ADU Pass
Dallas
Collin County portion
Also in: Dallas County · No County
ADU Pass helps homeowners in Dallas, Collin County, Texas navigate the permit paperwork for building an accessory dwelling unit. This area covers 2 ZIP codes.
Map
ADU details
ADU legality: unclear
Texas leaves ADU regulation to local municipalities under home-rule or Dillon-rule authority. Dallas permits ADUs subject to local conditions per its zoning ordinance.
Cost scenarios
| Scenario | Sq ft | Permit | Build | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| minimum | 150 | $1,800 | $33,750 | $35,550 |
| 600 | 600 | $1,800 | $135,000 | $136,800 |
| midpoint | 525 | $1,800 | $118,125 | $119,925 |
| maximum | 900 | $1,800 | $202,500 | $204,300 |
Fee breakdown (as of 2026-04)
Permitting process
- Cross-jurisdictional confirmation (Dallas city / Collin County sliver) (~5d)
Dallas is principally in Dallas County; the Collin County sliver covers parcels in Far North Dallas (zip 75252 area, north of LBJ Freeway and east of Coit / Hillcrest, including the Bent Tree, Prestonwood, and Highlands of McKamy submarkets). Permitting is handled by the City of Dallas (not Collin County) under DDC. Confirm parcel CAD assignment with Collin Central Appraisal District; tax bill goes to Collin County, but plan review, inspections, and CO go through Dallas Building Inspection. - DDC 51A-4.500 / 51A-4.510 ADU Overlay check (~7d)
Confirm parcel sits within an Accessory Dwelling Unit Overlay (Section 51A-4.510) or in a base district that allows accessory dwelling by-right. Far North Dallas is overwhelmingly R-7.5(A) and R-10(A), which require an ADU Overlay adopted via Z-case before ADU is by-right. Check Conservation Districts (CD) - none in this sliver. Many Bent Tree / Prestonwood subdivisions carry HOA covenants more restrictive than DDC. - DallasNow account and submittal (~2d)
Create a DallasNow (Accela) account at dallasnow.dallascityhall.com (live since May 5, 2025). Upload sealed plans showing ADU sized to the lesser of 1,000 sqft or 25% of primary footprint per Section 51A-4.510, minimum 10 ft separation, height limit of 1 story / 18 ft typical, off-street parking. Far North parcels are well outside DART rail's 1/2 mile transit waiver, so the off-street parking requirement applies. - Initial completeness intake (Building Inspection) (~3d)
Building Inspection Division (320 E. Jefferson Blvd, Room 118 - across the city, in Oak Cliff) intake confirms application completeness. DallasNow rollout brought intake to a stated 2-3 business day target as of 2026-Q1. - Plan review (residential, with possible HOA pre-clearance) (~15d)
Concurrent residential plan review across Building, Zoning, Fire (DFR), Public Works, Dallas Water Utilities, and Sustainable Development. Far North subdivisions (Bent Tree, Prestonwood Hollow, Highlands of McKamy) have active HOAs whose ARC review can run in parallel with the city plan check; some HOAs require ARC sign-off before the homeowner can apply for the city permit. Express plan review available for qualifying single-family residential. - Permit issuance and fee payment (~4d)
Fees assessed under the Building Inspection Division Fee Schedule (effective July 1, 2025; 2.9367% adjustment from prior schedule). Pay through DallasNow. Permit valid 180 days; one 180-day extension on showing of progress. - Construction inspections
Required Building Inspection visits: pier/beam or slab, plumbing rough, electrical rough, mechanical rough, framing, insulation, gypboard, final building, final MEP. Far North territory is served by the North Dallas inspector pool; turnaround is generally faster than the Far South pool because of route density. - CO and Collin CAD update (~7d)
Building Inspection issues CO after final inspections. The CO is filed with Dallas Central Appraisal District but the parcel is also recorded with Collin Central Appraisal District (CCAD) for tax assessment. STR registration with Dallas Code Compliance under Chapter 42B is required for short-term rental; long-term rental needs no separate registration. Property tax statement comes from Collin County, not Dallas County.
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. Dallas 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.
