Brookhaven, GA Accessory Structures: ADU Owner Occupancy (2026)

The rule sits in section 27-133, the general section for accessory dwelling units in the City of Brookhaven, Georgia, added when Ord. No. RZ2023-12-10 took effect on December 19, 2023. Subsection (g) opens by requiring that at least one of the dwelling units on a lot occupied by an ADU be occupied by an owner with at least a 50 percent interest in the subject property. The owner can live in either the principal dwelling unit or the ADU, but it must be the owner's permanent residence for a majority of the time each calendar year. At no time can the owner receive rent for the owner-occupied unit.

Rental of the other unit is allowed, with a floor on the term. ADUs cannot be rented for periods of less than 90 consecutive days, so nightly and weekly rentals of an ADU fall outside what section 27-133(g) allows. Short-term rentals are also excluded from home occupations under section 27-700(c)(4), which says they are allowed only as indicated in table 7-1.

The paperwork comes at the front end. An application for a building permit for an ADU must include a sworn, notarized statement from the property owner stating that the owner will occupy one of the dwelling units on the premises, except for bona fide temporary absences. The code does not print a form number or fee for that statement in section 27-133.

Other rules in the same section apply alongside owner occupancy. The total number of residents on the subject property cannot exceed the number permitted for a single household (27-133(e)). No business activity is permitted in the ADU unless it meets the requirements of a home occupation (27-133(h)). ADUs are limited to one detached and one attached unit per lot (27-133(c)).