Gwinnett County, GA Building Setbacks & Zoning: Setback Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- RA-200/R-LL front yard
- 35 feet minimum
- R-100 side yard
- 10 feet minimum
- Multifamily (LRR/MRR/HRR) yards
- 0 feet, no setback required
- Street-facing rear/side rule
- 40-ft setback plus 10-ft landscape strip
- Violation fine
- $250-$1,000 per day, Recorders Court
Summary
UDO § 210-120 sets minimum front, side and rear yard setbacks for every base residential district in unincorporated Gwinnett County. RA-200 and R-LL require the deepest yards, 35 feet front, 40 feet rear and 20 feet side, while R-IF, LRR, MRR and HRR taper down to zero feet on every side.
RA-200 R-LL R-100 R-75 R-60 R-SR R-TH R-IF LRR MRR HRR Min. Front Yard (ft.) 2 35 35 25 20 15 10 4 10 3 10 0 0 0 Min. Rear Yard (ft.) 40 40 30 25 20 20 4 25 3 20 0 0 0 Min. Side Yard (ft.) 20 20 10 7.5 5 5 4 5 3 7.5 0 0 0
2 Where the backs or sides of single-family attached or detached residential units are oriented toward an external public street, a 40-foot-wide setback with a 10-foot-wide landscape strip adjacent to the right-of-way shall be required between the property line and residential units. 3 External property line setbacks.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 9).
Full Breakdown
Front, side and rear yard minimums shrink as lot size shrinks across the eleven base residential districts in § 210-120. RA-200 (Agriculture-Residence) and R-LL (Large Lot) both require a 35-foot front yard, 40-foot rear yard and 20-foot side yard. R-100 drops to 25 feet front, 30 feet rear and 10 feet side. 5 feet side, and R-60 requires 15 feet front, 20 feet rear and 5 feet side. The R-SR Senior Oriented district and R-TH Townhouse district carry footnoted setbacks of their own: R-SR requires 10 feet front, 20 feet rear and 5 feet side under footnote 4, while R-TH's 10-foot front, 25-foot rear and 5-foot side setbacks are 'external property line setbacks' under footnote 3, meaning they apply to the boundary of the townhouse tract rather than to each individual unit.
5 feet side. The three multifamily districts, LRR, MRR and HRR, show zero feet for every yard in the table. Footnote 2 adds a separate rule for any single-family attached or detached unit whose back or side faces an external public street: that unit needs a 40-foot-wide setback that includes a 10-foot landscape strip along the right-of-way, on top of whatever the base district otherwise requires. The Department of Planning and Development checks setback compliance against the recorded plat at building permit review, and a survey is required before framing inspection to confirm the foundation sits inside the approved building envelope.
Violations & Fines
Building inside a required setback without an approved variance is a UDO violation. The Recorders Court can fine the responsible owner, builder or agent $250 to $1,000, order up to 60 days in jail, or both, under § 120-70.4, and each day the encroachment stands is a separate offense under § 120-70.3. The Director of Planning and Development can withhold the certificate of occupancy or issue a stop work order under § 120-40 until the structure is corrected or a variance is obtained.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the minimum front yard setback in Gwinnett's R-100 district?
Do the multifamily districts have any yard setback at all?
What is the extra setback rule when a house backs onto a public street?
What happens if a home is built inside the required setback in Gwinnett County?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Gwinnett County
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