ADU Pass
Arlington
ADU Pass helps homeowners in Arlington, Carlisle County, Kentucky navigate the permit paperwork for building an accessory dwelling unit. This area covers 1 ZIP code.
Map
ADU details
ADU legality: unclear
ADUs are not affirmatively permitted nor prohibited in Arlington. Practically, a property owner must work directly with the Carlisle County state building inspector and the Arlington city clerk to fit a proposed accessory dwelling within the Kentucky Residential Code. This is small-village western Kentucky — process is relationship-based, not portal-based.
Cost scenarios
| Scenario | Sq ft | Permit | Build | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| minimum | 400 | $850 | $72,000 | $72,850 |
| 600 | 600 | $1,100 | $114,000 | $115,100 |
| midpoint | 660 | $1,200 | $125,400 | $126,600 |
| maximum | 1,200 | $1,900 | $234,000 | $235,900 |
Fee breakdown (as of 2026-04)
Permitting process
- Confirm parcel servicing and access (~7d)
Walk the parcel with Arlington city water utility (city limits) or Carlisle County PVA (unincorporated) to confirm well/septic capacity, electric service drop, and frontage access. No formal pre-application meeting exists. - Contact Arlington City Clerk and Carlisle County Judge Executive (~3d)
Phone the Arlington city clerk and the Carlisle County Judge Executive's Office at (270) 628-5451 to confirm there is no local ADU prohibition for the specific parcel and to register the project before drawings are produced. - Submit Kentucky Building Code permit application to state inspector (~1d)
Drop off paper permit application, plot plan, and 2-set residential drawings to Hickman County / Purchase region state-and-local building inspector covering Carlisle. No online portal — this is paper intake at the inspector's office. - State building-inspector plan review (~21d)
Inspector reviews drawings against 815 KAR 7:125 (Kentucky Residential Code 2018, Appendix Q if tiny-house track). Single-cycle review typical for small detached units. - Permit issuance and septic / health-department clearance (~14d)
Pay permit fee at issuance. If parcel is on septic, separate Purchase District Health Department onsite-sewage permit is required before footing inspection. - Construction inspections (footing, framing, MEP rough, final)
Inspector schedules windshield inspections from Bardwell. Foundation, framing, electrical rough, plumbing rough, insulation, final. Driving distance can compress to 2-3 visit days, not separate trips. - Certificate of occupancy (~5d)
Inspector issues KBC final-inspection sign-off. No separate municipal CO process in Arlington.
Viability (permitted uses)
- Long-term rental: yes (KRS 383.500-705 Kentucky Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (URLTA) — adopted in some KY jurisdictions only) Arlington has not adopted URLTA. Common-law landlord-tenant rules apply. No city rental-registration ordinance.
- Short-term rental: unclear (No Arlington short-term-rental ordinance located) Arlington has no STR ordinance. Operators register the lodging tax with the Kentucky Department of Revenue and the Carlisle County Tourism Commission if one is active. No municipal cap exists.
- No municipal STR ordinance
- Kentucky transient-room tax (6%) plus county transient-room tax apply
- Insurance coverage is the primary practical barrier in rural KY
- Office rental: unclear No zoning ordinance to permit or prohibit. Practical: deed restrictions and KBC use-classification (B vs R-3) drive insurance and inspection.
- Home office: yes No home-occupation permit required; small-business operation from a residential parcel is unrestricted in Arlington.
- Studio / workshop: yes Personal artist/workshop accessory use is unregulated.
- Agriculture: yes (KRS 100.111(2) agricultural-use exemption) Carlisle is heavily agricultural; KRS 100 exempts agricultural uses from any zoning that might be adopted. Livestock and row crops are by-right on most parcels.
- Relative support: yes Family-occupancy use of an ADU is unregulated; multigenerational housing is common in western KY.
Incentives
- USDA Rural Development Section 504 Home Repair Loan / Grant — Carlisle County qualifies as USDA Rural for Section 502 / 504 loans. ADU permanent-foundation construction by an income-qualifying owner can be folded into a Section 504 application up to $40,000.
Contacts
Staff: Greg Terry (Carlisle County Judge / Executive), Becky Martin (Carlisle County Clerk)
Utilities
- Water: Arlington Water Works (city limits) / Hickman-Fulton Counties RECC + private well (unincorporated) · 21d connect · $2,400
- Sewer: Arlington Municipal Sewer (city core only) / private septic with Purchase District Health Dept permit elsewhere · 28d connect · $8,500
- Electric: Hickman-Fulton Counties RECC / Jackson Purchase Energy (rural cooperative) · 14d connect · $1,400
- Gas: Propane (no piped natural gas in most of Carlisle County) — Ferrell Gas / local distributors · 7d connect · $1,600
Property values & taxes
Market rent by ADU size
| Sq ft | Rent |
|---|---|
| 400 | $525/mo |
| 600 | $675/mo |
| 800 | $825/mo |
Construction timeline
Realistic total: best 5mo · typical 8mo · worst 14mo
Few full-service GCs in Carlisle County — homeowners typically self-GC or hire a Mayfield/Paducah crew. Lead time stretches in spring (planting season pulls trades to ag work).
