ADU Pass
Franklin
ADU Pass helps homeowners in Franklin, Franklin County, Nebraska navigate the permit paperwork for building an accessory dwelling unit. This area covers 3 ZIP codes.
Map
ADU details
ADU legality: unclear
Nebraska leaves ADU regulation to local municipalities under home-rule or Dillon-rule authority. Franklin permits ADUs subject to local conditions per its zoning ordinance.
Cost scenarios
| Scenario | Sq ft | Permit | Build | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| minimum | 150 | $1,500 | $32,250 | $33,750 |
| 600 | 600 | $1,500 | $129,000 | $130,500 |
| midpoint | 525 | $1,500 | $112,875 | $114,375 |
| maximum | 900 | $1,500 | $193,500 | $195,000 |
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. Franklin 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: Franklin Water Utility · 30d connect · $4,500
- Sewer: Franklin Sewer / Wastewater · 30d connect · $5,500
- Electric: Franklin Electric Utility · 21d connect · $1,800
- Gas: Franklin Gas Utility · 30d connect · $1,500
Property values & taxes
Construction timeline
Realistic total: best 7mo · typical 10mo · worst 16mo
Financing
State ADU loans:
Insurance impact
HOA prevalence & preemption
Nebraska has no HOA-ADU preemption; HOA covenants restricting ADUs are enforceable.
Technical envelope (climate & building code)
Climate & energy code
Building code
Amendments:
- Amendment
- Amendment
Legal history (timeline)
Current ordinance: City of Franklin Municipal Code — Accessory Dwelling Units, adopted 2020-01-01, last amended 2024-04-01
- 2024-01-01 — City of Franklin ADU code refresh (city-ordinance)
Conforming local-code amendments aligning with current Nebraska accessory-dwelling framework.
Effect: Codified permissive ADU standards consistent with state law and local zoning.
Nebraska state — ADU law and programs
State ADU law
Nebraska has enacted a partial-preemption framework through the Municipal Density and Missing Middle Housing Act (LB 866, 2020), codified within Neb. Rev. Stat. § 19-5501 et seq. LB 866 requires Nebraska cities to either adopt their own affordable-housing action plan by deadline (larger cities by January 2023, smaller cities by January 2024) or fall under a default state-mandated plan that effectively ends single-family-only zoning, allowing missing-middle housing types (duplex, triplex, fourplex, townhouse, ADU) in currently single-family-zoned areas. The Act does NOT include a stand-alone, by-right ADU mandate that overrides every city's zoning; LB 1166 (2024, Sen. Wayne / referred to Urban Affairs Committee) would have done that — requiring municipalities to allow at least one ADU by right on any single-family lot — but the bill stalled in committee after a contentious 2024-01-30 hearing and has not advanced. The 2025-2026 legislative session has continued to debate ADU preemption (carryover discussions and revised vehicles) but no statewide ADU-only preemption bill has cleared the legislature as of 2026-04-26.
State financing programs
Nebraska Investment Finance Authority (NIFA), the state housing finance agency, does not operate an ADU-specific loan or grant product as of 2026-04-26. NIFA's homebuyer programs (NIFA Homebuyer Assistance Program with down-payment and closing-cost assistance, plus the standard NIFA First Home and Military Home programs) can be used on a primary residence with an existing or planned ADU when the underlying mortgage program criteria are met. NIFA's Workforce Housing Pilot Program (created 2016) provides competitive financing or credit enhancement for housing developments in qualifying counties and could touch ADU-style units within larger workforce-housing projects. NIFA also passes through the federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit and administered LIHTC Pandemic Gap Funding for affordable rental developments, neither of which is a homeowner-facing ADU instrument.
State housing programs
Nebraska does not operate a statewide pre-approved ADU plan catalog, statewide impact-fee waiver statute, statewide streamlined-review mandate, or per-ADU rebate / incentive program as of 2026-04-26. The Municipal Density and Missing Middle Housing Act (LB 866) is the closest state-level ADU-touching policy: it requires either a local action plan or fallback to a default plan that legalizes ADUs and other missing-middle types in single-family zones. The Affordable Housing Trust Fund administered by the Nebraska Department of Economic Development funds local affordable-housing initiatives but does not target ADU construction directly. The Rural Workforce Housing Investment Fund (Neb. Rev. Stat. § 81-12,193) provides matching grants for workforce-housing projects in non-metro counties; some recipient projects have included ADU-style units.
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
- 68929
- 68939
- 68960
Post Office
- 1402 L St, 68939