Lynchburg, VA Accessory Structures: ADU Rules (2026)

3 authorizes "dwellings units," defined to include guest houses, caretakers' cottages and similar residential accommodations, as accessory to a single-household residence. There are two allowed configurations. First, the unit can be located inside the principal structure, but it must use a common entrance so the house still reads from the street as a single-family home rather than a duplex. Second, it can be a detached accessory structure, but only if placed in the rear yard and entirely outside the setback lines that apply to principal structures.

Whichever configuration is chosen, occupancy of the ADU can't push the lot's total occupancy past whatever limit the underlying zoning district already sets for that property. Detached units carry an extra size cap not applied to the attached option: no more than 900 square feet of floor area and no more than one bedroom, which keeps a garage-apartment or cottage from functioning as a second full household. Finally, an ADU of either type has to comply with the same parking requirements, building coverage limits and rear-yard building coverage rules that apply to any other structure on the lot, so adding one can't be used to sidestep the district's overall density and coverage math.