Rock Hill, SC Accessory Structures: ADU Owner Occupancy (2026)

2(A)(1) of the Zoning Ordinance of the City of Rock Hill makes owner-occupancy a condition of having an accessory dwelling unit at all: the property owner must live on the property. The rule is time-phased rather than permanent. For the first five years after the ADU is created, the owner has to live in the principal structure, the main house on the lot, not the accessory unit. Only once that five-year period has run can the owner choose to move into the accessory dwelling unit instead, if preferred, in the ordinance's own words.

The requirement attaches to the property owner personally rather than to any tenant, so a landlord who owns the lot but does not live there cannot add an ADU and rent out both structures from day one. 2(A)(8), an owner living on site can run the office component of a home-based business out of the accessory dwelling unit, though no other part of a home business is allowed to operate there. Because owner-occupancy is a use-specific standard for the ADU itself rather than a permit condition layered on top, an owner moving out during the mandatory five-year window puts the property out of compliance with the underlying zoning, not just a permit term.