Frisco, TX Accessory Structures: ADU Owner Occupancy (2026)

03 allows a Garage Apartment or Guest House as an accessory use on a single-family lot in Frisco, and Subsection (C)(2) puts a condition on ever renting it out: a Garage Apartment or Guest House may be rented or offered for rent provided that the main dwelling unit is owner-occupied. The effect is that Frisco permits exactly one rental arrangement for these accessory units: the property owner lives in the main house and rents the garage apartment or guest house as a secondary unit. It forecloses the alternative where an investor owns the lot, rents out the main house to one tenant and the accessory unit to another, or leaves the main house vacant while renting only the accessory unit.

The rule works together with (C)(1)'s bar on selling the accessory unit apart from the main property, since together they keep the lot functioning as a single owner-occupied residence with one secondary rental income stream rather than a duplex-style rental operation. Structurally, (A) requires a Garage Apartment be built attached to a garage, above it or on the same level, while a Guest House must be built separate from the main dwelling, and (B) requires a Building Permit before either is constructed. 1, which sets the Guest House or Garage Apartment setback the same as the primary structure's front, side and rear yard lines.

Development Services checks owner-occupancy compliance in practice through code enforcement complaint response, since the ordinance does not establish a separate rental permit or annual inspection requirement for these units beyond the standard building permit.