Northwest Dallas

Also known as Bluffview, Preston Hollow, Midway Hollow, Walnut Hill, Bachman Lake, Love Field, Inwood Village, Devonshire, Greenway Parks

ADU Pass helps homeowners in Northwest Dallas — a USPS locale inside Dallas, No County, Texas — navigate the permit paperwork for building an accessory dwelling unit. This locale covers 2 ZIP codes.

2 ZIP codes

Locale-specific ADU details

Site (parcel physics)

Slope:

Mean slope3%
Parcels over 12% slope5%

Soil:

Dominant classHouston Black clay (Vertisol) with Austin silty clay on the higher uplands; Trinity alluvium in the Bachman Creek corridor
Expansive clay risk90%
Liquefaction risk3%

Lot profile:

Median lot size9,000 sqft
Median lot width75 ft
Median existing FAR0.26
Parcels with alley access40%
Flag-lot parcels3%

Geo-hazards:

Seismic designationSeismic Design Category A (lowest). Dallas sits in IBC/IRC SDC A per ASCE 7 mapping — no seismic retrofit requirements for residential ADUs.
Parcels in FEMA SFHA7%
Bedrock depth (median)20 ft
Groundwater depth (median)18 ft

Recent ADU permit activity

Window12 months ending 2024-12-31
Approved / withdrawn / denied0 / 0 / 0

Utility capacity (upgrade likelihood)

Housing stock age:

% built pre-196040%
% built pre-198072%
Median year built1,961

Electric service drop:

% overhead service78%
Panel-upgrade likelihood60%

Sewer lateral:

Replacement likelihood50%
Typical replacement cost$7,500

Water pressure:

ZoneDallas Water Utilities North Service Zone (uplands) / Bachman Pressure Plane
Typical PSI65 psi
Sprinkler trigger PSI40 psi

Gas availability: available — Atmos Energy Mid-Tex Division serves all of Northwest Dallas. No all-electric mandate or gas ban in Dallas as of 2026-04-21. Most existing Northwest Dallas homes have gas service for cooking, water-heating, and HVAC; a new ADU can typically tap the existing residential gas meter rather than requiring a separate meter.

Locale property values

Median value$510,000
Median tax$8,466/yr
Effective rate1.7%

Locale market rent

Sq ftRent
400$1,350/mo
600$1,600/mo
800$1,825/mo

Locale overlays (2)

  • airport-noise-zone — Dallas Love Field AICUZ (Air Installations Compatible Use Zones) noise contours cover substantial portions of both ZIPs 75209 and 75220. The 65+ DNL contour extends roughly 2 miles along each runway centerline, placing Bachman Lake, the southern Midway Hollow / Walnut Hill corridor, and Love Field-north Bluffview parcels inside the higher-noise zone. The 60-65 DNL band extends further into Preston Hollow West. · +10d · +5% cost
    ADU construction inside the 65+ DNL contour typically adds $3K-$8K for sound-attenuation measures (STC 45+ windows, enhanced wall insulation, solid-core exterior doors). The Dallas Love Field Airport Compatibility Land Use Zoning (ALUCZ) is codified at Dallas Development Code Sec. 51A-4.500. Not a prohibition — a construction-spec delta.
  • flood-zone — Bachman Creek and its tributaries cross Northwest Dallas from the north through Bachman Lake. FEMA National Flood Hazard Layer shows Zone AE (1 percent annual chance) along the Bachman Creek channel and Zone X shaded along parcels adjoining the channel. Elm Fork of the Trinity River lies west of the locale boundary; most Northwest Dallas parcels are outside its SFHA. · +21d · +15% cost
    Approximately 6-10 percent of parcels in the Bachman Creek corridor (southern 75220 near the lake, select 75209 parcels) sit in Zone AE and must elevate to or above Base Flood Elevation. Most Northwest Dallas parcels north of Walnut Hill Ln and west of Midway Rd are outside any mapped SFHA.

Inherited from the city

These sections come from the city page. Click through to the Dallas ADU research for details.

  • ADU legality
  • legal history
  • size range
  • permitting process & fees
  • permit forms
  • contacts
  • utilities
  • incentives
  • viability
  • resale value impact
  • construction timeline
  • pre-approved plans
  • financing
  • service complexity
Dallas — city ADU rules and incentives

ADU legality: with-restrictions

Cross-listed entry. See dallas-county/dallas.json for the primary record. Dallas's overlay-petition framework is unusual: ADUs are largely opt-in by neighborhood vote rather than allowed citywide.

City cost envelope

$153,500 all-in for a 600 sqft ADU (permit + build). Midpoint scenario.

Permit fee bundle: $3,500 (2026-04).

City viability (selected uses)

Long-term rentalyes
Short-term rentalwith-restrictions
Home officeyes
Relative supportyes

City incentives

  • Texas Homestead Exemption — Owner-occupied primary residence exemption applies to primary structure; ADU added value generally taxed at full rate.
County: no attribution (synthetic bucket)

No county

This city sits in the state's "no county" bucket — its ADU rules derive directly from state law and city ordinance without a county intermediary. No county-level sections apply.

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.

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

  • 75354
  • 75378

Post Office

  • 2341 W Northwest Hwy, 75220