Carrollton, TX Accessory Structures: Garage Conversions (2026)
Garage conversion rules in Carrollton, TX, sometimes called garage-to-ADU or accessory living unit conversions, govern permits, ceiling height, egress, and parking replacement.
Key Facts
- Garage-to-bedroom conversion
- Prohibited for STR/B&B use
- Adding bedrooms to expand capacity
- Prohibited
- Related restriction
- No paving pervious soil w/o DCO OK
- Correction window
- 30 days for non-imminent violations
- Enforcing agency
- Department of Code Operations (DCO)
Summary
A Carrollton short-term rental or bed and breakfast cannot turn its garage into a bedroom or living space. The General Code also bars remodeling or enlarging the home to add bedrooms once it is licensed as an STR or B&B.
(C) Renovations.An owner, operator, or manager of a STR or B&B may not convert a garage into a living space or bedroom. Nor shall the owner, operator, or manager remodel, renovate, enlarge, or otherwise modify the premises to add additional bedrooms for the STR or B&B use.
Full Breakdown
29(C), part of the STR and B&B minimum premises conditions in Chapter 97, states flatly that an owner, operator, or manager of a licensed short-term rental or bed and breakfast may not convert a garage into a living space or bedroom. The same subsection goes further and prohibits remodeling, renovating, enlarging, or otherwise modifying the premises to add additional bedrooms for STR or B&B use. 29(D), which bars paving over or covering pervious soil to create extra on-premises parking without DCO approval, showing the chapter's broader intent to freeze the physical footprint and parking capacity of a licensed short-term rental rather than let it expand room-by-room.
30(G): because maximum guest counts are tied to finished square footage and bedroom count, converting a garage or adding bedrooms would let an owner push more paying guests into the property than the license contemplated, which is the mischief the section targets. 27(B)(2).
Violations & Fines
Converting a garage into living space or adding bedrooms at a licensed STR or B&B is a misdemeanor under Section 97.11, punishable per Section 10.99 for each day the violation continues, with each day a separate offense under Section 97.09(A). The DCO may also pursue civil penalties up to $1,000 per violation per day under Section 97.09(J), and the violation counts toward the three-citation threshold that can trigger denial or revocation of the lodging license under Sections 97.26(A)(2) and 97.27(B)(2).
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a Carrollton short-term rental owner finish out the garage as a bedroom?
Does Carrollton let an STR owner add a room onto the house to fit more guests?
What happens if a Carrollton STR owner converts the garage anyway?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Carrollton
Texas rules heatmap·Compare Carrollton to another location·View the Texas accessory structures overview
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Garage Conversions in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Dallas County handle garage conversions.