Accessory Structures in North Carolina (2026)

Apex allows one accessory apartment per single-family home, attached or detached, capped by UDO size limits, but…

Asheville allows one accessory dwelling unit per single-family lot, capped at 800 square feet if detached or 1,000…

Brunswick County's UDO allows one accessory dwelling unit per lot as a limited zoning use, but it must sit inside the…

Cabarrus County allows one accessory dwelling unit per parcel in most residential and commercial districts, capped at…

Cary allows one accessory dwelling unit per lot with a detached, single-unit home, capped in size and limited to one…

Catawba County allows one accessory dwelling unit or guesthouse per lot, capped at 650 square feet or 50 percent of the…

Charlotte allows exactly one accessory dwelling unit per lot alongside a single-family or duplex home in any district…

In unincorporated Cleveland County, an accessory building used for human habitation, such as a garage apartment or…

Concord allows one accessory dwelling or accessory apartment per lot in districts where the Use Table permits the use…

Cumberland County's zoning ordinance bars accessory structures from being rented or lived in by anyone but on-site…

Durham's UDO lets one accessory dwelling unit onto most residential lots under Sec. 5.4.2 without added parking. A…

Durham allows accessory dwelling units by right under its joint City-County Unified Development Ordinance. An ADU on a…

The Winston-Salem/Forsyth County UDO allows one accessory dwelling unit (ADU) per lot, attached or detached, in…

Gaston County permits one accessory living unit, called a private residential quarters, per single-family lot, capped…

Guilford County allows one accessory dwelling unit per lot in the AG district, every residential zoning district and…

High Point allows one accessory dwelling unit per single-family lot, capped at 2 bedrooms, sharing the principal home's…

Iredell County caps accessory dwelling units at 650 heated square feet, limits a lot to one, and requires the same…

In Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, accessory dwelling units are a permitted use in the Low Density Residential, High…

Onslow County allows one accessory dwelling unit per lot with a single-family home in the unincorporated county. Its…

Pitt County's zoning ordinance permits one accessory dwelling unit per single-family lot in the RA, RR, R40, SR and MFR…

Raleigh allows one accessory dwelling unit (ADU) per lot with an existing Detached House, Attached House, Townhouse or…

Unincorporated Rowan County allows one accessory dwelling unit (ADU) per lot as a special-requirement use. County Code…

Unincorporated Union County allows one accessory dwelling unit per parcel in any residential zoning district, but only…

Wake County permits accessory dwelling units (ADUs) on lots in unincorporated Wake County that are zoned for…

Wilmington allows one accessory apartment per lot, attached or detached, in most single-family and multifamily zoning…

In Apex's residential districts, an accessory apartment (Apex's term for an ADU) must stay under the same ownership as…

Greensboro's Land Development Ordinance does not require the property owner to live in the primary dwelling or the…

In the Low Density Residential and High Density Residential zoning districts of Kill Devil Hills, § 153.315(B)(10)…

Alamance County lets accessory structures such as sheds and detached garages sit as close as 3 feet to the rear…

Apex requires detached carports to stay at least 5 feet from side and rear property lines, 10 feet from the main house…

A shed or other accessory structure in Asheville stays at least six feet off the side and rear property lines and tops…

Brunswick County's UDO keeps sheds and other accessory structures out of the front yard in most residential districts…

A carport is an accessory structure. In unincorporated Buncombe County, a carport of 320 sq ft or less and 15 ft or…

In unincorporated Cabarrus County, an accessory building or shed up to 15 feet tall follows the same front and side…

Cary caps detached sheds and other accessory buildings at 33% of the house's heated floor area and requires them to…

A residential shed or other accessory structure in unincorporated Catawba County cannot go in the front setback, must…

Charlotte caps total accessory structure square footage on residential lots at the heated first-floor area of the…

A shed or other accessory building on a residential lot in unincorporated Cleveland County must stay out of the…

Concord's Development Ordinance sets placement, size and height standards for detached sheds and other accessory…

In the unincorporated county a shed or other accessory structure cannot sit in a required front or side yard, must stay…

