Accessory Structures in Georgia (2026)

Alpharetta's Unified Development Code allows a 'For-Sale' accessory dwelling above or behind a commercial or office…

Cherokee County's zoning code does not create an accessory dwelling unit category. Zoning Ordinance Section 5.6 instead…

Clayton County allows accessory dwellings (garage quarters, guest houses, caretaker houses and mother-in-law suites)…

Houston County's Land Development Regulations do not let anyone add a second house or mobile home to a residential lot…

Unincorporated Jackson County does not allow a general-purpose accessory dwelling unit; it only permits an accessory…

Marietta allows one accessory dwelling unit per lot as a director-approved temporary/conditional use under Section…

Paulding County allows a detached guest house, its version of an accessory dwelling unit, only as a Special Exception…

A second house or mobile home on one Warner Robins residential lot is not a by-right accessory dwelling: it requires a…

Acworth allows one accessory dwelling unit per lot with a single-family detached home, capped at half the principal…

Atlanta allows one accessory dwelling unit per single-family lot in the R-4, R-4A and R-5 districts, capped at two…

Barrow County allows one detached guest house per lot as an accessory dwelling for relatives, domestic employees or…

Unincorporated Bartow County allows one accessory dwelling unit per lot in residential districts and A-1, capped at 50…

In the City of Brookhaven, Georgia, section 27-133 allows accessory dwelling units only on lots occupied by a detached…

In unincorporated Bulloch County, one accessory dwelling per lot, garage apartment, in-law suite or guesthouse, is…

Unincorporated Catoosa County allows one freestanding accessory dwelling per lot in single-family detached residential…

Accessory dwelling units in Savannah and unincorporated Chatham County are governed by the joint NewZO zoning ordinance…

An ancillary dwelling, Columbia County's term for a garage apartment or accessory dwelling unit, needs a lot of at…

Columbus, Georgia's Unified Development Ordinance recognizes four accessory dwelling types on a residential lot…

In Coweta County's Village Center district, one accessory dwelling unit is allowed by right on any single-family…

In the City of Decatur, Georgia (DeKalb County), an accessory dwelling unit is a limited use allowed only behind a…

Unincorporated DeKalb allows attached, detached or converted accessory dwelling units by right on lots of at least…

Accessory dwelling units are allowed in every Effingham County residential and agricultural-residential district that…

Unincorporated Fayette County allows exactly one guesthouse per lot, capped at 700 square feet of heated and finished…

In unincorporated Floyd County, a guesthouse is the closest thing the Unified Land Development Code has to an accessory…

Forsyth County allows one accessory apartment per lot, attached or detached, under UDC §§ 16-4.1 and 16-4.2, but not…

Unincorporated Fulton County allows one detached accessory dwelling, called a guest house, per single-family lot in…

In unincorporated Gordon County, Georgia, the Unified Land Development Code allows one accessory dwelling inside a…

UDO § 210-140.10 allows one detached accessory dwelling per lot in Gwinnett County's residential districts, capped at…

Hall County allows one accessory dwelling unit (ADU) per principal home, capped between 300 and 1,000 square feet and…

Johns Creek allows a detached accessory dwelling unit, called a Guest House, on single-family lots. Zoning Ordinance…

Macon-Bibb County allows one accessory dwelling unit per lot as a conditional use under Section 23.01.01 of the…

Unincorporated Rockdale County allows a caretaker or employee accessory dwelling under Sec. 218-13(r) of the Unified…

Roswell, Georgia treats a backyard ADU as a 'carriage house': a conditional or limited use requiring City Council or…

South Fulton permits one detached guest house per single-family lot for relatives, guests, or on-site employees, but…

In the City of Stonecrest, a homeowner on a single-family lot of at least 10,000 square feet can add one accessory…

Unincorporated Troup County permits one accessory dwelling per principal home under UDO Sec. 7.3(2), built no closer…

In unincorporated Walker County, accessory apartments are a listed part of the Residential use category, so an ADU is…

Walton County allows guest houses by right on agricultural and R-1 lots of 1.2 acres or larger with county water (2.4…

Unincorporated Spalding County treats a mother-in-law suite as a permitted accessory use in agricultural and…

Section 27-133(g) of the Brookhaven Code requires an owner with at least a 50 percent interest to occupy either the…

