning Appeals approval. The Fulton County Board of Commissioners updated the Zoning Resolution most recently in 2023.
County assessor
Assessment policy: Fulton County Board of Assessors assesses real and personal property under O.C.G.A. Title 48 Chapter 5. Georgia uses an assessment ratio of 40% of fair market value for ad valorem taxation; new ADU construction is reassessed at FMV as of January 1 following completion. Georgia's homestead exemption (O.C.G.A. § 48-5-44) and the Stephens-Day Homestead Exemption specific to Fulton County (HB 1166, 2018, codified locally) cap the homestead's assessed-value growth roughly to inflation. An ADU rented separately may carve out a non-homestead component subject to standard assessment growth.
County overlays (4)
Known county issues (3)
- other — Researchers should expect most ADU work in Fulton County to flow through city-tier ordinances (Atlanta, Sandy Springs, Roswell, Alpharetta, Johns Creek, Milton, etc.), not the Fulton County Zoning Resolution.
- other — Some south Fulton parcels cannot host new-construction ADUs; sound-attenuation construction adds $5,000-$15,000 in 65-70 dB zones.
- other — Chattahoochee River corridor parcels face an additional layer of regional review beyond local zoning; ADU siting may require relocation away from the river or smaller footprints.
Georgia state — ADU law and programs
State financing programs
Georgia does not operate an ADU-specific statewide loan, grant, or forgivable-loan program. The Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA) administers the Georgia Dream homeownership program, which includes the Georgia Dream Standard, Georgia Dream Hardest Hit Fund DPA, and (effective 2025-07-01) the Georgia Dream Peach Advantage Loan Program for expanded down-payment assistance. None target ADU construction directly; an ADU-bearing primary residence can qualify for the underlying Georgia Dream first mortgage when other eligibility criteria are met.
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.