Austin removed its ADU owner-occupancy requirement when the HOME Initiative Phase 1 (Ordinance 20231207-001) took effect in December 2023. A property owner is no longer required to live on the lot to build an ADU or to rent the ADU long-term. Both the main house and the ADU may be rented to separate tenants by an absentee owner. No deed restriction is recorded.
Before HOME, Austin's Land Development Code required the owner to occupy either the principal dwelling or the secondary unit and required a deed restriction at permit issuance. HOME Phase 1 (Ordinance 20231207-001, effective December 7, 2023) eliminated the secondary-use distinction altogether and removed the owner-occupancy condition. The change is now reflected in LDC Chapter 25-2 as amended. Properties built under the old owner-occupancy regime are not automatically released from any recorded deed restriction - the owner needs to request a release through the Development Services Department - but new ADU permits issued after December 2023 carry no occupancy condition. There is no parallel state requirement; Texas does not have a state ADU statute analogous to California Government Code 65852.2. Investors are free to acquire SF-zoned lots, add ADUs, and lease both units long-term. Short-term rental of an ADU remains restricted regardless of owner occupancy (see ADU Rental Restrictions).
There is no owner-occupancy violation to enforce on permits issued after December 2023. For older permits with recorded deed restrictions, the owner can apply for release; renting both units before the release is processed can still constitute a deed-restriction breach but is no longer treated as a code violation by Austin Code.
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See how Austin's adu owner occupancy rules stack up against other locations.
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