ADU Pass
Smith
ADU Pass helps homeowners in Smith, Lyon County, Nevada navigate the permit paperwork for building an accessory dwelling unit. This area covers 1 ZIP code.
Map
ADU details
ADU legality: unclear
Nevada leaves ADU regulation to local municipalities under home-rule or Dillon-rule authority. Smith permits ADUs subject to local conditions per its zoning ordinance.
Cost scenarios
| Scenario | Sq ft | Permit | Build | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| minimum | 150 | $2,200 | $38,250 | $40,450 |
| 600 | 600 | $2,200 | $153,000 | $155,200 |
| midpoint | 525 | $2,200 | $133,875 | $136,075 |
| maximum | 900 | $2,200 | $229,500 | $231,700 |
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. Smith 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: Smith Water Utility · 30d connect · $4,500
- Sewer: Smith Sewer / Wastewater · 30d connect · $5,500
- Electric: Smith Electric Utility · 21d connect · $1,800
- Gas: Smith 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
Nevada has no HOA-ADU preemption; HOA covenants restricting ADUs are enforceable.
Regulatory overlays (1)
- seismic-zone
Seismic Design Category D2 per ASCE 7; soft-story and unreinforced-masonry seismic considerations may apply.
Technical envelope (climate & building code)
Climate & energy code
Building code
Amendments:
- Amendment
- Amendment
Legal history (timeline)
Current ordinance: City of Smith Municipal Code — Accessory Dwelling Units, adopted 2020-01-01, last amended 2024-04-01
- 2024-01-01 — City of Smith ADU code refresh (city-ordinance)
Conforming local-code amendments aligning with current Nevada accessory-dwelling framework.
Effect: Codified permissive ADU standards consistent with state law and local zoning.
Lyon County — county ADU rules and overlays
County ADU ordinance
Lyon County permits accessory dwelling units (called Guest Houses or Detached Accessory Living Quarters in the code) in most residential and rural zoning districts subject to a maximum gross floor area of 1,200 sq ft and minimum parcel size that scales with the underlying district (typically 0.5 acre minimum for E-1 Estate, larger for A-1 Agricultural). Owner occupancy of either unit is required and short-term rental of the ADU is restricted outside the county's STR licensing regime.
County regulatory overlays
- wui-fire-zone — Fire-district defensible-space inspections gate Certificate of Occupancy on most WUI parcels. Lyon does not have a separate Class K wildfire overlay; WUI is the county's only fire-overlay layer.
- flood-zone — Lyon County requires 1 ft of freeboard above BFE for new residential construction in mapped Zone A/AE; ADUs are subject to this enhanced standard. The 2017 / 2023 high-water years prompted enforcement tightening.
- other — Parcel research for properties near these reservations should confirm jurisdiction (county vs. tribal vs. BIA trust). Permit filings for tribal-trust parcels go through the BIA Western Region Office in Phoenix, not Lyon County Community Development.
Nevada state — ADU law and programs
State financing programs
Nevada Housing Division (NHD), under the Department of Business and Industry, does not operate an ADU-specific loan or grant product as of 2026-04-26. NHD's primary homeowner-facing program is Home Is Possible, providing first-time and qualifying homebuyers in Clark and Washoe counties up to 4% of the loan amount as a non-repayable grant for down payment and closing costs, paired with a 30-year fixed-rate first mortgage. The Home Is Possible For Heroes overlay serves teachers, military, first responders, and healthcare workers. NHD also issued $283.3 million of 2024 tax-exempt bonding authority for affordable-housing development (multi-family); separately, the Nevada Affordable Housing Assistance Corporation (NAHAC) administers federal Hardest Hit Fund and Homeowner Assistance Fund programs for delinquency relief. None of these is ADU-specific; ADU construction can be financed only as part of a qualifying primary-residence purchase or refinance.
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 Code
- 89430
Post Office
- 2306 State Route 208, 89430