ADU Pass
East Lansing
Ingham County portion
Also in: No County
ADU Pass helps homeowners in East Lansing, Ingham County, Michigan navigate the permit paperwork for building an accessory dwelling unit. This area covers 3 ZIP codes.
Map
Ingham County — county ADU rules and overlays
County ADU ordinance
Ingham County (state-capital county; ~285,000 residents — south-central Michigan; encompassing Lansing partial, East Lansing, Mason, Williamston, Webberville, Leslie, Stockbridge, and the unincorporated charter townships of Meridian, Delhi, Ingham, Vevay, Wheatfield, Williamstown, Aurelius, Bunkerhill, Onondaga, White Oak, and Stockbridge) is a Michigan general law county that does NOT exercise direct zoning authority over its constituent townships. Under Michigan's Township Zoning Act (now consolidated into the Michigan Zoning Enabling Act, MCL 125.3101 et seq.), townships, cities, and villages exercise zoning authority; counties may adopt county-tier zoning only over townships that have not adopted their own zoning ordinance, and most populated Michigan townships have done so. Ingham County's role is therefore limited to (1) county-level coordination through the Ingham County Planning Commission for advisory purposes, (2) administration of the Ingham County Health Department for septic/well permitting in unincorporated areas, (3) administration of the Drain Commissioner functions, and (4) limited county-tier overlay authority for the Inland Lakes and Streams Act and similar state laws. ADU regulation is therefore primarily municipal/township-tier; the Ingham County Health Department's septic-and-well role is the principal county-tier touchpoint for new ADU construction in townships.
County regulatory overlays
Michigan state — ADU law and programs
State financing programs
Michigan does not currently operate an ADU-specific statewide loan, grant, or forgivable-loan program. The Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA), established 1966, administers the MI Home Loan and MI Home Loan Flex mortgage products, the MI 10K DPA Loan (up to $10,000 down-payment assistance as a 0% interest second mortgage due at sale or payoff), and the MI Neighborhood statewide housing grant program. MSHDA's housing-readiness initiatives explicitly mention streamlining site-plan review and approval for ADU and missing-middle projects, but no ADU-targeted construction loan exists yet. ADU costs may be financed through standard renovation or construction loans when the ADU is part of a qualifying primary-residence transaction.
State housing programs
Michigan's primary state-level ADU-related programs are MSHDA's Housing Ready Initiative (technical assistance to municipalities for streamlined ADU and missing-middle approval processes) and the MI Neighborhood statewide housing grant. There is no statewide pre-approved ADU plan catalog, no statewide ADU rebate, and no statewide ADU impact-fee waiver statute. The pending HB 5529-5531 / HB 5581-5585 zoning preemption package, if enacted, would establish a statewide ADU floor; until then, state-level intervention is technical-assistance-only.
- MSHDA Housing Ready Initiative — Technical assistance to Michigan municipalities to streamline ADU, missing-middle, and infill-housing approvals. Focuses on site-plan review, density-friendly zoning, and ministerial-permit pathways.
- MI Neighborhood Statewide Housing Grant — MSHDA grant program for housing-supply expansion. Can fund municipal ADU pilot programs and ADU-supportive infrastructure investments.
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
- 48823
- 48824
- 48825
Post Office
- 1140 Abbot Rd, 48823