ADU Pass
Ramsey County
ADU Pass helps homeowners in Ramsey County, Minnesota navigate the permit paperwork for building an accessory dwelling unit. We cover 1 city and 26 ZIP codes in this county.
Map
County ADU details
County ADU ordinance
Ramsey County (state-capital county; ~552,000 residents — the smallest Minnesota county by area but the second-most-populous; encompassing Saint Paul, Maplewood, Roseville, Shoreview, Arden Hills, White Bear Lake partial, North Saint Paul, Saint Anthony partial, Mounds View, New Brighton, Falcon Heights, Lauderdale, Little Canada, Vadnais Heights, North Oaks, Gem Lake, Spring Lake Park partial, and unincorporated White Bear Township and a small portion of Mounds View Township) is fully incorporated — there are no unincorporated parcels under direct county zoning. Ramsey County is the only Minnesota county with NO unincorporated land (every parcel sits within a city). The county therefore does NOT maintain a county zoning ordinance for unincorporated areas. Ramsey County's role is limited to (1) county-level coordination through the Ramsey County Department of Public Works (Plat Commission for plat review under Minn. Stat. § 505.03), (2) administration of the Ramsey County Public Health Department for septic/well permitting in the limited remaining septic-served parcels, and (3) administration of the County Assessor function for the entire county (Ramsey County is the assessing authority for all constituent cities including Saint Paul under Minn. Stat. § 273.061).
County assessor
Assessment policy: Ramsey County Assessor assesses real and personal property for the entire county including the City of Saint Paul under Minn. Stat. § 273.061 (counties with cities of population 30,000+ assess for those cities unless the city elects to assess separately; Saint Paul has not elected to assess separately, so the county assesses Saint Paul property). Minnesota uses 100% market-value assessment with annual revaluation. New ADU construction is reassessed at market value as of January 2 following completion (Minnesota's assessment date). Minnesota's Homestead Classification (Minn. Stat. § 273.124) provides reduced tax-class rates for the homestead (1a class at 1.0% of first $500,000 and 1.25% of remainder vs. 1.25% non-homestead); an ADU rented separately may carve out a non-homestead component. The Senior Citizen Property Tax Deferral and the Disabled Veterans' Homestead Market Value Exclusion (Minn. Stat. § 273.13 subd. 34) provide additional relief.
County overlays (3)
Known county issues (3)
- other — ADU researchers in Ramsey County must look to city ordinances; the county role is limited to assessing and septic-permitting (the latter only for the small remaining septic-served parcels in north Ramsey).
- other — Most Ramsey County ADU activity flows through Saint Paul's expanded city-tier framework.
- other — Property tax appeals on ADU-bearing Saint Paul parcels go through the Ramsey County Assessor / Board of Equalization process, not a city process.
Minnesota state — ADU law and programs
State ADU law
Minnesota has NOT enacted a statewide ADU preemption statute as of 2026-04-26. ADU regulation remains a matter of local zoning under each city's and county's general police-power authority (Minn. Stat. ch. 462 for municipal planning, Minn. Stat. ch. 394 for county zoning). Several reform bills are pending in the 94th Legislature (2025-2026 biennium): HF 1987 / SF 2229 (the Minnesota Starter Home Act, chief House author Rep. Kraft), would prohibit municipalities from excluding single-family dwellings, duplexes, ADUs, and townhouses from residential zones; HF 2140 / SF 2231 (the More Homes, Right Places Act) would direct cities to designate higher-density zones along main corridors; HF 1309 / SF 1268 would eliminate parking minimums statewide. As of 2026-04-26 none of these bills has been enacted; HF 1987 cleared the House Housing Finance and Policy Committee in spring 2025 and was referred to House Elections Finance and Government Operations.
State financing programs
Minnesota Housing Finance Agency (Minnesota Housing) does not operate an ADU-specific loan or grant product as of 2026-04-26. ADU construction and rehabilitation can be financed through three general-purpose programs: the Fix Up Loan (statewide home-improvement loan up to 20-year term, secured or unsecured, no income limit on the standard track), the Rehabilitation Loan Program / Emergency & Accessibility Loan Program (RLP/ELP) for low-income owner-occupants (max $37,500, forgivable if owner remains for the loan term, 15 years for real property), and the Start Up first-time-homebuyer mortgage program with down-payment-assistance overlays. None of these is ADU-specific; an ADU project must qualify under each program's general eligibility (primary residence, income caps, etc.). Tribal nations and several counties operate their own rehab loan funds (e.g., St. Paul Homeowner Rehab Loans, Anoka County Rehabilitation Loan Program, Olmsted County Housing Rehabilitation).
State housing programs
Minnesota does not operate a statewide pre-approved ADU plan catalog, an impact-fee waiver statute, or a streamlined-review mandate for ADUs. The 2023 housing omnibus (H.F. 2335 / S.F. 2566, signed 2023-05-25) appropriated approximately $1 billion across Minnesota Housing programs but did not include ADU-specific incentives. The Met Council's housing-action funding for the Twin Cities seven-county region encourages ADU-permissive zoning as part of the Livable Communities Act score, indirectly rewarding cities that adopt ADU ordinances. Pending 2025-2026 legislation (HF 1987 Starter Home Act, HF 2140 More Homes Right Places Act) would establish state preemption-style mandates if enacted but have not yet passed.
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.