Albemarle County, VA Accessory Structures: ADU Owner Occupancy (2026)

34 of the Albemarle County Zoning Ordinance, which authorizes one accessory apartment per single-family detached dwelling, includes an owner-occupancy condition distinct from its size, parking and location rules. Subsection H states plainly that the owner must reside in any dwelling to which the apartment unit is accessory, or in the apartment unit itself. That means an owner cannot rent out both the main house and the accessory apartment to two unrelated tenant households while living elsewhere; one of the two units on the lot has to be the owner's residence.

34's structure: the apartment must be built inside the main dwelling (not a detached garage or other accessory structure), it is capped at 35 percent of the structure's gross floor area, at least three off-street parking spaces are required once an apartment is added, and on lots without central sewer the local Virginia Department of Health office must approve septic capacity for both units before the apartment can be established. 2, with civil and, ultimately, criminal penalties available if the violation is not corrected. 34(H) as a hard limit on that plan, not a formality, since the ordinance ties the apartment's continued legal status directly to the owner's residency in one of the two units.