ADU Pass
Garrett County
ADU Pass helps homeowners in Garrett County, Maryland navigate the permit paperwork for building an accessory dwelling unit. We cover 11 cities and 14 ZIP codes in this county.
Map
County ADU details
County ADU ordinance
Garrett County (Maryland's westernmost county; ~28,800 residents; county seat Oakland; commissioner-form government with a three-member Board of County Commissioners — not a charter county) is unusual in Maryland in that it has NO countywide zoning ordinance. County-administered zoning exists only in the Deep Creek Watershed Zoning District (the 65-square-mile watershed of Deep Creek Lake — Maryland's largest freshwater lake at ~3,900 acres surface), administered by the Department of Community Development's Planning & Land Management Division under the Deep Creek Watershed Zoning Ordinance (DCWZO). Six incorporated towns (Accident, Friendsville, Grantsville, Loch Lynn Heights, Mountain Lake Park, Oakland) operate their own zoning codes. Everywhere else in Garrett County — the substantial majority of the county by area — is unzoned, with no use restrictions beyond subdivision, sensitive-areas (steep slopes, streams, wetlands), floodplain, and the countywide Livability Code (minimum housing standards). Maryland's Accessory Dwelling Units Act of 2025 (HB 1466 / SB 891, effective 2025-10-01) requires counties and municipalities WITH planning and zoning authority to adopt ADU-compliant local laws by 2026-10-01. Garrett County's preemption obligation under the 2025 Act applies only to the Deep Creek Watershed Zoning District (its only zoned area) and the six incorporated towns; the unzoned bulk of the county has no use restrictions to preempt. The county also separately regulates Transient Vacation Rental Units (TVRUs) countywide — a significant ADU-adjacent issue given the Deep Creek tourism economy.
County assessor
Assessment policy: Maryland uses state-administered real-property assessment under the State Department of Assessments and Taxation (SDAT). The SDAT Garrett County Office assesses real property under Md. Tax-Property Code Title 8. Maryland reassesses property on a triennial cycle; new ADU construction is reassessed at full cash value as of the next reassessment cycle following completion (interim assessments are issued for substantial new construction). Maryland's Homestead Tax Credit (Md. Tax-Property § 9-105) caps annual taxable-assessment growth on owner-occupied homesteads at 10% statewide; Garrett County's local homestead cap is 5%. Garrett County also offers a Senior Tax Credit and participates in Maryland's solar/geothermal exemption. Notably, a large fraction of Garrett County real-property tax base consists of NON-owner-occupied second homes and vacation rentals on Deep Creek Lake — these parcels do NOT receive the homestead cap and are reassessed at full market value triennially.
County overlays (4)
Known county issues (5)
- other — ADU rights on the substantial majority of Garrett County parcels (unzoned) are governed by building/septic/sensitive-area review rather than by zoning. ADUs inside the Deep Creek Watershed Zoning District face the densest zoning review burden in the county.
- other — ADU economics in the Deep Creek area are dominated by short-term rental yield; researchers must track BOTH the building permit path AND the TVRU license path. ADUs intended only for long-term residential use face a lighter regulatory burden.
- other — ADU project feasibility on unsewered parcels turns substantially on existing septic capacity; researchers should treat the septic question as the primary feasibility gate, not zoning.
- other — summaryByCity and summaryByLocale rollups computed from the garrett-county folder may include cities whose county attribution is debatable; reconciliation between allegany-county and garrett-county city lists is a separate data-cleanup task.
- other — ADU rights under state law are protected NOW (post-2025-10-01) regardless of local code status, but the specific local procedural rules may be in flux through October 2026. Researchers should re-check DCWZO and town zoning amendments after October 2026.
Maryland state — ADU law and programs
State ADU law
Maryland enacted statewide ADU preemption with the Accessory Dwelling Units Act of 2025 — HB 1466 / SB 891 (cross-filed) — passed by the General Assembly in the 2025 Regular Session and effective 2025-10-01. Counties and municipalities with planning and zoning authority must adopt local laws compliant with the Act by 2026-10-01. The Act establishes that it is the policy of Maryland to promote and encourage ADU creation on land with a primary single-family detached dwelling. ADUs are defined as secondary units on the same lot/parcel/tract as a primary single-family detached dwelling, no greater than 75% of the size of the primary dwelling. Counties and municipalities cannot prohibit ADUs or impose unreasonable restrictions on their construction or rental. The 2025 ADU Act ALSO amends the Maryland HOA Act (Title 11B of the Real Property Article), prohibiting community associations from prohibiting or unreasonably restricting ADU construction and rental. The state has been preparing this framework since 2023 (SB 382 created the ADU Policy Task Force, which issued its final report 2024-05-31).
State HOA preemption
Maryland enacted HOA preemption for ADUs as part of the 2025 ADU Act. HB 1466 / SB 891 amended the Maryland Homeowners Association Act (Real Property Article, Title 11B), adding the ADU definition at §11B-101(a-1) and prohibiting HOAs from prohibiting or unreasonably restricting the construction or rental of ADUs on lots with primary single-family detached dwelling units. HOAs retain authority to (a) treat an ADU as a separate lot for voting and assessment purposes (optional, not required) and (b) impose reasonable design and architectural standards consistent with the community's overall character. The HOA preemption became effective 2025-10-01.
State financing programs
Maryland does not currently operate an ADU-specific statewide loan, grant, or forgivable-loan program tied to the 2025 ADU Act. The Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) administers a broad portfolio of homeownership, rental development, and home-repair financing — including the Maryland Mortgage Program, Settlement Downpayment Loan Program, Project Restore (commercial-to-residential conversions), and various Energy & Home Repair loan products. None target ADU construction directly, though Project Restore can fund ADU-like conversions, and the Energy & Home Repair Loan can fund ADU-related electrical, HVAC, and weatherization upgrades.
State housing programs
Maryland's primary state-level ADU program is the 2025 ADU Act framework: statewide preemption requiring local jurisdictions to adopt compliant ordinances by 2026-10-01, including HOA preemption. The Maryland Department of Planning maintains an ADU resource hub with technical assistance for local governments. Maryland does not currently operate a statewide pre-approved ADU plan catalog, an ADU rebate, or an impact-fee waiver statute, but the local-compliance window through 2026-10-01 is expected to produce additional ADU-specific incentive programs.
- ADU Act 2025 Statewide Floor (HB 1466 / SB 891) — Counties and municipalities with planning/zoning authority must adopt compliant ordinances by 2026-10-01, allowing ADUs on every single-family-detached lot at up to 75% of primary dwelling size. Bars prohibitions and unreasonable restrictions. Includes HOA preemption.
- Maryland Department of Planning ADU Resource Hub — Resource hub with model ordinances, FAQs for local governments (HB 1466 FAQ), task-force final report, and statewide ADU ordinance inventory.
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.