ADU (Accessory Dwelling Unit) permits across Tennessee
Where each city draws the line on adu (accessory dwelling unit) work. Sort any column — useful if you build across several towns and need to know where the rules change.
The statewide starting point is International Residential Code, принятый Теннесси, 2018. Cities that changed the rule are the interesting rows below.
| Where the line falls | Fee | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nashville | 704,963 | Yes | Building a detached accessory dwelling unit (DADU) is con… | Residential building permit fee is $5.00 per $1,000 of tota… |
| Memphis | 610,919 | Yes | Building an accessory dwelling unit, such as a garage apa… | — |
| Knoxville | 198,722 | Yes | Building an accessory dwelling unit (garage apartment, ca… | Building permit fees are set in the city Fee Schedule adopt… |
| Chattanooga | 191,496 | Yes | Building a garage apartment, casita, or other accessory d… | — |
| Clarksville | 185,690 | Yes | A new accessory dwelling unit is new residential construc… | — |
| Murfreesboro | 168,387 | Yes | A new accessory dwelling unit (garage apartment, casita) … | Permit fees are set by the City Council; no amount is liste… |
| Franklin | 89,142 | Yes | No size threshold in the code | — |
| Johnson City | 73,635 | Yes | Building an accessory dwelling unit (garage apartment, ca… | The Board of Commissioners may set a permit fee schedule (S… |
| Jackson | 69,303 | Yes | building an accessory dwelling unit (garage apartment, ca… | — |
| Hendersonville | 63,947 | Yes | No size threshold in the code | — |
| Smyrna | 60,302 | Yes | Building an accessory dwelling unit (garage apartment, ca… | — |
| Kingsport | 57,109 | Yes | No size threshold in the code | — |
| Gallatin | 52,489 | Yes | No size threshold in the code | Current permit fee schedules are available in the Building … |
| Brentwood | 45,525 | Yes | No size threshold in the code | — |
| Mount Juliet | 44,066 | Yes | No size threshold in the code | — |
| La Vergne | 41,430 | Yes | No size threshold in the code | Set by the fee schedule adopted with the annual budget. |
| Germantown | 40,128 | Yes | No size threshold in the code | — |
| Morristown | 32,994 | Yes | No size threshold in the code | — |
| Bristol | 27,867 | Yes | No size threshold in the code | Permit fees set by resolution of city council (§ 14-33(b));… |
| Farragut | 25,242 | Yes | No size threshold in the code | Permit fees set by the general fee schedule resolution adop… |
| Springfield | 19,842 | Yes | No size threshold in the code | — |
| Goodlettsville | 17,433 | Yes | No size threshold in the code | building permit fee required per Sec. 12-202 plus use-and-o… |
| Nolensville | 15,809 | Yes | No size threshold in the code | New dwelling units are subject to a road impact fee at buil… |
“Unconfirmed” means the city's code doesn't state the rule plainly enough to publish. Those city pages link straight to the ordinance section instead.
Why neighboring cities disagree
Every city starts from a model code and then edits it. One town raises the shed cutoff, the next lowers the fence height, a third exempts the structure where its neighbor only exempts repairs to it. None of that is visible from a national article — you have to read each ordinance, which is what these pages do.