Parker, TX Accessory Structures: Garage Conversions (2026)

Section 156.37(O)(4)(b) provides that no portion of a garage, bonus room, cabana, accessory, or any other structure on the property may be used as a dwelling for any person other than the occupants of the primary residence and their family members of the first or second degree of affinity or consanguinity, other than as a short term guest room not exceeding one month. That means an ordinary garage conversion into a rentable apartment is off-limits unless it is processed as an accessory dwelling under § 156.37(O), which caps a detached unit at 2,500 square feet or 25% of the primary residence's living space, requires a two-acre minimum lot for detached units or one acre for attached units, and requires a special use permit with annual renewal under § 156.37(O)(2)(d).

Section 156.37(N)(6) reinforces the same limit from the accessory-building side: accessory buildings shall not be used for accessory dwellings unless converted in accordance with all provisions governing accessory dwellings. Together these sections mean a garage cannot simply be finished out and occupied by a tenant or an unrelated household member; it either stays accessory space, houses a short-term guest for 30 days or less, or goes through the full accessory dwelling permitting and rental-restriction scheme, which itself bars renting the converted space to third parties under § 156.37(O)(4)(a).