ADU Pass
Kanawha County
ADU Pass helps homeowners in Kanawha County, West Virginia navigate the permit paperwork for building an accessory dwelling unit. We cover 32 cities and 50 ZIP codes in this county.
Map
County ADU details
County permitting (unincorporated parcels)
Kanawha County administers limited regulatory functions in unincorporated areas through its Planning & Community Development Department: subdivision review, floodplain development permitting (NFIP participant), and 911 addressing. The county does NOT operate a county-wide building inspection program; West Virginia's State Fire Marshal and the State Building Code (which the State Fire Commission adopts based on the IRC/IBC) apply, but enforcement in unincorporated areas is limited compared to incorporated cities. A new dwelling — including an ADU — on an unincorporated parcel proceeds primarily through state-level health (well/septic) and county floodplain review.
Process overview: Typical workflow on an unincorporated Kanawha County parcel: (1) confirm parcel is in unincorporated Kanawha County; (2) Kanawha-Charleston Health Department review for well and septic permits if not on public utilities; (3) Kanawha County floodplain review if within mapped Special Flood Hazard Area; (4) 911 address assignment; (5) construction without a county-administered building permit (state code applies but day-to-day inspection is limited). On parcels inside incorporated cities, follow city-level building permits and zoning.
Impact fees: Kanawha County does not levy impact fees on residential construction in unincorporated areas.
County assessor
Kanawha County's elected Assessor appraises all real property in the county on an annual cycle. An ADU is captured as an improvement to the host parcel and added to the parcel's assessed value at the next reassessment. West Virginia assesses property at 60% of appraised market value (W. Va. Code Sec. 11-3-1).
Assessment policy: West Virginia property tax operates on an annual valuation cycle. Real property is assessed at 60% of appraised market value (W. Va. Code Sec. 11-3-1). Class II (owner-occupied residential) carries a lower millage than Class III/IV (non-owner-occupied). An ADU added to an owner-occupied parcel typically remains Class II if the owner continues to occupy the primary dwelling. The Homestead Exemption ($20,000 of assessed value) applies to qualifying owner-occupants age 65+ or permanently disabled.
County overlays (1)
Kanawha County's primary county-level overlay is FEMA-mapped Special Flood Hazard Areas administered through the Kanawha County Floodplain Coordinator under the county's NFIP-participating ordinance. The county has no historic-district overlay at the county level (those exist in Charleston and other municipalities). Steep-slope and landslide-prone terrain is widespread in Kanawha County's Appalachian topography but is regulated through site-specific engineering rather than a county overlay.
- Kanawha 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.
West Virginia state — ADU law and programs
State HOA preemption
The municipal-zoning-vs-private-CC&R distinction matters most when state preemption arrives. Because WV has no zoning preemption either, the practical posture is: ADU rights in WV are jointly determined by the local municipality AND the parcel's CC&Rs. Both must allow.
State financing programs
West Virginia has no ADU-specific state loan or grant program. The state's primary housing finance vehicle is the West Virginia Housing Development Fund (WVHDF), a public-body corporate established under W. Va. Code § 31-18-1 et seq. WVHDF issues tax-exempt mortgage-revenue-bond-financed first mortgages through its Homeownership Program (often the lowest fixed-rate option for low/moderate-income WV homebuyers), the Movin' Up Program (for repeat buyers up to certain income limits), the Low Down Home Loan (down-payment / closing-cost assistance), and the multifamily-side Affordable Housing Fund. None of these is structured as a homeowner ADU construction loan. An ADU buildout financed alongside a primary-residence purchase or refinance would typically be handled via FHA 203(k) or Fannie Mae HomeStyle Renovation overlays on a conventional or WVHDF first mortgage; WVHDF itself does not publish an ADU-renovation product.
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.