Iron County, UT Accessory Structures: ADU Rental Restrictions (2026)
Key Facts
- Minimum ADU rental term
- 30 consecutive days
- Governing section
- § 17.36.400(B)(2)(c)
- Short-term rentals of ADU
- prohibited outright
- Nightly rentals instead
- must use primary dwelling
- Enforcement
- zoning administrator, Ch. 17.72
Summary
Iron County bars renting an accessory dwelling unit for less than thirty consecutive days. Section 17.36.400(B)(2)(c) puts ADUs squarely off-limits as short-term rentals in the unincorporated county, even though short-term rentals themselves are separately permitted in residential zones under Section 17.36.200.
2.An accessory dwelling unit (ADU) shall be prohibited:a.To be created within a mobile home as defined in Section 17.80.010;b.To be created if the lot containing the primary dwelling is six thousand square feet or less in size;c.To be rented or offered for rent for a period of less than thirty consecutive days; andd.To be constructed as a duplex according to the current adopted building code.
Full Breakdown
Section 17.36.400(B)(2) lists four things an ADU is prohibited from being, and subsection (c) singles out rentals under thirty consecutive days: an ADU cannot be rented or offered for rent for a period less than thirty consecutive days. The thirty-day threshold mirrors the county's own definition of a short-term rental elsewhere in the code, where a rental term under thirty days when the owner is not present triggers short-term rental licensing. By flatly prohibiting sub-thirty-day rentals of an ADU rather than routing them through the short-term rental permitting process, the county keeps ADUs tied to long-term housing supply rather than nightly lodging.
This sits alongside the other ADU prohibitions in subsection (2): no ADU inside a mobile home, none on lots of six thousand square feet or less, and none built as a duplex. The rule also reinforces the owner-occupancy requirement in subsection (B)(1)(b): since the owner must live in one of the two units, renting the other on a nightly basis would undercut both the occupancy condition and the housing-supply purpose the county lists in Section 17.36.400(A), which frames ADUs as tools for affordable, longer-term housing rather than transient lodging.
A property owner who wants to operate nightly rentals must do so through the primary dwelling as a licensed short-term rental under Section 17.36.200, not through an attached or detached ADU.
Violations & Fines
Renting an ADU short-term is a zoning violation the county pursues under Chapter 17.72: the zoning administrator serves written notice under Section 17.72.050 requiring correction within thirty days, and may first offer a voluntary correction agreement under Section 17.72.060 before escalating. A confirmed violation is punishable under Section 1.08.010 as a misdemeanor of up to a one thousand dollar fine or a year in jail, or as an infraction up to seven hundred fifty dollars, with each rental day a separate offense.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I list my Iron County ADU on a nightly rental platform?
Can I still run a short-term rental at all in unincorporated Iron County?
What if I rent my ADU on a month-to-month lease?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Iron County
Compare Iron County to another location·View the Utah accessory structures overview
See something wrong?
Help us keep this page accurate. If you notice an error or outdated information, let us know.