Blue Earth County, MN Accessory Structures: ADU Rental Restrictions (2026)

Blue Earth County Code Sec. 24-112(a)(12) permits exactly one additional accessory dwelling in the A district beyond the primary residence, subject to four conditions. First, it must be a manufactured home installed to the standards of Sec. 24-308, sited on a parcel of 20 acres or more, and it cannot itself be the primary residence on that parcel. Second, the dwelling must be an integral part of an agricultural operation, used to house farm labor, tying the use directly to the working farm rather than to general rental income.

Third, it has to be served by an approved water supply and an approved sewage treatment system, which for most of unincorporated Blue Earth County means compliance with the county's SSTS ordinance in chapter 6, article V, or a connection to a public water and sewer system where available. Fourth, and most restrictive, the accessory dwelling must be removed from the property once it is no longer used as a dwelling integral to the agricultural operation, so it cannot be converted into a standalone rental unit or kept for unrelated occupants after the farm-labor use ends.

Because this is a permitted use rather than a conditional or interim use, a property owner who meets all four conditions can add the accessory dwelling through the standard land use development application and construction permit process under Sec. 24-43, without a conditional use permit hearing before the planning commission.