Utah ADU Builder
Utah ADU answers · updated 2026-10-17
Can an HOA stop you from building an ADU in Utah?
Utah law bars HOA rules that prohibit an internal ADU or restrict renting one, but CC&Rs can still restrict a detached ADU. What Utah Code 57-8a-218 and 57-8a-209 say.
Short answer
Generally not for an internal ADU. Utah Code 57-8a-218(16) bars HOA rules that prohibit a code-compliant internal ADU, and the state HOA Ombudsman says that covers CC&Rs too, however old they are. 57-8a-209(10) bars an HOA from restricting rental of one. A detached ADU has no such protection, so CC&Rs can restrict or bar it.
Internal ADUs
The protection is in Utah's Community Association Act, which covers associations of lots. It applies to an internal ADU as defined in Utah Code 10-21-101 (or 17-80-101 for county land): a unit inside the existing home, within its footprint, for rentals of 30 days or longer.
The statute's text speaks of association rules, which the Community Association Act defines as policies not set forth in the declaration (Utah Code 57-8a-102). The state HOA Ombudsman reads the protection more broadly: an HOA may not enact or enforce a ban on an internal ADU in its rules or its CC&Rs, whenever the documents were written. That reading is the agency's, so if your CC&Rs expressly bar accessory units, raise it with the association and get legal advice if it objects. Since May 6, 2026, a declaration also may not restrict the interior of a dwelling except as reasonably necessary for safety (57-8a-212(4)(n)); unlike the rental protection, that section doesn't say it reaches declarations recorded before then.
The rental protection is broader: 57-8a-209(10) says an association may not restrict or prohibit renting a code-compliant internal ADU, and it applies regardless of when the association was created.
Detached ADUs
S.B. 284 tells cities what they must allow; it doesn't override private covenants. Read your CC&Rs for "accessory", "outbuilding", "guest house" and "rental" before paying for design. Amending CC&Rs usually takes a vote of the owners under the declaration.
Condominiums are governed by a separate statute (the Condominium Ownership Act), and a condo unit generally isn't a detached single-family home on its own lot, so neither ADU statute reaches it.
Sources
- Utah Code 57-8a-218 (HOA rules)
- Utah Code 57-8a-209 (HOA rental rules)
- Utah Code 57-8a-212 (HOA declarations)
- Utah HOA Ombudsman: ADUs
- Utah Code 10-21-101 (definitions)
City rules come from this site’s dated research; each city page lists its official sources. This is planning information, not legal advice. How the property screen works.