Contacts
Staff: Building Inspection Permit Counter (Permit intake / inspections (320 E. Jefferson Blvd, Room 118)), Planning and Urban Design - Zoning (Section 51A-4.510 ADU Overlay interpretations / Z-cases), Collin Central Appraisal District (Tax assessment for the Collin County sliver of Dallas)
Utilities
- Water: Dallas Water Utility · 30d connect · $4,500
- Sewer: Dallas Sewer / Wastewater · 30d connect · $5,500
- Electric: Dallas Electric Utility · 21d connect · $1,800
- Gas: Dallas 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
Texas has no HOA-ADU preemption; HOA covenants restricting ADUs are enforceable.
Regulatory overlays (1)
- flood-zone
Dallas has FEMA Special Flood Hazard Areas; elevation certificates and flood-resistant construction required for SFHA parcels.
Technical envelope (climate & building code)
Climate & energy code
Building code
Amendments:
- Amendment
- Amendment
Legal history (timeline)
Current ordinance: City of Dallas Municipal Code — Accessory Dwelling Units, adopted 2020-01-01, last amended 2024-04-01
- 2024-01-01 — City of Dallas ADU code refresh (city-ordinance)
Conforming local-code amendments aligning with current Texas accessory-dwelling framework.
Effect: Codified permissive ADU standards consistent with state law and local zoning.
Collin County — county ADU rules and overlays
County regulatory overlays
Collin County administers or co-administers several overlay regimes relevant to ADU siting on unincorporated parcels, though the scope is narrower than in geographically-diverse states. Unlike California or Oregon, Texas has no Coastal Commission jurisdiction (Collin County is landlocked, ~250 miles from the Gulf), no CAL FIRE-equivalent Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone regime (DFW-area fire risk is primarily grass / wildland-urban-interface rather than chaparral, managed locally by volunteer / municipal fire departments with no statewide overlay), and no seismic-retrofit overlay (north Texas is seismically quiet). The principal county-administered overlays are (1) FEMA Special Flood Hazard Areas along the East Fork Trinity River, Sister Grove Creek, Wilson Creek, Rowlett Creek, and tributaries, administered by the County Engineer as Floodplain Administrator under 44 CFR 60 and the 2024-11-04 Collin County Floodplain Management Regulations; and (2) coordination jurisdiction over airport-land-use compatibility around McKinney National Airport (TKI, county-adjacent but owned by the City of McKinney) and the handful of smaller general-aviation airports, though Texas lacks a California-style ALUCP / ALUC statutory regime and airport-compatibility review is primarily municipal. There is no county historic-preservation overlay; historic districts are municipal. Endangered-species consultations (primarily for the Golden-cheeked Warbler in adjacent counties) generally do not reach Collin County.
- FEMA Special Flood Hazard Areas (SFHA) — Collin County Floodplain Management Regulations — ADUs in an SFHA require lowest-floor elevation at or above Base Flood Elevation plus county freeboard (typically +1 ft), flood vents on enclosures below BFE, anchoring, and a post-construction Elevation Certificate (FEMA Form 086-0-33). For developments of 5+ acres or 50+ lots with any SFHA portion, a flood study demonstrating no adverse upstream / downstream impact is required. Development Permit fee: $50. For parcels inside city limits, the city's floodplain administrator applies (most Collin County cities participate in NFIP and have Community Rating System enrollments that affect flood-insurance premiums).
- Lavon Lake / U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Regulated Shoreline — Homeowners planning an ADU on a Lavon Lake-adjacent parcel should separately consult USACE Fort Worth District regarding any shoreline work; the county Development Services counter does not handle USACE permits.
- Airport Land Use Coordination (McKinney National TKI, Aero Country, Collin County Regional) — A two-story ADU (height in excess of FAA Part 77 imaginary surfaces) near an airport approach would trigger Form 7460-1 notice and potentially an obstruction determination. Single-story ADUs and typical second-story heights (~18-22 ft) almost never trigger Part 77. No county permit required; FAA determination is advisory to the permitting authority.
- Collin County Subdivision Regulations (Tex. LGC ch. 232) — Plat review covers road frontage, drainage, utility service, OSSF suitability, and floodplain compliance. A simple single-ADU addition to an already-platted parcel does NOT re-trigger platting; subdividing a parcel to sell an ADU separately (e.g., under a hypothetical SB 673-style condo-ADU regime — not currently authorized in Texas) WOULD trigger replatting and associated review. Plat applications processed within 30 days.
