ADU Pass
Dallas
Dallas County portion
Also in: Collin County · No County
ADU Pass helps homeowners in Dallas, Dallas County, Texas navigate the permit paperwork for building an accessory dwelling unit. This area covers 48 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 | $33,000 | $34,800 |
| 600 | 600 | $1,800 | $132,000 | $133,800 |
| midpoint | 525 | $1,800 | $115,500 | $117,300 |
| maximum | 900 | $1,800 | $198,000 | $199,800 |
Fee breakdown (as of 2026-04)
Permitting process
- Dallas Development Code 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. Most R-7.5(A) / R-10(A) / R-16(A) base SF districts require an ADU Overlay adopted via Z-case. Check Conservation Districts (CD), Neighborhood Stabilization Overlays (NSO), and Trinity floodway designations - parcels in the Trinity floodway are categorically excluded. - DallasNow account and pre-application (~5d)
Create a DallasNow (Accela) account at dallasnow.dallascityhall.com (live since May 5, 2025, replacing the legacy POSSE / ProjectDox stack). Pre-application research includes pulling the property profile, reviewing prior CO history, and checking deed restrictions filed with Dallas County Clerk. Owner-occupancy is required: owner must occupy primary or accessory. - Submit Residential Building Permit via DallasNow (~2d)
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 from primary, height limit of 1 story / 18 ft typical, and one off-street parking space (waivable for lots within 1/2 mile of DART rail per 51A-4.500 transit overlay). Site plan, floor plan, elevations, energy calc per IECC 2021 Climate Zone 3A, MEP plans, and erosion control plan all required at intake. - Initial completeness intake (Building Inspection) (~3d)
Building Inspection Division (320 E. Jefferson Blvd, Room 118) intake confirms application completeness. Pre-2025 backlog drove 4-week intakes; the DallasNow rollout reduced this to a stated 2-3 business day intake target as of 2026-Q1. - Plan review (residential 10-15 business days) (~15d)
Concurrent residential plan review across Building, Zoning, Fire (DFR), Public Works (driveway/curb), Dallas Water Utilities, and Sustainable Development. Express plan review available for qualifying single-family residential projects (cuts to 5-7 business days). First-cycle comments commonly cite Section 51A-4.510 size or separation, IRC 2021 fire-separation between primary and ADU on same lot, and DWU water-meter sizing. - Permit issuance and fee assessment (~4d)
Once plans are approved, fees are assessed under the Building Inspection Division Fee Schedule (effective July 1, 2025; reflects 2.9367% adjustment from prior schedule). Pay through DallasNow. Permit valid 180 days; one 180-day extension on showing of progress per Section 51A-1.105. - Construction inspections
Required Building Inspection visits: pier/beam or slab, plumbing rough, electrical rough, mechanical rough, framing, insulation, gypboard, final building, final MEP. Inspections scheduled through DallasNow; results posted to portal typically within 2 business days of inspection. Far North (Preston Hollow, Lake Highlands) and Far South (Oak Cliff, Pleasant Grove) districts have separate inspector territories with different turnaround. - Certificate of occupancy and ADU registration (~7d)
Building Inspection issues CO after final inspections clear. ADU is recorded on parcel via plat update with Dallas Central Appraisal District. Short-term rental of an ADU requires a separate STR registration with Code Compliance under Chapter 42B (post-2023 ordinance, currently in litigation pending Texas Supreme Court ruling); long-term rental does not require additional registration.
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), DallasNow Help Desk (Online permitting portal support (Accela))
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 (3)
- flood-zone
Dallas has FEMA Special Flood Hazard Areas; elevation certificates and flood-resistant construction required for SFHA parcels. - historic-district
Dallas historic districts trigger Architectural Review Board / Historic Preservation Commission review for ADUs in historic boundaries. - airport-noise-zone
Airport noise contours affect some parcels and may require sound-attenuation construction.
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.
Dallas County — county ADU rules and overlays
County regulatory overlays
Dallas County's county-level overlays apply only inside its small unincorporated footprint (under 10% of county land, primarily southeastern Dallas County). The two material overlays at county scope are FEMA-mapped Special Flood Hazard Areas administered by Dallas County Public Works under the county's floodplain ordinance, and the countywide Trinity Common Vision Program governing floodplain management along the Trinity River corridor. Inside incorporated cities — where the vast majority of Dallas County residents and ADU-candidate parcels sit — overlay administration is a city function (e.g., the City of Dallas administers its own Escarpment Zone at Dallas Development Code Art. V and its own Floodplain regulations at Div. 51A-5.100). There is no countywide WUI / wildland-fire hazard overlay of the kind seen in California or Washington; North Texas's fire-hazard regime is ESD-by-ESD rather than a county-administered WUI zone.
