ADU Pass
Arlington
Tarrant County portion
Also in: No County
ADU Pass helps homeowners in Arlington, Tarrant County, Texas navigate the permit paperwork for building an accessory dwelling unit. This area covers 13 ZIP codes.
Map
ADU details
ADU legality: with-restrictions
Permitted in residential zones subject to UDC dimensional standards and the family/owner-occupancy condition. Stadium-area overlays (AT&T Stadium / Globe Life Field / Six Flags entertainment district) and special-use zoning may modify standards on adjacent parcels. Apply via ArlingtonPermits.com.
Cost scenarios
| Scenario | Sq ft | Permit | Build | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| minimum | 200 | $2,200 | $49,000 | $51,200 |
| 600 | 600 | $3,100 | $147,000 | $150,100 |
| midpoint | 550 | $3,000 | $134,750 | $137,750 |
| maximum | 900 | $3,800 | $220,500 | $224,300 |
Fee breakdown (as of 2026-04)
Permitting process
- Confirm UDC zoning compliance and overlays (~5d)
Use the Arlington GIS / zoning viewer to confirm parcel zoning (R-5, R-7.2, R-15, etc.), check for entertainment-district / stadium-overlay (AT&T Stadium, Globe Life Field, Six Flags vicinity) and historic-overlay applicability, and verify ADU dimensional standards (max 900 sqft, owner/family occupancy condition). - Pre-application meeting at One Start Development Center (~7d)
Optional but recommended on lots near stadium overlays or with non-standard frontage. Held at 101 W Abram Street, Arlington, TX 76010. Brings Planning, Building, Fire, and Water/Sewer to one table for early issue spotting. - Submit residential permit via ArlingtonPermits.com (~1d)
Online submittal at https://ap.arlingtontx.gov/ for new residential / addition permit. Required: site plan, foundation plan, framing plan, MEP plans, energy compliance (IECC 2021 + TX amendments), and owner-occupancy affidavit when ADU is the secondary unit. - Multi-discipline plan review (building, zoning, fire, public works) (~25d)
First-cycle review typically returns comments within 15 business days. Public Works reviews driveway, drainage, and tree-preservation; Fire confirms address, hydrant proximity, access. Concurrent reviews; resubmittal cycles run ~10 business days each. - Pay fees and issuance (~3d)
Pay building permit (valuation-based), 35% plan review, impact fee, and Certificate of Occupancy fee through the online portal. Permit issues within 1-3 business days of payment. - Construction inspections
Required: temporary pole, foundation, plumbing rough, framing, electrical rough, mechanical rough, insulation, energy, and final. Inspections scheduled through ArlingtonPermits.com; same-day or next-business-day availability typical. - Certificate of Occupancy (~5d)
Final building inspection plus separate CO inspection issues the Certificate of Occupancy. Required before separate utility billing or rental tenancy.
Viability (permitted uses)
- Long-term rental: yes 30+day rental of ADU permitted; Arlington has no rent-stabilization. Owner-occupancy condition (primary or ADU) means whole-property rental of both units is restricted.
- Short-term rental: with-restrictions (Arlington Code of Ordinances - Short-Term Rental registration program) Arlington requires STR registration plus Hotel Occupancy Tax remittance. Stadium / entertainment-district demand makes Arlington ADUs strong STR candidates around Cowboys / Rangers / Six Flags events; verify HOA covenants and any sub-district STR caps.
- Office rental: no ADU is by definition a dwelling unit; commercial rental tenancy not permitted in residentially-zoned ADU.
- Home office: yes Home occupation permit available; signage and traffic limits per UDC.
- Studio / workshop: yes Personal artist/workshop use is permitted accessory residential use.
- Agriculture: with-restrictions Limited residential urban agriculture; livestock limited to specific zones.
- Relative support: yes Family-occupancy ADU explicitly permitted. The owner/family occupancy requirement specifically anticipates multigenerational use.
Incentives
- Texas Homestead Exemption (state constitutional) — Owner-occupied primary residence exemption; ADU added value generally taxed at full rate but homestead exemption continues to apply to primary structure.
Contacts
Utilities
- Water: Arlington Water Utilities · 21d connect · $4,500
- Sewer: Arlington Water Utilities (sewer division; Trinity River Authority treatment) · 21d connect · $5,500
- Electric: Oncor Electric Delivery (regulated TDU; retail provider chosen by homeowner) · 30d connect · $1,800
- Gas: Atmos Energy (Mid-Tex) · 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. Many Arlington subdivisions south of I-20 and around Lake Arlington have active HOAs that may restrict ADUs.
Regulatory overlays (2)
- other — AT&T Stadium / Globe Life Field / Texas Live! / Six Flags entertainment-district overlays in central Arlington · +14d · +5% cost
Stadium and entertainment-district adjacency may trigger PD-overlay design review; traffic / parking analysis can apply on parcels within event-day right-of-way restrictions. (map) - flood-zone — FEMA SFHA Zone AE / X-shaded along Johnson Creek, Village Creek, Trinity River corridor in west and south Arlington · +14d · +6% cost
Finished-floor elevation +1 ft above BFE, vented enclosures below BFE, NFIP flood insurance required for federally-backed financing. (map)
Technical envelope (climate & building code)
Climate & energy code
Building code
Amendments:
- Amendment
- Amendment
Legal history (timeline)
Current ordinance: Arlington Unified Development Code (UDC) - residential and accessory use provisions, adopted 2014-09-23, last amended 2025-08-26
- 2014-09-23 — Arlington Unified Development Code adoption (consolidating zoning + subdivision) (city-ordinance)
Council adopted a single Unified Development Code consolidating prior zoning, subdivision, and design regulations into 12 articles.
Effect: Provided the framework under which accessory dwelling units became a defined use category with consistent dimensional standards across residential districts. - 2023-09-01 — Texas HB 24 (88th Legislature) - protest-petition reform (state-law)
Raised the neighbor-protest threshold and limited tied-vote outcomes in zoning cases for cities over 5,000 population.
Effect: Made it modestly easier for the Arlington City Council to approve ADU-friendly rezonings or PD-overlay amendments without a supermajority being forced by neighbor petitions. - 2025-07-15 — Arlington Planning and Development Services Fee Schedule (Phase 1, 2025-07-15) (city-ordinance)
Phased fee adjustments raised building, plan review, zoning and land-development fees citywide.
Effect: Increased ADU permit fees alongside other residential permits. Plan review remains 35% of building-permit fee. - 2025-08-26 — Ordinance 25-059 - 2025 Annual UDC Update (city-ordinance)
Annual housekeeping amendments to the UDC including residential use definitions, accessory structure standards, and design standards.
Effect: Refreshed accessory dwelling and accessory structure language; clarified setbacks and permitted zones.
Known issues (1)
- fee-volatility (since 2025-07) — Fee schedule was raised effective 2025-07-15 with phased increases; verify current amounts against the published Planning and Development Services fee schedule prior to budgeting. (source)
Tarrant County — county ADU rules and overlays
County permitting (unincorporated parcels)
Tarrant County handles non-zoning unincorporated work (subdivision/plat, OSSF, floodplain, 911 addressing).
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
- 76001
- 76002
- 76005
- 76006
- 76010
- 76011
- 76012
- 76013
- 76014
- 76015
- 76016
- 76017
- 76018
Post Office
- 1009 Oakwood Ln, 76012
- 1301 E Bardin Rd, 76018
- 1975 Ballpark Way, 76006
- 300 E South St, 76004
- 3903 Melear Dr, 76015