Lubbock, TX Accessory Structures: ADU Rental Restrictions (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- UDC § 39.02.020(e)(3)
- Permitted rental use
- Long-term, short-term, or guest house
- Units per lot
- 1 primary + 1 accessory only
- Extra parking required
- 1 off-street space for the ADU
- Floor area cap
- Cannot exceed primary dwelling's area
Summary
Lubbock lets an owner-occupied accessory dwelling unit be rented long-term, rented short-term, or used as a guest house, but caps every ADU at one per lot, a 10,000-square-foot minimum lot, one extra off-street parking space, and a floor area no larger than the primary house.
3. Limitations on accessory dwelling units. A. Number of approvals per tract. Approval is limited to one primary dwelling unit and one accessory dwelling unit per lot. B. Minimum lot area. The minimum lot area shall be 10,000 square feet. In the Neighborhood Infill Overlay or Community Infill Overlay districts, the minimum lot area shall be 6,000 square feet. C. Parking. One off-street parking space shall be required in addition to the spaces required for the primary dwelling unit. D. Floor area. The floor area of the accessory dwelling unit shall not exceed that of the primary dwelling unit. F. Use. An accessory dwelling unit may be used as a long-term rental, short-term rental, or guest house.
Full Breakdown
020(e)(3) of the Lubbock UDC lists the limitations that apply once an accessory dwelling unit is approved. Subsection F is the rental-use provision itself: an ADU may be used as a long-term rental, a short-term rental, or a guest house, giving owners flexibility on how they use the unit once the owner-occupancy condition elsewhere in this Section is satisfied. That flexibility comes bundled with several fixed limits. Only one primary dwelling and one accessory dwelling unit are approved per tract, so a second ADU is not available even on a larger lot.
The minimum lot area for any ADU is 10,000 square feet, dropping to 6,000 square feet inside the Neighborhood Infill Overlay or Community Infill Overlay districts. Parking is addressed separately from the main dwelling's requirement: the code requires one off-street parking space for the ADU in addition to whatever parking the primary dwelling already needs, so a rental ADU cannot rely solely on street parking for its tenant. Floor area is capped relative to the main house: the accessory dwelling unit's floor area cannot exceed that of the primary dwelling unit, which limits how large a rental unit can be built regardless of lot size.
The unit must also meet the City's Building Code, and approval as an ADU does not excuse the owner from any other ordinance protecting health, safety, or welfare, including the City's Fire, Building, and Housing Codes, which continue to apply to a rented ADU exactly as they would to any other dwelling.
Violations & Fines
An ADU rented out without meeting the one-off-street-parking-space requirement, or built beyond the floor area of the primary dwelling, is out of compliance with Section 39.02.020(e)(3) and can be cited by Code Enforcement; because rental use is also conditioned on the ADU's owner-occupancy status remaining intact, an ADU that loses that status under the termination provision cannot continue to be rented as an approved accessory dwelling unit.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I rent out my Lubbock ADU on Airbnb?
How big can a rentable ADU be in Lubbock?
Does a rental ADU need its own parking space?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Lubbock
Texas rules heatmap·Compare Lubbock to another location·View the Texas accessory structures overview
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