Memphis, TN Accessory Structures: Shed & Carport Rules (2026)

2 of the Unified Development Code, the Accessory Structures chapter that applies alike in the City of Memphis and unincorporated Shelby County, sets three separate limits on a shed or similar detached accessory building. The basic setback keeps every accessory structure at least 5 feet from any side or rear property line and at least 5 feet from any other building or manufactured home on the same lot, though an open-air breezeway connecting the two is allowed as long as it does not become enclosed livable space.

In single-family, open, and residential zoning districts, no accessory structure, shed included, may sit in the front yard at all; only ornamental features like flagpoles, bird baths, and statues are exempt from that ban, and a barn-type structure gets its own carve-out if it sits at least 100 feet from the right-of-way on a site of at least four acres. 5 times that height. Any portion of an accessory structure taller than 20 feet has to move back at least 20 feet from side and rear lines that do not abut an alley, on top of the base 5-foot setback.

Finally, the code caps the cumulative square footage of all accessory structures on a lot at 75% of the principal structure's total square footage, a cap that disappears entirely for parcels in the CA district.