Huntsville, AL Accessory Structures: ADU Owner Occupancy (2026)

Section 10.6 of the Zoning Ordinance permits a second kitchen in a single-family detached home in the Residence 1, 1-A, 1-B and 1-C districts (10.6.11), but only under conditions built around owner-occupancy. Section 10.6.1 lets a property owner add the second kitchen if the property already complies with zoning and needs no variance. Section 10.6.5 is the operative owner-occupancy rule: only family members, defined narrowly as people related by blood, marriage or law, and temporary guests who keep a separate legal residence elsewhere, may use the second kitchen, and the owner must occupy the dwelling as his or her own legal residence. No rent or other remuneration can be collected from a temporary guest under that same section.

Physical requirements back up the occupancy limit. Section 10.6.2 requires the second kitchen to sit inside the dwelling, sharing a common wall with and directly accessible from the main living space, not cut off by a garage, breezeway or other nonhabitable space; 10.6.3 bars any kitchen in a detached accessory structure entirely. Section 10.6.4 blocks a second kitchen in a house that has roomers or boarders under section 73.1.1, and 10.6.6 requires the second kitchen to run off the dwelling's existing utility connections, with no separate meter, which gives inspectors an easy way to spot an unauthorized, separately metered unit. Section 10.6.7 also forbids running a home occupation that depends on the second kitchen, and 10.6.8 bars any outward sign of two households, such as a second mailbox or address. The zoning administrator keeps a record of every qualifying dwelling under 10.6.10.