ADU Pass
University Dallas
Also known as SMU area, M Streets, Vickery Place, Greenland Hills, Lower Greenville, University Park (City of), Highland Park (Town of), University Crossing, Mockingbird Station, University of Dallas (not this)
ADU Pass helps homeowners in University Dallas — a USPS locale inside Dallas, Dallas County, Texas — navigate the permit paperwork for building an accessory dwelling unit. This locale covers 2 ZIP codes.
Map
Locale-specific ADU details
Site (parcel physics)
Slope:
Soil:
Lot profile:
Geo-hazards:
Recent ADU permit activity
Utility capacity (upgrade likelihood)
Housing stock age:
Electric service drop:
Sewer lateral:
Water pressure:
Gas availability: available — Full gas service available throughout the University Dallas cluster via Atmos Energy Mid-Tex Division. None of Dallas, University Park, or Highland Park have adopted all-electric or gas-service moratorium ordinances. Owners can freely choose gas or all-electric appliance packages.
Locale property values
The University Dallas USPS cluster spans two very different value tiers: (1) City of Dallas M Streets / Vickery Place / Lower Greenville parcels in ZIP 75206 with Zillow/Redfin 2024-2025 median sale prices in the $650K-$900K range; (2) City of University Park and Town of Highland Park parcels in ZIP 75205 with Zillow median home values in the $1.8M-$3M+ range. The blended median reported here (~$1.15M) weighs the Dallas-jurisdiction portion more heavily, consistent with ZIP 75206's share of the cluster's residential address volume. Effective property-tax rate is the Dallas County countywide effective rate (DISD + City + County + Parkland + Dallas College blended) applied to Dallas parcels; University Park uses HPISD (Highland Park ISD, generally lower effective rate ~1.52%) and Highland Park similarly. Texas Residence Homestead 10% appraisal cap applies to owner-occupied primary residences in all three cities.
Locale market rent
| Sq ft | Rent |
|---|---|
| 400 | $1,450/mo |
| 600 | $1,800/mo |
| 800 | $2,100/mo |
Locale HOA prevalence
Locale overlays (3)
- historic-district — Vickery Place Conservation District (CD-9, adopted 1997) covers the pre-war neighborhood bordered roughly by Vickery Blvd, Belmont Ave, Greenville Ave, and Henderson Ave in ZIP 75206. Greenland Hills Conservation District (CD-13, adopted 2004), locally called 'the M Streets', covers the triangle bounded by Mockingbird Ln, Belmont Ave, and Greenville Ave in ZIP 75206. · +45d · +10% cost
Both CDs impose compatibility standards on new construction including ADUs: maximum height (typically 1 story in rear-yard accessory structures), roof form (matching pitch and material of primary dwelling), massing (proportional to main dwelling), siding materials (Tudor half-timber, brick, or stucco to match primary), window patterns and muntin profiles, and front setbacks. A Certificate of Appropriateness from the Dallas Landmark Commission is required before building permit issuance. CoA review typically runs 30-60 days with one pre-application conference plus one hearing. Compatibility requirements add roughly 8-12% to build cost (brick veneer, period-appropriate windows, custom trim). Not a prohibition; a design-standard overlay. Applies to Dallas-jurisdiction parcels only. - airport-noise-zone — The western fringe of ZIP 75205 (along Inwood Rd / Lemmon Ave) sits within the Dallas Love Field AICUZ 65 dB DNL contour. Most University Dallas residential parcels (SMU area, M Streets, Vickery Place) lie outside this contour and require no AICUZ compliance.
For parcels inside the AICUZ contour, additional sound-attenuation construction (higher STC-rated windows, walls, and doors) may be required. Not a prohibition; a construction-spec delta. - other — JURISDICTIONAL OVERLAY: ZIP 75205 contains parcels inside the City of University Park and Town of Highland Park — separate incorporated municipalities with their own zoning ordinances. Dallas Sec. 51A-4.510 does NOT apply in UP or HP.
This is not a conventional ADU overlay but a jurisdiction-boundary consideration. The USPS 'UNIVERSITY DALLAS' label is purely a mail-delivery cluster and does not reflect city limits. Address-level verification via Dallas Central Appraisal District (which labels taxing city) is required before applying any City of Dallas ADU rule to a 75205 parcel. University Park historically does not permit detached ADUs by right; Highland Park is similarly restrictive. Review each town's zoning ordinance before scoping.
Inherited from the city
These sections come from the city page. Click through to the Dallas ADU research for details.
- legal history
- size range
- permitting process & fees
- permit forms
- contacts
- utilities
- incentives
- viability
- pre-approved plans
- financing
Dallas — city ADU rules and incentives
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.
City cost envelope
$117,300 all-in for a 525 sqft ADU (permit + build). Midpoint scenario.
Permit fee bundle: $2,905 (2026-04).
City viability (selected uses)
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
- 75205
- 75206
Post Office
- 5606 Smu Blvd, 75206