5 county-level rules, plus city-specific rules for 1 city in Durham County, North Carolina.
Verified from official government sources
Durham allows accessory dwelling units by right under its joint City-County Unified Development Ordinance. An ADU on a single-family or duplex lot is capped at 1,200 heated square feet total, limited to one per lot, and requires no added parking.
Durham UDO Sec. 5.4.2
The heated floor area of the accessory dwelling shall not exceed 1,000 square feet on a single story and 1,200 square feet total. Only one accessory dwelling shall be allowed. No parking is required for an accessory dwelling.
Under Durham's UDO, a shed is an accessory structure that must sit behind the front building line and at least five feet from the rear and side property lines. Height cannot exceed two stories and 32 feet, or the height of the main house.
Durham UDO Sec. 5.4.1
The accessory structure shall be set back at least five feet from the rear and side property lines. The maximum height of an accessory structure shall not exceed the greater of a) two stories and 32 feet or b) the height of the primary structure.
Converting a Durham garage into living space usually creates an accessory dwelling under UDO Sec. 5.4.2. It must stay within the 1,200-square-foot cap, be one per lot, and meet the North Carolina Residential Code, with a City-County building permit.
Durham UDO Sec. 5.4.2
The heated floor area of the accessory dwelling shall not exceed 1,000 square feet on a single story and 1,200 square feet total. Only one accessory dwelling shall be allowed.
A carport is an accessory structure under Durham's UDO. It must be located to the rear of the front building line and, on typical residential lots, set back at least five feet from the rear and side property lines.
Durham UDO Sec. 5.4.1
Accessory structures associated with a single-family or duplex structure shall be located to the rear of the front building line. The accessory structure shall be set back at least five feet from the rear and side property lines.
Durham has no separate tiny-home category. A site-built tiny house is regulated as a dwelling or accessory dwelling under the UDO and North Carolina Residential Code. A tiny house on wheels is generally treated as an RV and cannot be a permanent residence on a lot.
1 cities in Durham County have their own accessory structures rules. Each link goes to that city's dedicated page with code citations.
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