Blaine, MN Accessory Structures: ADU Rental Restrictions (2026)

Blaine's ADU standards fold rental licensing directly into the zoning approval. Sec. 129-23(a)(14) states that the home and the accessory dwelling unit are considered separate dwellings for purposes of rental licensing, which means the ADU does not get treated as a mere accessory space once a non-owner moves in; it gets treated as its own rental unit. A rental license becomes required as soon as either the primary home or the ADU is occupied by someone other than the property owner or a member of the owner's family, even if the other unit remains owner-occupied.

That licensing trigger sits alongside the owner-occupancy condition in Sec. 129-23(a)(9), which already requires that at least one of the two units be occupied by the owner, so the two subsections work together: whichever unit is not owner-occupied is the one that needs the rental license. The rule also connects to the property maintenance and rental housing licensing standards administered by Community Development, which handles rental license applications and inspections citywide. Because the home and ADU are legally separate dwellings for this purpose, a property owner cannot rely on the primary home's owner-occupied status to avoid licensing the ADU when it is rented out, and vice versa if the roles are reversed.