Utah zoning articles · Saratoga Springs code
Can I add an accessory apartment (ADU) in Saratoga Springs?
Drafted with AI help from the city's code (text pulled 2026-10-19), then reviewed and approved by Stockton Farnsworth on 2026-10-20. By Stockton Farnsworth, Utah Associate Broker, Team Utah Commercial, brokered by RE/MAX Associates.
A basement apartment or a backyard cottage can add housing and rental income. Saratoga Springs has a whole chapter on accessory dwelling units (ADUs). Here's what it says, with links to each section.
Two kinds of ADU
- The code covers internal or attached units (IADUs) and detached units (DADUs), and says its purpose is to add housing options and broaden the range of affordable housing (§ 19.20.01, § 19.20.02).
- A registered IADU is a permitted use in a single-family dwelling in the A, RR, RA-5, R1-40, R1-20, R1-10, R1-9, R2-8, R3-6, MF-10, MF-14, MF-18, MR and PC zones, subject to the chapter's standards (§ 19.20.03).
The basic rules for any ADU
- "A maximum of one IADU shall be permitted on a lot with a Primary Dwelling" (§ 19.20.03).
- The owner has to live on the property, in either the main home or the ADU, with limited exceptions for temporary absences of three years or less (§ 19.20.03).
- The ADU needs its own sleeping area, kitchen and bathroom, and construction has to meet building, fire and health codes (§ 19.20.03).
Internal or attached units (IADUs)
- The lot must be larger than 6,000 square feet, and the unit needs its own exterior entrance (§ 19.20.04).
- Plan for one extra paved off-street parking stall for the IADU, on top of the parking the house already needs; on-street parking doesn't count (§ 19.20.04).
- The city may prohibit IADUs in up to 25 percent of its residential area, and it publishes a map of where they're prohibited (§ 19.20.05).
Detached units (DADUs)
- The lot must be 11,000 square feet or larger (§ 19.20.06).
- Parking: two extra stalls for a DADU of 650 square feet or more, one extra stall if it's smaller (§ 19.20.06).
- It can't be bigger or taller than the house, can't sit in the front yard, and counts toward lot coverage (§ 19.20.06).
Next steps
Check the city's IADU map for your lot, read the chapter above, and call Saratoga Springs' planning office before you design or build. Thinking about a property for this? Ask us for a free zoning summary.
Not legal or zoning advice. Zoning rules change, and only the city or county can say for sure what is allowed on a property. Confirm with the city or county planning department before you buy, sign or build. Section links go to our unofficial copy; the city's official code controls.