Accessory Structures in Maryland (2026)

Washington County, Maryland's Zoning Ordinance flatly bars turning a garage, shed or other accessory building into…

In unincorporated Allegany County, an accessory dwelling unit is only a zoning right in the B-1, B-2 and I Districts…

Montgomery County requires DHCA to license any accessory dwelling unit before it is occupied or rented, unless it was…

Annapolis allows one accessory dwelling unit per lot, caps standalone ADUs at 850 square feet, requires a Chapter 17.44…

Anne Arundel County allows one accessory dwelling unit per lot in an attached suite, garage, or detached structure…

Baltimore County allows an accessory apartment as a temporary use in an owner-occupied single-family home or accessory…

Carroll County zoning allows one accessory dwelling unit per lot in the Residential Districts, attached or detached…

Charles County allows one accessory apartment per single-family home, in the main house or in a detached accessory…

Gaithersburg allows one accessory dwelling unit per single-family lot under section 24-5.2 of the zoning code. A…

Harford County allows one accessory dwelling unit (ADU) per lot in the AG, RR, R1-R4, RO and VR Districts under §…

Howard County permits an accessory dwelling unit inside an owner-occupied single-family home. The owner must live in…

In unincorporated Queen Anne's County, one accessory guest residence or apartment is allowed per single-family lot. It…

A detached Accessory Dwelling Unit in Rockville must sit on a permanent foundation and stay at or under 75% of the main…

In unincorporated Wicomico County, an accessory apartment needs Board of Appeals special exception approval under…

In unincorporated Worcester County, Maryland, a lot of record can have no more than one accessory apartment, located…

Anne Arundel County exempts accessory dwelling units from development impact fees, but only if the ADU isn't built…

Annapolis requires the property owner to live in either the accessory dwelling unit or the principal structure: an…

Howard County property owners who add an accessory dwelling unit must swear, on the initial rental license application…

In unincorporated Queen Anne's County, an accessory guest residence or apartment is allowed only if the owner of the…

Owners of a Rockville one-family home with an accessory-apartment special exception must certify annually where they…

In unincorporated Wicomico County, an accessory apartment only qualifies as a legal use if it sits within an…

Anne Arundel County allows one accessory dwelling unit per lot and only requires owner-occupancy of the principal home…

Harford County allows one accessory dwelling unit per lot in the AG, RR, R1-R4, RO and VR Districts, but only to house…

An accessory dwelling unit rental license requires the owner to live in either the main house or the ADU as their…

Annapolis requires a rental license under Chapter 17.44 for any accessory dwelling unit, and the ADU and principal…

Harford County's accessory dwelling unit rule is not a general rental license: § 267-28B(8)(a) states its purpose is…

Montgomery County requires a separate license before renting out an accessory dwelling unit, and caps occupancy at two…

Rockville, Maryland bars a landlord from holding rental licenses for both a house and its accessory apartment at once…

Anne Arundel County allows one accessory dwelling unit per lot, but the ADU or the principal home may be rented…

A Howard County property with an accessory dwelling unit can have only one of its two dwellings under a rental license…

In unincorporated Worcester County, Maryland, an accessory apartment used as a short-term rental must be rented only in…

A shed or other residential accessory structure in unincorporated Allegany County may sit only in the side or rear…

In Annapolis's R1 district, a shed or any other building accessory to a single-family dwelling must sit 30 feet from…

In Anne Arundel County, a detached shed under 150 square feet and 10 feet tall accessory to a house needs no building…

A Baltimore County building permit is required for any shed, gazebo, or accessory structure larger than 120 square…

In the City of Bowie, a storage shed or other accessory building is capped at 200 square feet of combined floor area…

Carroll County exempts small detached sheds from a building permit only if they meet strict limits: no more than 150…

Cecil County deleted the International Building Code's standard exemption for small sheds. Under § 157-2 of the Code of…

A shed or other accessory structure in Charles County's agricultural, rural, or residential zones needs a zoning…

Gaithersburg keeps accessory structures like sheds out of the front yard, sets a 2-foot setback for structures 200…

In unincorporated Harford County, a shed or detached garage counts as an accessory structure under § 267-27 of the…

A carport in Howard County is an accessory structure subject to Section 128.0 zoning rules. Detached accessory garages…

In Montgomery County's Residential Detached zones, all your sheds and accessory buildings combined cannot exceed 50% of…

Under the 2022 Zoning Ordinance (Sec. 27-5202), a shed or detached accessory structure may not sit in a required front…

In unincorporated Queen Anne's County, a residential accessory structure must sit at least three feet from any property…

Rockville zoning treats a carport as an accessory structure: it can't share a wall or roof with the house except…

Washington County's Zoning Ordinance lets a single-story utility or storage shed of 100 square feet or less sit just 8…

In unincorporated Wicomico County, a portable, one-level accessory structure of 250 square feet or less skips the…

In unincorporated Worcester County, Maryland, § ZS 1-305(p) caps accessory structures at thirty percent of the required…

Converting a garage into living space counts as an accessory dwelling unit under Anne Arundel County Code § 18-10-124…

A detached garage is an accessory structure subject to BCZR Section 400: it must be subordinate in area to the house…

Converting a garage or other accessory building into a living space in Charles County requires county Health Department…

In Howard County a detached garage is an accessory structure that cannot contain a full bathroom, full kitchen, or…

Converting a garage into living space in Prince George's County requires DPIE building permits and must meet the 2022…

Converting an attached garage into living space in unincorporated Wicomico County creates an accessory apartment, which…

The 2022 Zoning Ordinance has no 'tiny house' use, and a manufactured home, recreational vehicle, or travel trailer may…

Anne Arundel County has adopted the International Residential Code's Appendix AQ, giving tiny houses their own…

Baltimore County has no separate tiny-home zoning category. A tiny house on a permanent foundation can qualify only as…

Charles County wrote Appendix AO, Tiny Houses, of the 2021 International Residential Code directly into its local…

Howard County has no standalone tiny-home zoning category. A permanent tiny dwelling is regulated as an accessory…

Rockville's residential code adopts IRC Appendix Q in full, giving tiny houses their own building standard instead of…