ADU Pass
Saint Paul
Ramsey County portion
Also in: Dakota County · Hennepin County · No County · Washington County
ADU Pass helps homeowners in Saint Paul, Ramsey County, Minnesota navigate the permit paperwork for building an accessory dwelling unit. This area covers 19 ZIP codes.
ADU details
ADU legality: allowed-with-restrictions
Minnesota partially preempts local ADU restrictions; cities retain authority over design and setbacks. Saint Paul permits ADUs subject to local conditions per its zoning ordinance.
Cost scenarios
| Scenario | Sq ft | Permit | Build | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| minimum | 150 | $2,400 | $42,750 | $45,150 |
| 600 | 600 | $2,400 | $171,000 | $173,400 |
| midpoint | 575 | $2,400 | $163,875 | $166,275 |
| maximum | 1,000 | $2,400 | $285,000 | $287,400 |
Fee breakdown
Viability (permitted uses)
- Long-term rental: yes Long-term rental of ADU generally permitted; landlord-tenant law and any city rental-registration ordinance apply.
- Short-term rental: with-restrictions STR rules vary by city. Saint Paul regulates STRs separately from ADU permitting; check local STR ordinance and HOA covenants.
- Office rental: with-restrictions Detached office rental requires home occupation permit or rezoning.
- Home office: yes Home occupation permitted with restrictions on signage and customer traffic.
- Studio / workshop: yes Personal artist studio is a permitted accessory use.
- Agriculture: with-restrictions Limited urban agriculture permitted in residential zones; livestock varies by district.
- Relative support: yes Family-occupancy ADU explicitly permitted in single-family zones.
Utilities
- Water: Saint Paul Water Utility · 30d connect · $4,500
- Sewer: Saint Paul Sewer / Wastewater · 30d connect · $5,500
- Electric: Saint Paul Electric Utility · 21d connect · $1,800
- Gas: Saint Paul Gas Utility · 30d connect · $1,500
Property values & taxes
Construction timeline
Realistic total: best 7mo · typical 11mo · worst 16mo
Financing
Insurance impact
HOA prevalence & preemption
Minnesota has no HOA-ADU preemption; HOA covenants restricting ADUs are enforceable.
Regulatory overlays (1)
- historic-district
Saint Paul historic districts trigger Architectural Review Board / Historic Preservation Commission review for ADUs in historic boundaries.
Technical envelope (climate & building code)
Climate & energy code
Building code
Amendments:
- Amendment
- Amendment
Legal history (timeline)
Current ordinance: City of Saint Paul Municipal Code — Accessory Dwelling Units, adopted 2020-01-01, last amended 2024-04-01
- 2024-01-01 — City of Saint Paul ADU code refresh (city-ordinance)
Conforming local-code amendments aligning with current Minnesota accessory-dwelling framework.
Effect: Codified permissive ADU standards consistent with state law and local zoning.
Ramsey County — county ADU rules and overlays
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 regulatory overlays
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.
ZIP Codes
- 55101
- 55102
- 55103
- 55104
- 55105
- 55106
- 55107
- 55108
- 55109
- 55110
- 55112
- 55113
- 55114
- 55116
- 55117
- 55119
- 55126
- 55127
- 55130
Post Office
- 101 5th St E Ste 150, 55101
- 1056 Highway 96 E, 55127
- 1175 Gershwin Ave N, 55128
- 1425 Minnehaha Ave E, 55106
- 1430 Concordia Ave, 55104
- 1686 Gervais Ave, 55109
- 1715 7th St W, 55116
- 200 5th Ave NW, 55112
- 2000 County Road B2 W, 55113
- 2223 5th St, 55110
- 2309 Como Ave, 55108
- 2334 University Ave W, 55114
- 2523 7th Ave E, 55109
- 292 Eva St, 55107
- 40 Arlington Ave E, 55117
- 4390 Mcmenemy St, 55127
- 525 Main St, 55112
- 886 Arcade St, 55106