In unincorporated Davidson County, sheds and other accessory structures in residential districts cannot exceed 20 feet…

A backyard shed in Durham is regulated as an 'accessory structure' under UDO § 5.4.1, jointly administered by Durham…

A carport is an accessory structure under Durham's UDO. It must be located to the rear of the front building line and…

A shed or detached garage in Fayetteville's SF-6 single-family district is capped at 1,200 square feet and 25 percent…

Sheds and other accessory structures on Gaston County lots under two acres are capped at 20 feet in height, kept out of…

Greensboro caps accessory structures like sheds and detached garages in R- districts at 50% of the principal…

In unincorporated Guilford County's RS-30 residential district, an accessory building 600 square feet or smaller gets a…

In unincorporated Harnett County, a shed or other accessory building can't sit in a required yard or within five feet…

A backyard shed on a High Point single-family or duplex lot must sit at least 5 feet off the side and rear lot lines…

Sheds and other accessory buildings in unincorporated Iredell County cannot sit in front of the house, must clear side…

In Johnston County's unincorporated Agricultural-Residential (AR) district, storage buildings top out at 2,000 square…

In the Town of Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, any accessory structure over six inches tall, including a storage…

Small sheds are largely unregulated in unincorporated Nash County: any accessory building 12 feet or less in dimension…

A detached shed in Onslow County is a residential accessory structure under Section 8.3. Enclosed accessory buildings…

Pitt County lets sheds under 12 feet in any dimension go up without a zoning permit, but anything bigger needs one from…

Raleigh's UDO regulates sheds as accessory structures under Section 6.7.2: combined floor area on a residential lot…

In Rose Hill's R-1 Residential District, a shed or other accessory building cannot go up in any required yard. Code…

In the RA, RR, RS, MHP and MFR districts, Rowan County caps a shed or other accessory structure's footprint at 10…

A shed or other accessory building in an unincorporated Union County residential district needs a zoning permit and, if…

Wake County, NC regulates sheds and other detached accessory structures in unincorporated areas through the county…

In unincorporated Wayne County subdivisions, Sec. 70-103(c)(6) keeps accessory buildings like sheds at least 5 feet…

A backyard shed or detached garage in Wilmington counts as an accessory building: residential lots get two of them…

Winston-Salem exempts sheds and other small structures from a building permit if the total cost of construction is…

Converting a detached garage into a rented or separate living space is not allowed on unincorporated county land…

Durham's Unified Development Ordinance exempts accessory dwelling units from height limits when they are created by…

Converting a Durham garage into living space usually creates an accessory dwelling under UDO Sec. 5.4.2. It must stay…

You may convert an existing detached garage into an accessory dwelling unit, but the conversion must meet the UDO's ADU…

Rowan County lets a detached accessory dwelling unit be built inside a garage, workshop, or similar accessory structure…

In unincorporated Cabarrus County, a tiny home on wheels is classified as a Recreational Vehicle under the Development…

Guilford County treats tiny homes as a distinct land use only through a formal 'Tiny Housing Development,' permitted in…

Buncombe County classifies a tiny home on wheels as a travel trailer. It may be used as a temporary dwelling for no…

Concord's Development Ordinance caps a tiny home at 600 square feet of heated floor area and requires a permanent…

The county zoning ordinance says a manufactured home meant for residential occupancy cannot be classed as an accessory…

Fayetteville sets no minimum dwelling square footage. A tiny home on a permanent foundation builds under North Carolina…

Forsyth County has no separate tiny-home ordinance. A permanent tiny house on a foundation is treated as a dwelling (or…

Kill Devil Hills does not regulate tiny homes and park models as recreational vehicles. Town Code § 151.01 sets a…

Pitt County's Zoning Ordinance requires a tiny house to meet the North Carolina Residential Code, or be built off-site…

Raleigh's UDO caps a Tiny House at an 800-square-foot footprint and 1,200 square feet of gross floor area, then sets…

Rose Hill's flood damage prevention code carves tiny homes and park models out of its recreational vehicle exemption…

Unincorporated Wayne County's flood ordinance draws a bright line for tiny homes: County Code § 38-5 excludes "tiny…