Accessory Structures in Minnesota (2026)

Carver County's "A" District code bars separate accessory dwelling units outright. Section 152.070(C) allows guest…

In the City of Apple Valley, Minnesota, an accessory unit dwelling (AUD) is allowed only inside or attached to a…

In the City of Minnetonka, Minnesota, accessory dwelling units are allowed only on R-1, R-1A and R-2 properties, one…

Olmsted County doesn't allow garage apartments or backyard ADUs by right on its farm lots; a second dwelling on an…

An accessory apartment in unincorporated Washington County needs a Certificate of Compliance in the Shoreland…

Anoka County's Shoreland Management Ordinance lets an unincorporated shoreland lot carry one guest cottage in addition…

In the City of Blaine, an attached accessory dwelling unit is a permitted use in the R-1, R-1A, R-1AA, R-1B, RE, FR and…

Duluth allows one accessory dwelling unit per lot under Unified Development Chapter § 50-20.5.E, capped at 800 square…

In the City of Eagan, an accessory dwelling unit is a permitted accessory use only on a single-family lot in the Estate…

In the City of Lakeville, Minnesota, an accessory dwelling unit for housing multiple generations is allowed by…

Minneapolis allows internal, attached, and detached accessory dwelling units on single- and two-family lots through…

The City of Plymouth allows one accessory dwelling unit per single-family detached lot in the FRD, RSF-1, RSF-2, RSF-3…

Ramsey County sets no ADU rule. Accessory dwelling units are municipal zoning under Minn. Stat. 462.357. St. Paul…

Saint Paul allows up to two accessory dwelling units per one-family home under Section 65.913, capping each unit at 800…

An accessory dwelling in unincorporated St. Louis County always needs a land use permit, and its allowed size and…

Stearns County allows one accessory dwelling unit per lot, attached or detached, under Ordinance 439 Section 6.3…

Minnesota has no statewide ADU mandate. In Wright County's townships the County zoning ordinance decides whether an…

Coon Rapids permits accessory dwelling units above garages only in the Riverdale Station Transit District, an accessory…

In the City of Apple Valley, Minnesota, the property owner must live in either the main house or the accessory unit…

Washington County requires the primary structure containing an accessory apartment to be owner-occupied. Development…

In the City of Blaine, either the main house or the accessory dwelling unit must be occupied by the property owner, and…

An accessory dwelling unit in the City of Eagan only stays legal if the property owner lives in either the primary…

Minneapolis requires owner-occupancy for internal accessory dwelling units only: the owner must live in the principal…

In the City of Minnetonka, Minnesota, the owner of a property with an accessory dwelling unit must live in the…

Plymouth will not permit an accessory dwelling unit unless the property owner actually lives on site, in either the…

Stearns County requires the property owner to live in either the principal dwelling or the accessory dwelling unit…

In the Agriculture (A) District of unincorporated Blue Earth County, Code Sec. 24-112(a)(12) allows one extra accessory…

In the City of Lakeville, Minnesota, Ordinance 1126 added an accessory living quarters standard to the RS-CBD district…

St. Louis County's zoning code bars renting an accessory dwelling on its own: Section 6.11 says the unit cannot be used…

In the City of Apple Valley, Minnesota, an accessory unit dwelling cannot be used as a rental unit for any period less…

In the City of Blaine, the primary home and an accessory dwelling unit count as separate dwellings for rental…

Renting out an accessory dwelling unit in Plymouth, or renting the main house while the owner lives in the ADU…

In the City of Apple Valley, Minnesota, an outdoor accessory storage building over 200 square feet of enclosed area on…

In the City of Blaine, accessory buildings such as sheds cannot sit in a required front or side yard setback and cannot…

Sheds and accessory buildings regulated under City Code §21.301.19. Buildings under 200 sq ft are exempt from building…

In unincorporated Blue Earth County's Agriculture and Conservation districts, non-farm stand-alone accessory buildings…

In the City of Brooklyn Park, detached accessory structures such as sheds must sit at least five feet from interior…

Carver County scales shed and garage square footage to parcel size in the Agriculture District, from 1,250 square feet…

In the City of Coon Rapids, a shed or other detached accessory structure cannot go up before the house, cannot be built…

In the City of Duluth, a shed or other accessory structure cannot exceed 20 feet in height, cannot cover more than 30…

In the City of Eagan, detached sheds and accessory buildings over 120 square feet must match the house's finish…

A shed or other accessory structure in an Eden Prairie R1 District must sit at least 30 feet from the front line, 10…

In the City of Lakeville, Minnesota, a detached shed up to 200 square feet needs only a zoning permit and a 6-foot…

Maple Grove limits accessory buildings like sheds to the rear yard, caps most detached structures at 1,000 square feet…

Detached sheds and garages in Minneapolis are capped at 13 feet tall (16 feet with matching materials), 800 square feet…

In the City of Minnetonka, Hennepin County, Minnesota, Minnetonka City Code § 300.15, subd. 12 keeps a detached…

In the townships Olmsted County zones directly, Eyota, Marion, Oronoco and Quincy, a shed or other accessory building…

Sheds and other detached accessory buildings in the City of Plymouth need no building permit under 200 square feet, but…

Ramsey County has no shed ordinance. Detached accessory buildings are municipal zoning under Minn. Stat. 462.357. In…

Saint Paul caps backyard sheds and detached garages at three non-dwelling accessory buildings per lot, totaling no more…

Within St. Louis County's Flood Fringe District, an accessory structure such as a shed, garage, or storage building…

Stearns County exempts sheds of 150 square feet or less from a construction site permit but still holds them to…

Washington County requires a building permit for nearly every accessory building, and caps shed size by lot acreage…

A backyard shed in Woodbury is an 'accessory building' under City Code § 24-281(a): it must sit at least five feet from…

A detached shed of 200 square feet or less needs no building permit anywhere in Minnesota, including Scott County…

A detached storage shed 200 square feet or smaller skips the building permit statewide under Minn. Rules 1300.0120…

Washington County's Development Code flatly bans converting a garage into living space. Section 1.1(11) of Chapter Two…

In the City of Apple Valley, Minnesota, garage space can be converted into an accessory unit dwelling only if space…

Garage conversions to ADUs may be possible under Bloomington's evolving ADU ordinance (§21.302.03). Currently…

In the City of Eagan, you cannot simply convert a garage into finished living space and call it done: City Code §…

In the City of Minnetonka, Minnesota, garage space can be converted into an accessory dwelling unit only if the lot…

Ramsey County sets no rule on converting a garage to living space. This is municipal zoning and building permitting…

Turning a garage into living space in Wright County is a change of use that needs a building permit under the State…

Minnesota's tiny-home statute, Minn. Stat. § 327.30, legalizes "micro units", permanent dwellings of 400 gross square…

The statewide 2020 Minnesota Residential Code, Appendix Q, defines a tiny house as a dwelling 400 square feet or less…

Ramsey County sets no tiny-home rule. Whether a tiny home is allowed, and as a primary dwelling or an ADU, is decided…

A tiny home's status in Wright County turns on its foundation. On a permanent foundation it is a dwelling under the…

St. Louis County's zoning ordinance names tiny homes directly: a detached tiny home qualifies as a Principal Dwelling…