In unincorporated Catoosa County, adding a freestanding accessory dwelling to a single-family lot comes with a…

In the TOD Residential Support (RT) Overlay near future transit stations, Clayton County requires the lot holding an…

For the only accessory-dwelling option unincorporated Jackson County allows, the property owner must personally live in…

In the City of Stonecrest, an accessory dwelling unit is not an investment rental: Zoning Ordinance Sec. 4.2.3(C)(3)…

In Alpharetta's O-P office-professional zoning district, the Unified Development Code lets a business add a 'For-Sale'…

In unincorporated Barrow County, a homeowner may add a second cooking facility for relatives inside a single-family…

In unincorporated DeKalb County, the property owner must live in either the main house or the accessory dwelling unit…

In unincorporated Floyd County, an accessory apartment is allowed only where the property's principal home is…

Gwinnett County will not issue a Certificate of Occupancy for an accessory dwelling unit unless the primary…

Macon-Bibb County will not permit an accessory dwelling unit unless the property owner actually lives on site. Section…

Marietta lets homeowners in the R-1 through R-4 single-family districts build one accessory dwelling unit as a…

Roswell's UDC requires the owner of a detached house to personally occupy either the main house or its carriage house…

In unincorporated Bartow County, an accessory dwelling unit such as a guest house, pool house or garage apartment…

Columbus, Georgia's accessory dwelling table bars renting out any of the four accessory dwelling types the UDO allows…

Marietta bars renting out a backyard accessory dwelling unit to anyone. Section 708.01(C)(2)(c) states flatly that no…

Unincorporated Fayette County allows one guesthouse per lot as a residential accessory structure, but county code…

Fulton County's guest house zoning standard bars charging rent: § 19.3.5(B)(1) limits occupancy of an…

In unincorporated Gordon County, Georgia, a freestanding accessory dwelling shall only be occupied by family members…

South Fulton's Zoning Ordinance Sec. 303.09 allows one guest house per lot, but only for relatives, guests or on-site…

Effingham County allows accessory dwelling units to be rented out for long-term residential occupancy without…

Acworth caps every lot at two accessory structures, each no taller than 20 feet, with a combined footprint no larger…

A backyard shed or tool room in the City of Alpharetta must keep a 10-foot setback from the rear and side lot lines, or…

Backyard sheds and other accessory buildings in Atlanta's R-1 through R-5 districts cap out at 20 feet tall, 25% of the…

In Augusta-Richmond County R-1 zoning, accessory buildings and sheds are capped at one story and 18 feet, banned from…

In unincorporated Barrow County, a small shed of 144 square feet or less only needs to sit five feet from any property…

Section 27-696 of the Brookhaven Code exempts one accessory building or structure of up to 120 square feet on each lot…

In unincorporated Bulloch County, a shed or other detached accessory building must sit at least ten feet from the…

Unincorporated Carroll County exempts one-story detached tool sheds, storage sheds, and playhouses under 200 square…

In unincorporated Catoosa County, sheds and other accessory structures must clear the same yard rules as any building…

In unincorporated Chatham County, a building permit is required for accessory buildings, storage buildings, and tool…

A shed in unincorporated Cherokee County is regulated as an accessory structure under Zoning Ordinance Section 5.6. It…

Clayton County caps residential sheds and mini-barns at no more than three accessory structures per lot, limits their…

In Cobb County's R-80 zoning district, a carport counts as an accessory structure: units under 144 square feet need…

A shed or accessory building of 400 square feet or less needs only a 5-foot setback from any property line under Code…

Columbus, Georgia treats a carport as a detached residential accessory structure, so it must meet the UDO's 5-foot side…

Coweta County lets a shed or other accessory building sit as close as five feet to a rear or side lot line, per Zoning…

Decatur's Unified Development Ordinance caps accessory buildings, including garden sheds, at 1,000 square feet of floor…

In unincorporated DeKalb County, a shed or accessory building maxes out at 900 square feet on lots under an acre, must…

Dunwoody bans accessory buildings and sheds from front yards entirely and requires at least 10 feet of separation from…

In the county's R, PD-R, AR-1, AR-2, and AR-3 residential districts, a shed or other accessory structure tops out at 25…

A storage building is a permitted residential accessory structure in unincorporated Fayette County, but it counts…

