Hocking County

ADU Pass helps homeowners in Hocking County, Ohio navigate the permit paperwork for building an accessory dwelling unit. We cover 7 cities and 9 ZIP codes in this county.

9 ZIP codes

7 Cities

Map

Open larger map

County ADU details

County ADU ordinance

Hocking County (county seat Logan; population ~28,000 in southeast Ohio's Hocking Hills region, anchoring a tourism economy built around Hocking Hills State Park, Ash Cave, Old Man's Cave, and Cedar Falls) has NOT adopted countywide zoning regulations as of 2026-05-20. This is a county-specific posture, not the state default: Ohio Revised Code Chapter 303 authorizes a Board of County Commissioners to adopt countywide zoning subject to voter approval in the unincorporated area to be zoned, but Hocking County has never put a countywide zoning resolution before voters. The county Regional Planning Office FAQ states the position plainly: 'A zoning ordinance can only be implemented by a vote of the elected officials at the township or municipal level or by a vote of the citizens.' Within Hocking County only the City of Logan administers a municipal zoning code (Logan Codified Ordinances Chapter 157), and at the township tier Hocking Township in adjacent Fairfield County (not the Hocking County township of the same-county name; there is no 'Hocking Township' inside Hocking County itself) is sometimes confused with the unzoned posture of the eleven Hocking County townships. None of Hocking County's eleven townships (Benton, Falls, Good Hope, Green, Laurel, Marion, Perry, Salt Creek, Starr, Ward, Washington) has adopted township zoning under ORC Chapter 519. The county's regulatory presence in unincorporated territory is therefore limited to four narrow domains: (1) the Hocking County Subdivision Regulations (originally adopted 1978, amended 2000) administered by the Regional Planning Office under ORC Chapter 711, which govern lot splits and major/minor subdivisions countywide; (2) the Hocking County Large Lot Regulations administered by the same office, which apply to splits creating parcels above a defined acreage threshold; (3) the Hocking County Flood Plain Regulations administered by the Regional Planning Office for FEMA Special Flood Hazard Areas; and (4) a DRAFT Hocking County Short-Term Rental Ordinance (drafted by the County Zoning Commission, presented to commissioners in September 2025, not yet adopted as of 2026-05-20) that, if enacted, would create a county-tier permit for short-term rentals (typically Hocking Hills cabin rentals), with safety, emergency-access, and 24/7 local-contact requirements, but which would not by itself create general countywide zoning. For accessory dwelling unit purposes the practical consequence is that, outside the City of Logan, there is no zoning prohibition on a second dwelling on a parcel in unincorporated Hocking County; the project advances through county subdivision review (if a lot is being split), floodplain review (if inside an SFHA), Hocking County Health Department septic/well review, and building-permit administration through the Health Department's authorized scope.

Code citations:

State-floor overlay: Ohio has not enacted a statewide ADU preemption or by-right ADU statute (Ohio Constitution Article XVIII home rule; ORC Chapter 303 county zoning; ORC Chapter 519 township zoning; no preemption bill has advanced past committee in the 134th, 135th, or 136th Ohio General Assembly). Hocking County's choice not to adopt countywide zoning is unconstrained by any state floor.

Adopting body: Hocking County Board of Commissioners (would be the adopting body for any future countywide zoning resolution under ORC § 303.05; the draft 2025 STR ordinance is also pending before this body)

County assessor

Assessment policy: The Hocking County Auditor (Christopher D. Robers) is the property-assessment authority under ORC § 5713.01. Ohio assesses real property at 35% of true value (ORC § 5713.03). Hocking County's sexennial reappraisal cycle (ORC § 5715.16) most recently completed in 2022; the 2025 triennial update was finalized September 2025 with updated values effective for taxes paid in 2026. New ADU construction is reassessed at true value as of January 1 following completion; the appraiser uses the Health Department / building permit notification as the trigger. Of note: in response to the 2025 triennial update raising market valuations county-wide (driven heavily by Hocking Hills tourism property appreciation), the Hocking County Budget Commission (Auditor, Prosecutor, Treasurer) recommended a voluntary inside-millage reduction and the County Commissioners and Township Trustees adopted reductions to hold collections near tax year 2024 levels; absent the reduction the county would have collected an estimated $1.25 million more (~22% increase). Ohio's Owner Occupancy Credit (ORC § 323.151 et seq.) gives a 2.5% reduction on the owner-occupied homestead tax bill; the Homestead Exemption (ORC § 323.151) shields $25,000 of taxable value for owners 65+ or permanently disabled (income-qualified). An ADU rented to a non-family tenant typically carves a non-homestead share off the credit base, computed pro rata by appraised value of the rental component.

County overlays (3)

Known county issues (4)

other — ADU feasibility outside the City of Logan in Hocking County is gated almost entirely by Health Department septic feasibility and floodplain status rather than by zoning. Steep terrain and limited soil percolation in the Hocking Hills uplands make septic engineering, not zoning, the binding constraint on many sites.
other — ADU researchers should not look for a 'Hocking County Building Department' as a separate agency; permitting workflow is consolidated at the Health Department. Inspections schedules and fee structures are set by the Health Department rather than by a building official in the conventional sense.
other — ADU researchers checking Hocking County feasibility for STR-use ADUs must monitor adoption status. Once adopted, the STR ordinance becomes the only county-tier zoning-like instrument in force and materially changes the regulatory picture for the tourism-oriented submarket that dominates the Hocking Hills.
other — City-tier ADU research for Nelsonville and Buchtel will sit in this county's bucket per the city-highlights assignment, but real-world permitting on a Hocking-side parcel still requires consulting Athens County's assessor for parcels on the Athens side and Hocking County Health Department for septic regardless. The population numbers reported here count both at full incorporated population (conservative aggregation choice).

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.