South Fulton, GA Accessory Structures: ADU Rules (2026)

Section 303.09 of the Zoning Ordinance sets the terms directly: no more than one guest house structure may sit on a lot, and it can only be occupied by relatives, guests, or employees working on the property, with no payment of rent allowed. That single rule rules out using a South Fulton guest house as a long-term rental or income property; the moment money changes hands for occupancy, the structure falls out of compliance with its accessory status.

The ordinance also sets a kitchen and size band. A separate kitchen facility is expressly allowed inside the guest house, distinguishing it from a garage apartment with no cooking facilities. Heated floor area must fall between 650 and 1,500 square feet, though the code carves out a smaller alternative: a guest house can instead be built as a Tiny House capped at 400 square feet, provided it is designed and built to the current State Minimum Standard Residential Code with Georgia's state amendments.

Placement is restricted twice over. First, the guest house must meet the same principal-building setbacks that apply to the main house on the lot, not the looser standards allowed for ordinary accessory structures like sheds. Second, Section 303.09(e) confines the guest house to the rear yard only, so it cannot be built beside or in front of the primary dwelling regardless of lot shape. Article 9's definitions section (Sec. 904.07) describes the use the same way: a detached accessory dwelling unit located on the same lot with a single-family dwelling unit. Because a guest house is an accessory use, it is only allowed on lots that already carry a single-family dwelling as the principal structure.