How do ADUs work in the City of Dallas?
As of October 2026, the City of Dallas says ADUs are not allowed by right in most cases. An owner can build one if the neighborhood has an ADU overlay, or if the Board of Adjustment grants a special exception. Both options came from rules City Council approved on June 27, 2018.
Did ForwardDallas change the ADU rules?
No. Council approved the ForwardDallas 2.0 land use plan on September 25, 2024, by an 11 to 4 vote. An earlier draft proposed allowing ADUs by right, but that language was weakened and then removed, and the adopted plan does not mention ADUs. A separate 2020 effort to amend the ADU code was put on hold by the Zoning Ordinance Advisory Committee on October 1, 2020.
What conditions come with a Dallas ADU?
- The owner must live in either the main house or the ADU.
- A deed restriction recording that requirement is part of approval.
- In overlay districts, size runs from 200 sq ft up to 700 sq ft or 25 percent of the main house, whichever is greater.
Did any 2025 state law change this?
Not for ADUs. A statewide ADU bill, SB 673, stalled in the Texas House in May 2025. SB 15, which took effect September 1, 2025, requires large cities, including Dallas, Plano, Irving and Garland, to allow smaller lots in new single-family developments, but it does not address ADUs.