Sussex County, DE Accessory Structures: Garage Conversions (2026)

Sussex County's MR Medium-Density Residential District permits 'use of a manufactured home or garage/studio apartment as a single-family dwelling to meet an emergency or hardship situation' under § 115-29J, but only when the Director of Planning and Zoning administratively approves it, and only under the requirements of Article IV, § 115-20A(14). Those requirements are specific: the applicant must submit an affidavit from a doctor confirming the emergency or hardship exists, pay a $50 fee that is credited toward a Board of Adjustment application fee if the case later needs Board review, and file a survey signed and sealed by a Delaware-licensed surveyor showing where the manufactured home or garage/studio apartment will sit.

The Director must give written notice to adjacent property owners and hold the file open for 10 working days to accept objections; if any objection comes in, the application is bumped to the Board of Adjustment for a special use exception hearing instead. Absent an objection, the Director has 30 working days to approve the conversion or send the applicant to the Board. Approval is capped at two years, though the Director may grant annual extensions on receipt of a follow-up doctor's affidavit confirming the hardship still exists.

This is a narrow, hardship-only allowance, not a general right to finish a garage into a rental unit or in-law suite; a garage/studio conversion done outside this process, or continued after the two-year approval lapses without renewal, is unauthorized.