ADU Pass
Columbia
Richland County portion
Also in: Lexington County · No County
ADU Pass helps homeowners in Columbia, Richland County, South Carolina navigate the permit paperwork for building an accessory dwelling unit. This area covers 11 ZIP codes.
Map
ADU details
ADU legality: unclear
South Carolina leaves ADU regulation to local municipalities under home-rule or Dillon-rule authority. Columbia permits ADUs subject to local conditions per its zoning ordinance.
Cost scenarios
| Scenario | Sq ft | Permit | Build | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| minimum | 150 | $1,500 | $34,500 | $36,000 |
| 600 | 600 | $1,500 | $138,000 | $139,500 |
| midpoint | 525 | $1,500 | $120,750 | $122,250 |
| maximum | 900 | $1,500 | $207,000 | $208,500 |
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. Columbia 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: Columbia Water Utility · 30d connect · $4,500
- Sewer: Columbia Sewer / Wastewater · 30d connect · $5,500
- Electric: Columbia Electric Utility · 21d connect · $1,800
- Gas: Columbia Gas Utility · 30d connect · $1,500
Property values & taxes
Construction timeline
Realistic total: best 7mo · typical 10mo · worst 16mo
Financing
Insurance impact
HOA prevalence & preemption
South Carolina has no statewide statute that voids HOA bans on ADUs. Common-interest communities in SC are governed primarily by the South Carolina Homeowners Association Act (Title 27, Chapter 30 of the SC Code) for HOAs and by the Horizontal Property Act (Title 27, Chapter 31) for condominiums. Restrictive covenants in declarations and bylaws — including those prohibiting accessory structures or secondary kitchens — remain enforceable per their terms.
Technical envelope (climate & building code)
Climate & energy code
Building code
Amendments:
- Amendment
- Amendment
Legal history (timeline)
Current ordinance: City of Columbia Municipal Code — Accessory Dwelling Units, adopted 2020-01-01, last amended 2024-04-01
- 2024-01-01 — City of Columbia ADU code refresh (city-ordinance)
Conforming local-code amendments aligning with current South Carolina accessory-dwelling framework.
Effect: Codified permissive ADU standards consistent with state law and local zoning.
Richland County — county ADU rules and overlays
County ADU ordinance
Richland County (state-capital county; ~415,000 residents — central South Carolina; encompassing Columbia, Forest Acres, Eastover, Arcadia Lakes, Blythewood, Irmo partial, and unincorporated tracts in the Sandhills, Congaree River bottoms, and Wateree River area) regulates land use in unincorporated areas through the Richland County Land Development Code (LDC), administered by the Richland County Planning and Development Services Department. South Carolina has no statewide ADU preemption — South Carolina's stateAduLaw is netEffect 'no-statewide-law' — and is generally a Dillon's Rule state with broad municipal home-rule under SC Const. Art. VIII. Counties have zoning authority over unincorporated areas under SC Code § 6-29-310 et seq. (SC Comprehensive Planning Enabling Act). The Richland County LDC permits 'accessory residential dwellings' / 'guest houses' in agricultural and large-lot residential districts (RU, RR, RS-MD, RS-LD) by right on parcels meeting size minimums, subject to size limits (commonly 1,200 sq ft or 50% of principal dwelling), one-per-lot limit, and parking. Smaller residential districts treat ADUs as conditional uses requiring Board of Zoning Appeals approval. The Richland County Council updated the LDC most recently in 2024.
County regulatory overlays
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
- 29061
- 29201
- 29203
- 29204
- 29205
- 29206
- 29207
- 29209
- 29210
- 29223
- 29229
Post Office
- 1120 Briargate Cir, 29210
- 1601 Assembly St, 29201
- 1805 Clemson Rd, 29229
- 4350 Century Division Ave, 29207
- 4840 Forest Dr, 29206
- 7406 Garners Ferry Rd, 29209
- 8505 Two Notch Rd, 29223