- Dallas County Floodplain Management (FEMA NFIP participation) — A new ADU in a Zone AE parcel must be elevated to or above the Base Flood Elevation per the county ordinance and is generally not permitted as a basement or ground-floor sleeping space.
- Trinity Common Vision Program — Structures including ADUs proposed within the Common Vision corridor face stricter review than FEMA NFIP alone and may require a No-Rise Certificate from a Texas-licensed engineer.
- On-Site Sewage Facility (OSSF) jurisdiction — An ADU counts as an additional dwelling for OSSF sizing purposes, which can trigger system expansion on undersized lots and may be infeasible on very small unincorporated parcels.
County permitting (unincorporated parcels)
Dallas County regulates construction in unincorporated areas through the Department of Unincorporated Area Services (DUAS), in partnership with the Dallas County Fire Marshal's Office and Public Works. Because the county has no zoning authority (see countyOrdinance), DUAS does not restrict whether an ADU may be built — it regulates only subdivision/plat compliance, residential building-code inspection, on-site sewage (OSSF) compliance, floodplain compliance, 911 addressing, and nuisance abatement. A detached secondary dwelling on an unincorporated parcel is permitted as an ordinary residential structure through DUAS's building-permit pathway; there is no separate 'ADU permit' because there is no county use category for accessory dwellings. Unincorporated Dallas County comprises under 10% of county land area, primarily in the southeastern corner of the county. Most ADU activity in Dallas County occurs in incorporated cities (notably the City of Dallas ADU Overlay at Dallas Development Code Sec. 51A-4.510), which are governed by city-level permitting, not this section.
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
- 75159
- 75201
- 75202
- 75203
- 75204
- 75205
- 75206
- 75207
- 75208
- 75209
- 75210
- 75211
- 75212
- 75214
- 75215
- 75216
- 75217
- 75218
- 75219
- 75220
- 75223
- 75224
- 75225
- 75226
- 75227
- 75228
- 75229
- 75230
- 75231
- 75232
- 75233
- 75234
- 75235
- 75236
- 75237
- 75238
- 75240
- 75241
- 75243
- 75244
- 75246
- 75247
- 75248
- 75249
- 75251
- 75253
- 75254
- 75270
Post Office
- 10233 E Northwest Hwy Ste 333, 75238
- 10502 Markison Rd, 75238
- 1351 N Buckner Blvd, 75218
- 13770 Noel Rd, 75240
- 13904 Josey Ln, 75234
- 1502 E Kiest Blvd, 75216
- 15300 Seagoville Rd, 75253
- 2202 S Cockrell Hill Rd, 75211
- 2341 W Northwest Hwy, 75220
- 2736 Royal Ln, 75229
- 2825 Oak Lawn Ave, 75219
- 3055 Al Lipscomb Way, 75215
- 350 S Buckner Blvd, 75217
- 3655 Simpson Stuart Rd, 75241
- 400 N Ervay St, 75201
- 4740 W Mockingbird Ln Ste C, 75209
- 5055 Norwood Rd, 75247
- 515 Centre St, 75208
- 5521 S Hampton Rd, 75232
- 5606 Smu Blvd, 75206
- 5995 Summerside Dr, 75248
- 6120 Swiss Ave, 75214
- 6640 Abrams Rd, 75231
- 7720 Military Pkwy, 75227
- 8135 Forest Ln, 75230
- 8604 Turtle Creek Blvd, 75225
- 8624 Ferguson Rd, 75228
- 9130 Markville Dr, 75243
Locale Names
- Beverly Hills
- Brookhollow
- Downtown Dallas
- Dr Caesar A W Clark Sr
- Farmers Branch
- Highland Hills Dallas
- Joe Pool
- Juanita Craft
- Lake Highlands
- Lakewood
- Medrano
- Mockingbird Finance
- Northaven
- Northlake Finance
- Northwest Dallas
- Oak Lawn
- Parkdale
- Pleasant Grove
- Preston
- Prestonwood
- Richland
- Robert E Price
- Seagoville
- Spring Valley
- Station A Dallas
- University Dallas
- Vickery
- White Rock