ADU Pass
Tazewell
No County portion
Also in: Tazewell County
ADU Pass helps homeowners in Tazewell, No County, Virginia navigate the permit paperwork for building an accessory dwelling unit. This area covers 1 ZIP code.
Map
ADU details
ADU legality: allowed-with-restrictions
Tazewell is a small county-seat town in Virginia's far-southwestern Appalachian region. Population approximately 4,500; primary local employers include the courthouse complex, Tazewell Community Hospital, and regional retail. ADU activity is minimal; most projects are family-accommodation rather than rental investment due to limited regional rental demand. SB531 (July 2027) will simplify the regulatory framework but is unlikely to materially shift demand.
Cost scenarios
| Scenario | Sq ft | Permit | Build | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| minimum | 200 | $700 | $44,000 | $44,700 |
| 600 | 600 | $900 | $144,000 | $144,900 |
| midpoint | 600 | $900 | $144,000 | $144,900 |
| 1000 | 1,000 | $1,100 | $250,000 | $251,100 |
| maximum | 1,000 | $1,100 | $250,000 | $251,100 |
Fee breakdown (as of 2026-05)
Permitting process
Viability (permitted uses)
- Long-term rental: yes Long-term rental is permitted but demand is modest given small regional population and limited employment growth.
- Short-term rental: with-restrictions Limited STR market in Tazewell; what activity exists is Appalachian-tourism related (Burke's Garden, hiking, hunting). Town would require a business license.
- Office rental: no ADU must remain a dwelling unit.
- Home office: yes Home occupation permitted under town/county standards.
- Studio / workshop: yes Personal studio/workshop use is permitted; common pattern on larger rural-edge parcels.
- Agriculture: yes Agricultural use strongly permitted in surrounding county districts; Tazewell County is one of Virginia's most ag-friendly counties for small livestock and pasture operations.
- Relative support: yes Family-occupancy ADU is the dominant Tazewell use case - aging-in-place and adult-child housing are the primary drivers. Coal-region economic patterns have created multi-generational household norms.
Incentives
Contacts
Utilities
- Water: Town of Tazewell Water Department · 25d connect · $2,400
- Sewer: Town of Tazewell Public Works Sewer Department · 25d connect · $3,000
- Electric: Appalachian Power Company (American Electric Power) · 30d connect · $1,500
- Gas: Roanoke Gas / Virginia Natural Gas (limited service in this region); propane is common alternative · 45d connect · $1,300
Property values & taxes
Construction timeline
Realistic total: best 5mo · typical 8mo · worst 12mo
Modular pathway inspectors are occasional with modular
US-19 / US-460 access; mountain-pass routing constrains module width on some inbound corridors; Tazewell town center has narrow historic streets.
Financing
State ADU loans:
Insurance impact
HOA prevalence & preemption
HOAs are rare in Tazewell - the historic core, rural-edge parcels, and most subdivisions in this region predate the HOA-suburb era. A handful of newer Tazewell-area developments have HOAs.
Regulatory overlays (3)
- other
Coal-mining subsidence overlay - portions of Tazewell County have underground coal mine workings; parcels in former or active mining areas require subsidence/structural reports for new construction. Verify parcel-by-parcel via Virginia Department of Energy DMME mine map. - flood-zone
Town center sits along the Clinch River and its tributaries; portions of downtown Tazewell are in FEMA Special Flood Hazard Areas (AE zone). Verify via FEMA Map Service Center. - historic-district
Tazewell Historic District (NRHP-listed, encompassing the Main Street commercial corridor and adjacent residential areas) - visible exterior alterations may require local historic-review compatibility.
Technical envelope (climate & building code)
Climate & energy code
Building code
Amendments:
- Amendment
Contractor market (aggregate)
Legal history (timeline)
Current ordinance: Town of Tazewell Zoning Ordinance, adopted varies-by-amendment, last amended 2023-XX-XX
- 1800-01-01 — Town of Tazewell founded (town-charter)
Tazewell founded as the seat of newly formed Tazewell County, named for Henry Tazewell, Virginia delegate to the Continental Congress.
Effect: Established the historic town footprint and county-seat status. - 2005-01-01 — Tazewell County Zoning Ordinance modernization (estimated) (county-ordinance)
Tazewell County undertook a zoning ordinance modernization in the mid-2000s including provisions for accessory dwellings.
