Roanoke County, VA Accessory Structures: ADU Owner Occupancy (2026)

Roanoke County ties its accessory-apartment allowance to owner-occupancy. Section 30-82-1(B)4 states plainly that only one accessory apartment is allowed on any one lot or parcel, and the owner of the property shall reside on the premises, so an investor cannot buy a house solely to run two rented units under this by-right accessory-apartment allowance. The rule sits alongside the apartment's other by-right conditions: § 30-82-1(B)5 requires that any exterior entrance to an apartment built inside the principal structure be arranged so the building still reads as a single-family dwelling from the street, protecting the same owner-occupied, single-family character the occupancy rule is built around.

Before the county issues the building permit, § 30-82-1(B)8 also requires health department approval of the apartment's sewage disposal method. Because the owner-occupancy condition is baked into the general standards in § 30-82-1(B), it applies whether the apartment sits inside the principal home or in a qualifying accessory structure on the lot, and it applies in every zoning district where the accessory apartment use type is permitted, including the C-1 and C-2 exception in § 30-82-1(C) for apartments paired with a civic, office, commercial or industrial use.