Barrow County, GA Accessory Structures: ADU Owner Occupancy (2026)

Barrow County treats a relative residence, sometimes called an in-law suite, as one of the customary accessory uses a homeowner may add to a single-family dwelling under the Unified Development Code's accessory-use division (chapter 89, article III, division 3). Section 89-218(a)(10) lists a relative residence in accordance with the provisions of section 89-221 among the uses permitted as accessory to a dwelling, and section 89-221 sets the operating rules. The core requirement is owner-occupancy: subsection (a) says the real property owner must live in the single-family residence, which stops an investor from adding a rental suite and calling it a relative residence.

Subsection (b) sizes the second cooking facility itself: it cannot exceed the area of the main cooking facility, so a homeowner cannot build a full second kitchen bigger than the primary one. Subsection (c) requires access to the relatives' living space from the interior of the residence, though a secondary exterior door is allowed, which keeps the addition legally a single dwelling unit rather than a duplex. Subsection (d) requires paved off-street parking for any added vehicles the relative residence brings to the lot. Because the relative residence is an accessory use, any physical addition must still sit within a lawful accessory structure or addition under the general accessory-building rules in section 89-217, including the requirement that an attached addition meet the setbacks of the principal building. Planning and Community Development reviews these additions through the standard building permit process for the chapter 89 Unified Development Code.