Bossier Parish, LA Accessory Structures: ADU Owner Occupancy (2026)

Section 126-803 opens by tying ADU eligibility to occupancy status, not just lot size: the free-standing single-family accessory dwelling can only be built in the rear or side yard of 'an existing owner-occupied single-family residence' in the R-A residential-agriculture district, or in the rear yard of a home in the R-1 or R-2 districts, and only within the unincorporated area covered by the Benton-Parish Metropolitan Planning Commission. A rental house or an absentee-owned lot does not qualify; the primary residence has to be occupied by its owner for the ADU to be permitted at all.

Four conditions attach once that threshold is met. First, the ADU needs 'planning approval' following the Metropolitan Planning Commission's own procedures rather than a simple building permit. Second, it must be affixed to a permanent foundation and cannot be a manufactured home, a modular home or any other moveable structure, ruling out a trailer or RV parked in the yard as a qualifying ADU. Third, its colors, materials and design must be substantially the same as the principal dwelling, so the accessory unit has to visually match the house it sits behind.

Fourth, the planning approval granted under this section cannot override a subdivision's own recorded covenants if those covenants prohibit a separate dwelling unit on the lot, meaning an HOA restriction can still block an otherwise Code-compliant ADU.