A shed or tool room in unincorporated Floyd County is a customary accessory use under the Unified Land Development Code…

In Forsyth County's A1 agricultural zoning district, a shed can go up without a building permit only if it stays at or…

In unincorporated Fulton County's single-family districts, garage and carport parking spaces count toward the minimum…

In unincorporated Glynn County, a shed or tool room used to store yard or building-maintenance equipment is a permitted…

In unincorporated Gordon County, accessory buildings in residential districts go in the rear yard and sit at least ten…

Sheds and other accessory buildings in unincorporated Gwinnett County must sit at least 5 feet from property lines, or…

A backyard shed under 144 square feet can sit as close as 5 feet from the side or rear property line in unincorporated…

In unincorporated Houston County, a detached shed or accessory building can cover no more than 30 percent of the rear…

In unincorporated Jackson County, a shed under 200 square feet needs only a five-foot side or rear setback, but the…

Johns Creek lists detached carports as accessory structures (Zoning Ordinance Art. III), so they must sit in the rear…

Macon-Bibb County requires detached sheds and other accessory buildings to sit at least 10 feet from the main house and…

A backyard shed in Marietta's R-1 district must sit at least 10 feet from the side or rear lot line under Section…

A detached, one-story tool or storage shed on a lot in unincorporated Newton County needs no building permit if its…

Sheds and outbuildings in Paulding County must sit at least 10 feet off the side and rear property lines and cannot…

In unincorporated Rockdale County, Code Section 218-7 caps how many accessory buildings, like sheds and detached…

In Roswell's AG-43, RS-87 and RS-30 single-family districts, sheds and other accessory structures need 20 feet from the…

In the City of Smyrna, Georgia, a lot can hold one accessory structure no larger than one-fourth the total square…

South Fulton's zoning ordinance classifies tool sheds, storage sheds, and detached garages as accessory structures…

A one-story detached shed, playhouse, or similar tool and storage building on residential property in unincorporated…

In the City of Stonecrest, a shed or other accessory building must sit in the rear yard, stay ten feet or the…

Sec. 4.7 caps most Troup County lots under five acres at three accessory structures like sheds, requires them to sit…

In the R-1 residential district of unincorporated Walker County, a shed or other detached accessory building can only…

A shed or other accessory building in unincorporated Walton County must sit at least five feet from any property line…

Warner Robins requires a building permit for any roofed accessory structure over 20 square feet, including sheds, under…

In unincorporated Whitfield County, an accessory structure built with or after the main house on a lot under three…

In unincorporated Bartow County, a personal storage building, garage, or other accessory building under 400 square feet…

Atlanta currently prohibits attached ADUs, so a garage conversion into a separate dwelling is not allowed by-right…

Converting a Chatham County garage or other non-habitable space into living quarters requires a building permit. The…

Clayton County treats habitable garage quarters as an accessory dwelling. Converting a garage into living space, or…

Effingham County lets homeowners convert an existing garage or other accessory structure into an accessory dwelling…

In unincorporated Gordon County, a garage converted to living space is an accessory dwelling under the Unified Land…

Johns Creek does not have a code section specifically titled garage conversions. The Zoning Ordinance lists detached…

Atlanta allows tiny homes only as detached accessory dwelling units up to 750 sq ft and 20 ft tall in R-4, R-4A, and…

Unincorporated Bartow County's zoning ordinance bars anyone from living in a tiny house, whether full time or…

Clayton County has no separate 'tiny home' ordinance. A freestanding backyard living unit is treated as an accessory…

Unincorporated Effingham County allows tiny homes only inside R-4 planned manufactured home community districts, as a…

In unincorporated Floyd County, a tiny home is only lawful if it fits one of three classes the Unified Land Development…

Johns Creek's Zoning Ordinance has no provision specifically for tiny homes. A detached tiny dwelling on a…

South Fulton's zoning code does not treat a tiny home as its own building type. It only allows one as an accessory…

Stonecrest doesn't zone a single backyard tiny home as an accessory structure; instead, Zoning Ordinance § 4.2.49…

In unincorporated Walker County, a residential structure under 500 square feet is legally a tiny home and needs a…

Spalding County's zoning ordinance defines a tiny house as a principal dwelling on a permanent foundation with 400…