City guide

Building a backyard home in Denton

Denton has some of the clearest ADU rules in North Texas.

What Denton allows

ADU size

Up to 800 sq ft or 75% of the main home's size — whichever is GREATER.

Parking

No additional parking required (but any main-home parking you remove must be replaced on site).

Placement

Detached ADUs go to the side or rear, at least 3 ft behind the front building line; 3 ft minimum from rear/side property lines.

Design

If visible from the street, the ADU must match the main home on at least two of: color, roof pitch, material orientation, architectural detail.

Utilities & permits

Shares the main property's water/sewer service; permits filed through the city's eTRAKiT portal.

The catch most people miss

The design-compatibility rule surprises people: a visible ADU can't look like a shed dropped in the yard. Factory-built modular units can meet it — if you pick finishes deliberately, which is part of what we do.

What it costs

The factory price is only part of the real number — site work, utilities, permits, and delivery/crane are the rest. Your Owner's ADU Roadmap gives a specific budget band for your address, plus the exact permit path and everything you need to run the project yourself (or have us run it).

Rules verified 2026-07-12 from City of Denton — Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU). General guidance, not a determination for a specific property — zoning overlays, planned developments, and HOA/deed restrictions are address-specific.