Blaine, MN Accessory Structures: ADU Owner Occupancy (2026)

Blaine's ADU ordinance ties the accessory dwelling unit benefit directly to owner-occupancy. Sec. 129-23(a)(9) requires that either the primary home or the accessory dwelling unit be occupied by the property's owner, and that requirement is recorded against the property so it carries forward even if the home changes hands. In practice, that means a homeowner can live in the main house and rent the ADU to a tenant, or move into the ADU and rent the main house, but cannot rent both units to people who are not the owner.

The rule works alongside the rest of Sec. 129-23(a): utilities for the home and ADU cannot be separately metered and must share the same water and sewer connections, the two units must stay on a single parcel that cannot be subdivided by plat, waiver of platting, or a common interest community, and only one ADU is allowed per property. Because the home and the ADU are treated as two dwellings once a non-owner occupies either one, the owner-occupancy recording works together with the city's rental licensing rule in the same subsection to determine when a rental license kicks in.

The administrative permit that authorizes the ADU depends on this recorded condition remaining true, so a change in occupancy that puts a non-owner in both units removes the property from compliance with the permitted-use standard.