ADU laws in Arkansas

In plain words

Arkansas has a state law that protects ADUs. An ADU, or accessory dwelling unit, is a small second home on the same lot as a house. It can be a backyard cottage, a garage apartment, or a suite inside the house. Act 313 of 2025 took effect on August 5, 2025. Cities had until January 1, 2026 to update their rules. Every city and town must now allow one ADU by right on a lot with a single-family house. By right means the city must approve it if it meets the written rules. No public hearing, special permit or variance (an exception to the rules) is needed. The city still checks your site plan and building permit. Zoning is the local rulebook for what can be built where. Its height, lot-size and setback rules cannot be stricter for the ADU than for your house. A setback is the required gap from a property line. Cities may not require extra parking or a matching roof and siding. They also cannot require the owner to live on the property, which is called owner occupancy. Impact fees (one-time charges for public services) and application fees are each capped at $250. Normal building permit fees still apply. An attached or detached ADU can be up to 1,000 square feet or 75 percent of the house's living space. The smaller limit applies. The city may ask for a utility letter saying water and sewer can serve the unit. Without city service, it may ask for Health Department approval instead. Cities can still limit short-term rentals of 30 days or less. The law does not cover land outside city limits. Private covenants and HOA rules can still ban ADUs. You may be able to build only if local rules and your property allow it.

The rules at a glance

What to do next

1. Confirm your lot is inside city or town limits; Act 313 covers municipalities only, not unincorporated county land.
2. Ask your city planning office for its updated ADU rules, application form and fee, and compare them with the state limits in Ark. Code § 14-56-205.
3. Read your deed restrictions and any HOA covenants, because the state law does not override private agreements.
4. Ask your water and sewer provider for a will-serve letter, or contact the Arkansas Department of Health if you rely on a well or septic system.
5. Design within the state size limit for attached or detached units and the setback, height and lot coverage rules that apply to your house, then submit a site plan and building permit application.
6. If you plan to rent the unit by the night or week, check your city's short-term rental rules before you build.

What your town still decides

Cities and towns had until January 1, 2026 to update their codes; any local ADU rule in effect on or after that date that conflicts with § 14-56-205 is invalid to the extent of the conflict. 'By right' is defined in the statute as approval without a public hearing, variance, conditional use permit, special permit or special exception, or any discretionary zoning action other than checking that a site plan meets the written requirements. Cities still apply the state fire code, building codes, local ordinances and design standards, and may adopt rules that are more permissive than the state floor. A city may not demand a restrictive covenant as a condition of an ADU permit, but private deed restrictions and HOA covenants between private parties remain enforceable. The law applies only to municipalities; outside city limits, counties that have adopted planning and zoning set their own rules, and many rural areas have none. Little Rock, for example, adopted a compliance ordinance with an emergency clause on August 19, 2025, after receiving ADU applications under the new law.

Examples of local rules

• Little Rock: Ordinance 22,647 (passed August 19, 2025) makes one ADU a permitted use in all zoning districts when it is accessory to a larger single-family home on the same lot. Attached and detached units are capped at 75% of the house or 1,000 sq ft, whichever is less, and must meet the setback, lot coverage and height rules for single-family homes in that district. No parking space is required for the by-right unit, and a will-serve letter from the water and wastewater utilities is required. A detached ADU may not be built or occupied before the main house unless the planning director approves temporary use. Units that miss the standards go to the Board of Adjustment as a variance request, and the city's short-term rental rules still apply. Source
• Hot Springs: A June 12, 2025 staff worksheet proposed amending the city zoning code (Ordinance 6513) to match Act 313: raising the ADU size cap from 700 sq ft to the state formula (75% of the house or 1,000 sq ft), replacing a 10-foot lot-line setback with the setbacks for principal buildings, matching the height limit for principal buildings, deleting a ban on ADUs in cottage court developments and allowing ADUs by right in the C-TR zone. The existing code already had no minimum ADU parking requirement and bans RVs as ADUs. Final adoption of these changes was not confirmed. Source

What we’re still confirming

• The state law bars local rules stricter than its own but also keeps other local requirements in place, so how much design or lot-coverage rules can still limit an ADU is unsettled.
• Fayetteville reportedly changed its rules in May 2025 to allow up to two ADUs; confirm with the city.

Laws, bills and citations

This is general information, not legal advice. Your town, village, city or county decides what can be built on your property. If something here looks out of date, email the team.