Modular pathway Kentucky DHBC Modular / Industrialized Building Program (815 KAR 25:020) · inspectors are rare with modular
US-51 and KY-58 bridges into Arlington can carry standard 14ft-wide modules; oversize loads require Kentucky Transportation Cabinet permit and route survey.
Financing
State ADU loans:
- KHC First Mortgage Programs (FHA / VA / USDA) (Kentucky Housing Corporation)
- KHC Down Payment Assistance Program (DAP) (Kentucky Housing Corporation) up to $12,500
- USDA Rural Development Section 502 Direct & 504 Repair (USDA Rural Development) up to $40,000
Insurance impact
Western KY carriers (Kentucky Farm Bureau dominant) underwrite ADUs as a standard accessory structure; premium delta low. Floodplain parcels need separate NFIP policy ($600-1100/yr).
HOA prevalence & preemption
HOAs are essentially absent in Arlington — fee-simple deeds are the norm. The handful of HOA-governed parcels are subdivision covenants in newer Bardwell-area developments, not Arlington itself.
Regulatory overlays (1)
- flood-zone — FEMA Mississippi River and Mayfield Creek floodplains; Zone A and AE along Bayou de Chien through southwestern Carlisle County · +14d · +9% cost
Lower elevations toward the Mississippi require finished-floor elevation above BFE. Federally-backed loans require flood insurance in SFHA. (map)
Technical envelope (climate & building code)
Climate & energy code
Building code
Amendments:
- Kentucky amendment to IRC R313 — residential sprinkler mandate removed — Kentucky Residential Code strikes the 2018 IRC R313.1/R313.2 residential automatic-sprinkler requirement for one- and two-family dwellings.
- Appendix Q (Tiny Houses) adopted with Kentucky amendments — Kentucky retains Appendix Q for dwellings 400 sqft or less, allowing reduced ceiling height (6'8"), ladder-access lofts, and reduced egress envelope.
- New Madrid seismic provisions — Westernmost KY counties (Carlisle, Hickman, Fulton, Ballard) require SDC C+ detailing per ASCE 7-22 — anchor bolts at 4ft o.c., engineered shear paths.
Contractor market (aggregate)
Legal history (timeline)
Current ordinance: No standalone Arlington ADU ordinance — Kentucky Residential Code (815 KAR 7:125) is the controlling document, adopted 2020-08-01, last amended 2022-08-10
- 1980-01-01 — KRS Chapter 100 — Kentucky Planning and Zoning enabling statute (current codification) (state-law)
Statewide enabling framework that permits but does not require Kentucky cities and counties to adopt zoning ordinances.
Effect: Carlisle County and the City of Arlington have not adopted comprehensive zoning ordinances under this authority; ADUs are governed by building code only. - 2020-08-01 — 2018 Kentucky Building Code adoption (815 KAR 7:120) effective 2020 (state-law)
Kentucky adopts the 2018 IRC and IBC as the Kentucky Residential Code and Kentucky Building Code with state-specific amendments removing the residential fire-sprinkler mandate.
Effect: Establishes Carlisle County's controlling building-envelope standard for ADUs in the absence of local zoning. - 2025-02-04 — HB 576 (2025 Kentucky General Assembly) — proposed statewide ADU permitted use (state-law)
Bill would have made at least one ADU a permitted use in all residential zones statewide, exempt from local permitting review beyond the state building code.
Effect: Stalled in committee. No statewide ADU preemption is in effect. Carlisle County / Arlington retain full local discretion. - 2025-03-26 — HB 443 (2025 Kentucky General Assembly) — objective standards in planning decisions (state-law)
Requires planning decisions made under KRS 100 to rely on objective, ministerial standards rather than discretionary review.
Effect: Indirect effect on Arlington. Limits discretionary denial in jurisdictions that adopt ADU ordinances; Arlington has no such ordinance to constrain.
Known issues (1)
- infrastructure (since ongoing) — Adds $5-10K septic capacity expansion / new tank requirement on parcels where existing septic is undersized for adding a second dwelling. (source)
Kentucky state — ADU law and programs
State financing programs
Kentucky does not operate an ADU-specific statewide loan, grant, or forgivable-loan program. The Kentucky Housing Corporation (KHC) is the state housing finance agency and administers first-time-homebuyer mortgage products, the Welcome Home Grant (down-payment assistance), the KHC Down Payment Assistance Program (up to $12,500 second mortgage), and Mortgage Credit Certificates. None target ADU construction directly. ADU costs may be financed through standard renovation or construction-loan products under KHC programs when the ADU is part of a qualifying primary-residence transaction.
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 Code
- 42021
Post Office
- 178 Walnut St, 42021