Sedona, AZ Accessory Structures: ADU Owner Occupancy (2026)

Sedona's accessory dwelling unit standards require common ownership of the ADU and the house it sits behind. D(3)(d) states that an ADU shall only be held in ownership by the owner of the principal dwelling, which rules out selling or subdividing title to the ADU separately from the main house, even though the two structures sit on the same lot. D(3)(c), all of which point toward the ADU functioning as a true accessory to a single owner-occupied property rather than as an independently marketable unit.

The ownership rule also interacts with the code's rental restriction: an ADU that received its certificate of occupancy on or after September 14, 2024 cannot be used as a vacation or short-term rental unless the property owner's primary residence is on that same lot, so an owner who tried to work around the single-title rule by living elsewhere and renting out both structures would separately run into that occupancy-based rental limit. Because the code ties ownership to the principal dwelling rather than the ADU itself, a property owner cannot finance, sell or convey the ADU as a stand-alone condominium-style unit; any transfer of the ADU has to go with a transfer of the whole property. City staff verify ownership against county assessor and recorder records when an ADU permit or certificate of occupancy application comes in.