County permitting (unincorporated parcels)
Collin County Development Services (part of County Engineering, headquartered at 4690 Community Ave., McKinney, TX 75071) administers the narrow slate of permits available to unincorporated parcels in Texas counties. Unlike California or Oregon counties, Texas counties do NOT run a broad building-code plan-check program: there is no county residential building permit, no county electrical/mechanical/plumbing permit, and no county design review. A homeowner constructing a detached dwelling or ADU on an unincorporated Collin County parcel files only the hazard-and-infrastructure permits the county is statutorily authorized to issue: a Development Permit ($50) if the parcel is in a regulated floodplain, an OSSF (On-Site Sewage Facility) septic permit if the parcel is not on a central sewer system, a 911 rural-address assignment for new structures on vacant lots, and a Culvert / right-of-way permit ($250) if driveway frontage work on a county road is involved. Commercial work in unincorporated areas is reviewed by the Fire Marshal for compliance with the 2021 International Fire Code / International Building Code; residential work is NOT. For parcels inside a city ETJ (Extraterritorial Jurisdiction) — which covers most of Collin County outside established municipal boundaries — the city's platting authority applies (Tex. LGC ch. 212) and city rules may add building-code review via interlocal agreement with the county. The county's effective policy is: if your ADU is on a parcel that has a city limit or ETJ, consult the city; if it's in true unincorporated Collin County outside every ETJ (a small and shrinking geography in a rapidly-incorporating county), the county permits septic, 911 address, floodplain compliance, and driveway, and otherwise leaves construction to the owner.
Texas state — ADU law and programs
State ADU law
Texas has NOT enacted a statewide ADU preemption or ADU-by-right statute. Local governments (municipalities and counties) retain full authority over ADU zoning, setbacks, parking, size limits, owner-occupancy, and permitting. Two recent housing-reform bills in the 89th Legislature (2025) touch density and zoning procedure but do NOT preempt ADU-specific local rules: SB 15 (Bettencourt, signed 2025-06-20, effective 2025-09-01) caps minimum single-family lot sizes in cities over 150,000 in counties over 300,000, and HB 24 (signed 2025-06-20, effective 2025-09-01) raises the protest petition threshold for zoning changes. A dedicated ADU-preemption bill — SB 673 (Hughes, 2025) — passed the Texas Senate on 2025-04-10 and was reported favorably by the House Land & Resource Management Committee on 2025-05-08, but died on the General State Calendar when the 89th Regular Session adjourned on 2025-06-02. In the absence of a state ADU statute, homeowners must consult the ordinance of the municipality (or the county's subdivision rules for unincorporated areas) where the lot sits.
- Texas SB 15 (89R, 2025) — Relating to size and density requirements for residential lots in certain municipalities; authorizing a fee — Prohibits municipalities of population greater than 150,000 located in counties of population greater than 300,000 from imposing minimum lot sizes greater than a specified threshold (3,000 sqft for certain residentially zoned subdivisions; lower for new subdivisions) and limits their authority over setbacks, parking, permeable-surface, and height on those lots. Not ADU-specific, but functionally expands the footprint of small-lot single-family housing in Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio, and other qualifying cities. Signed 2025-06-20; effective 2025-09-01.
- Texas HB 24 (89R, 2025) — Relating to procedures for changes to a zoning regulation or district boundary — Raises the protest-petition threshold for neighboring property owners who wish to trigger a supermajority city-council vote on a rezoning from 20% to 60%, and constrains the ability of a small minority to block citywide zoning updates. Not ADU-specific; affects the procedural posture of any city-wide ADU-enabling rezoning. Signed 2025-06-20; effective 2025-09-01.
State financing programs
Texas does not operate an ADU-specific statewide loan, grant, or forgivable-loan program comparable to California's CalHFA ADU Grant. The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) administers the state's general housing finance programs — My First Texas Home, My Choice Texas Home, Mortgage Credit Certificates, multifamily Housing Tax Credits, the Homeowner Assistance Fund, and Housing Trust Fund awards. None target ADU construction directly, but several can apply to an ADU as part of a primary-residence purchase or refinance when program criteria are met. ADU-specific financing in Texas is primarily local: the City of Austin's ADU Loan Program (administered through Neighborhood Housing and Community Development) and a handful of smaller pilot programs are the most visible, but these sit at the city tier, not the state tier.
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
- 75252
- 75287
Post Office
- 4475 Trinity Mills Rd, 75287
- 5995 Summerside Dr, 75248