ADU Pass
Atlanta Ga Sdc
ADU Pass helps homeowners in Atlanta Ga Sdc — a USPS locale inside Atlanta, Fulton County, Georgia — navigate the permit paperwork for building an accessory dwelling unit. This locale covers 5 ZIP codes.
Atlanta — city ADU rules and incentives
ADU legality: unclear
Georgia leaves ADU regulation to local municipalities under home-rule or Dillon-rule authority. Atlanta permits ADUs subject to local conditions per its zoning ordinance.
City cost envelope
$130,125 all-in for a 525 sqft ADU (permit + build). Midpoint scenario.
Permit fee bundle: $1,500.
City viability (selected uses)
Fulton County — county ADU rules and overlays
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 regulatory overlays
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.
ZIP Codes
- 30303
- 30312
- 30315
- 30344
- 30354
Post Office
- 3900 Crown Rd SW, 30304