Accessory Structures in Michigan (2026)

Flint's zoning code allows a residential building behind a home on the same lot only if it meets every yard…

Genesee County does not zone accessory dwelling units. Under the Michigan Zoning Enabling Act, your city, village, or…

Grand Rapids allows one accessory dwelling unit per lot with a single- or two-family home, capped at 850 square feet…

Kent County does not zone land. Whether you may build an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) is set by your city, village, or…

Lansing allows one detached or garage-converted accessory dwelling unit per single-family lot in the R-1, R-2, R-3…

Applicants for a Westland accessory dwelling unit must file a scaled site plan, floor plan, and elevations with the…

Wyoming, Michigan's Sec. 90-334 permits one accessory dwelling unit per single-family lot, capped between 350 and 850…

Lansing requires that on any lot with an accessory dwelling unit, either the principal home or the ADU be…

Westland requires the property owner to occupy either the accessory dwelling unit or the principal home before an ADU…

Wyoming, Michigan requires any accessory dwelling unit that is not owner-occupied to undergo rental and housing…

Grand Rapids bars accessory dwelling units from short-term rental use entirely: no ADU stay may run under 30 days, and…

Wyoming, Michigan's zoning ordinance flatly prohibits short-term rental of accessory dwelling units. Sec. 90-334(1)(c)…

If a Lansing ADU or its principal house is leased out, the leased unit must be registered and licensed as a rental with…

Westland's zoning ordinance forbids transferring, conveying, renting, or leasing an accessory dwelling unit separately…

Any detached garage, shed or similar structure over 32 square feet in Clinton Township needs a Building Department…

Dearborn caps detached accessory buildings like sheds at 700 square feet and 16 feet tall, sets a 3-foot rear setback…

Detroit caps detached sheds and other accessory buildings at 50 percent of the required rear setback area in R1 and R2…

Flint bars accessory buildings like sheds from any front yard, requires them at least 5 feet from side and rear lot…

Grand Rapids treats a carport as an accessory structure subject to the same setback and placement rules as an attached…

Sheds are governed by your city or township zoning ordinance, not Kent County. Rules on size, number, setbacks, and…

Lansing, Michigan's zoning code limits single-family lots in Ingham County to one garage or detached carport per…

Livonia's Zoning Ordinance caps a detached shed at 200 square feet on lots with an attached garage, requires it sit at…

Michigan's Residential Code (adopted statewide) requires a building permit for any detached accessory structure larger…

Sterling Heights caps accessory buildings at one story or 15 feet, with sheds on quarter-acre-or-smaller residential…

Troy caps detached sheds and accessory buildings at 450 square feet plus 2% of lot area, or the dwelling's ground-floor…

Detached accessory buildings in Warren, including sheds, are capped at one story or 10 feet to the eaves, can't cover…

Westland requires a zoning compliance review and a valuation-based building permit fee for any shed, on top of a plan…

A backyard shed or detached garage in Wyoming, Michigan must sit in the rear yard, stay at least three feet from the…

Warren bars converting a detached garage to living space outright, but allows an attached garage conversion under…

Dearborn bars converting a garage into livable space without permits: framing in a wall or enclosing it with brick or…