Owner-Occupancy Requirement

An owner-occupancy requirement is a condition — formerly imposed by many local governments — requiring that a property owner live on-site, in either the primary dwelling or an accessory dwelling unit, as a prerequisite for building or operating an ADU. Such requirements were historically used to limit ADU development and to prevent absentee ownership of properties with secondary units. States with comprehensive ADU reform legislation have generally prohibited municipalities from imposing owner-occupancy requirements as a condition of ADU approval, removing this restriction as a barrier to broader ADU construction.