Effect: Established the current county ADU framework that applies to unincorporated parcels adjacent to town. - 2026-04-14 — Virginia SB531 signed - statewide by-right ADU mandate (state-law)
Effective July 1, 2027: by-right one ADU per single-family lot statewide, $500 permit-fee cap, January 1, 2026 grandfather clause.
Effect: Will preempt Town and County ADU requirements for one by-right ADU starting July 1, 2027.
Known issues (2)
- staffing-shortage — Town and County planning staff are limited (part-time zoning administrator at Town level). Coordination friction can extend timelines despite low total permit volume.
- other — Coal-mining subsidence: parcels in Tazewell County's former or active coal-mining areas require subsidence assessment before foundation work, adding $1,500-$4,000 and 30-60 days to the project timeline.
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.
Virginia state — ADU law and programs
State ADU law
Virginia has NOT enacted a statewide ADU preemption law. Virginia is a Dillon Rule state — localities possess only those powers expressly granted by the General Assembly — and the statutes granting zoning authority (Va. Code § 15.2-2280 et seq.) leave ADU regulation to local ordinances. ADU permission, setbacks, parking, size, and owner-occupancy rules therefore vary by county, independent city, and town. Virginia is unique in that it has 38 independent cities that function as counties (neither in nor subordinate to the surrounding county), meaning 'the county' for any given Virginia property may be an independent city rather than a true county. Several ADU preemption bills have been introduced in recent General Assembly sessions (2022 through 2025) without enactment; none have advanced past committee as of the Assembly's 2026 regular session adjournment.
State financing programs
Virginia does not operate an ADU-specific statewide loan, grant, or forgivable-loan program. Virginia Housing (formerly the Virginia Housing Development Authority, VHDA — rebranded 2020) administers general first-time-homebuyer, down-payment-assistance (DPA), mortgage-credit-certificate, and rehabilitation products that can be applied to ADU-adjacent purchases or improvements when eligibility criteria are met, but none target ADU construction as a distinct product. The Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) administers federal HOME and CDBG pass-through funds that local jurisdictions can direct toward ADU-adjacent rehab, but there is no state-level ADU-dedicated line item. Federally available products (FHA 203(k), Fannie Mae HomeReady and HomeStyle Renovation, Freddie Mac CHOICERenovation) remain the primary ADU financing path for Virginia homeowners.
State housing programs
Virginia does not run a state-level pre-approved-ADU-plan catalog, statewide impact-fee-waiver statute for ADUs, or streamlined-review mandate. State-level programs that touch ADU-adjacent policy are coordinated primarily through the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) and Virginia Housing, and act by funding or assisting local jurisdictions rather than by preemption. Local ADU activity — Arlington County's Accessory Dwellings program (detached ADUs permitted since 2008, liberalized 2020), Alexandria's accessory-dwelling ordinance, Fairfax County's accessory-living-unit program, and Charlottesville's 2021 zoning-code changes — is authorized under the localities' Va. Code § 15.2-2280 zoning authority, not by state mandate.
- DHCD Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program — Federal CDBG funds administered by DHCD to eligible non-entitlement Virginia localities for community-revitalization, housing-rehab, and infrastructure projects. Not ADU-specific. Participating localities can direct CDBG funds toward housing-rehab projects where local policy supports ADUs.
- DHCD HOME Investment Partnerships Program — Federal HOME funds administered by DHCD to Virginia participating jurisdictions and non-profits for affordable-housing acquisition, rehab, and new construction. Not ADU-specific; can be directed to ADU-adjacent rehab at local discretion.
- Virginia Housing Commission — Permanent advisory commission of the General Assembly that studies housing-policy questions and recommends legislation. Has periodically studied ADU preemption and missing-middle housing without recommending statewide enactment as of 2026-04-21.
- Local ADU ordinances under Va. Code § 15.2-2280 authority — Not a state program — listed here because Virginia ADU policy is executed entirely at the locality level under the § 15.2-2280 zoning grant. A homeowner seeking to build an ADU consults the zoning ordinance of the specific county, city, or town where the parcel is located.
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 Code
- 24608
Post Office
- 276 Main St, 24651