Everything homeowners ask about building an ADU in Paradise Valley — answered with 2026 data.
No — under current zoning Paradise Valley does not allow ADUs. Paradise Valley has no accessory dwelling unit use in its Zoning Ordinance and is exempt from Arizona's casita law, A.R.S. §9-461.18, whose subsection H reaches only municipalities over 75,000 people (the Town has about 12,251). A guest house may be built as an accessory building, but Zoning Ordinance §1004.D bars leasing or renting it separate and apart from the main house, and §1005.B bars dwelling use of an accessory building except by residential staff employed on the premises. The Town's own FAQ states that "the entire property must be rented as a whole." Details: A guest house is an accessory building, permitted in the Town's residential districts — R-175, R-43, R-35, R-35A, R-18, R-18A and R-10 — subject to the accessory building rules in Zoning Ordinance Sections 1004 and 1005 and the accessory setbacks in Table 1001B. There is no accessory dwelling unit use anywhere in the ordinance. On a Cluster Plan lot (R-43CP, R-35CP) there is an extra hurdle: Section 2109 of Article XXI provides that "no guest house shall be permitted on any such lot which does not meet the minimum area regulations applicable to the district in which it is located," and Town Planning Policy #25 reads that as meaning a CP lot later reduced in size by right-of-way dedication or replat can no longer have a guest house at all. Confirm your parcel with Paradise Valley Community Development at (480) 348-3692. See our full Paradise Valley ADU rules page for the narrow exceptions and what may change.
ADU construction in Paradise Valley typically costs $300,000-$700,000. The cost per square foot averages $375-$800. Garage conversions are more affordable at $120,000-$275,000, while prefab ADUs cost Rarely viable — the Town's one-storey height caps, deep accessory setbacks and custom-home design context make a factory unit a poor fit; budget $200,000+ delivered and sited if you pursue one. Permit fees add Valuation-based. The Town's minimum valuation for livable space is $225 per sq ft, and the building permit fee is $930.84 for the first $150,000 of valuation plus $6.75 per additional $1,000 to $750,000; in-house plan review is a further 65% of the building permit fee, covering two reviews, with additional reviews at $145 per hour (Building Permit Application Information). On that schedule an 800 sq ft guest house valued at $180,000 runs roughly $1,130 in permit fee plus about $735 in review — call it $1,900-$3,500 all in for a typical guest house. A 9% Haul Fee is added on projects valued at $500,000 or more. The Town's current Master Fee Schedule now lives on Municode and could not be opened from here — verify current numbers with Community Development at (480) 348-3692 to your budget. See our detailed Paradise Valley ADU cost guide.
Detached ADUs in Paradise Valley can be up to No square-foot cap on a guest house as such. Two other limits bind instead: all accessory buildings and structures on the lot together "shall not occupy more than one-half of the total ground area of the main building". Attached ADUs are limited to Not a recognised category — Paradise Valley's ordinance has no attached ADU. Zoning Ordinance §1004.C allows only one main building per lot, and additional living space inside the house is simply part of the house, counting fully against the 25% floor area ratio. Junior ADUs (JADUs) have a cap of Not a category in Arizona, and Paradise Valley has no junior ADU designation. Maximum height is Accessory buildings are capped well below the main house: 16 feet and one story in R-175 and R-43; 15 feet and one story in R-35, R-35A, R-18, R-18A and R-10 (Zoning Ordinance Table 1001B). The main dwelling by contrast may be two stories in R-175, R-43 and R-35. A guest house in Paradise Valley is a single-storey building, full stop. You are allowed up to One dwelling unit per lot. Zoning Ordinance §1004.C: "in no case shall there be more than one on a qualifying lot.
Rear setback: 20 feet in R-175 and R-43; 10 feet in R-35, R-35A, R-18 and R-18A; 7 feet in R-10 — and 40 feet (35 feet in R-18A, 20 feet in R-10) where the rear yard has street frontage (Zoning Ordinance Table 1001B, Setbacks and Height Limits for Accessory Buildings and Structures). Nothing here is capped by state law: A.R.S. §9-461.18(B)(6)'s five-foot ceiling does not apply to Paradise Valley. Side setback: 20 feet in R-175 and R-43; 10 feet in R-35, R-35A, R-18 and R-18A; 7 feet in R-10 — rising to 40 feet (35 feet in R-18A, 20 feet in R-10) on a side with street frontage (Zoning Ordinance Table 1001B). Front setback: 60 feet in R-175, R-43, R-35, R-35A, R-18 and R-18A; 20 feet in R-10, or as shown on a previously recorded plat (Zoning Ordinance Table 1001B). Note this is deeper than the main house's own front setback of 40 feet in R-43 and 35 feet in R-18A (Table 1001-A1) — an accessory building must sit further back than the home it serves. In the R-175 district with no primary building built before June 13, 1991 the accessory front setback is 100 feet. Note that garage conversions may be exempt from setback requirements if the existing structure is already within the setback area.
No ADU parking rule exists, because there is no ADU. Ordinary residential parking standards apply to the lot. The state prohibition on requiring extra parking for a casita, A.R.S. §9-461.18(B)(3), does not reach Paradise Valley — confirm requirements for your project with Community Development at (480) 348-3692. Many cities and states have been relaxing ADU parking requirements in recent years. In California, no additional parking is required for ADUs near transit.
Effectively yes, and stricter than an owner-occupancy rule. Zoning Ordinance §1004.D provides that no accessory building on a residentially-zoned property "shall be leased, subleased or rented, separate and apart from the main building and no main building shall be leased, subleased or rented, separate and apart from an accessory building." The house and the guest house are one tenancy or none. Section 1005.B separately limits dwelling use of an accessory building to "residential staff employed on the premises or as otherwise permitted herein," and Section 201 defines Residential Staff quarters as occupied only by a domestic or agricultural employee and their immediate family, and "may not be rented for profit". Note that owner-occupancy rules vary by state law — California and several other states have eliminated this requirement for standard ADUs.
The ADU permit review timeline in Paradise Valley is typically Plan review takes up to fifteen business days per review round, and once plans are approved a further three to five business days to issue the permit (Town of Paradise Valley, Building Permit Application Information). Hillside lots on Camelback Mountain, Mummy Mountain and the Phoenix Mountain Preserve foothills also go through Article XXII Hillside Development review, which is longer — confirm at (480) 348-3692. Plan check: Full residential plan review in house; review covers up to two rounds. Verification of existing water meter size and installation date is required for properties on the Paradise Valley sewer. An ACCA Manual J load calculation using the Town's stated design conditions is required with new single-family applications. Setback, height and — where floor area ratio reaches 22% or more — Floor Area Ratio certification, each signed and stamped by an Arizona-registered architect, engineer or land surveyor, are required at framing or roof-nail inspection. Pre-approved plans availability: None — Paradise Valley publishes no pre-approved ADU or guest house plan library, and custom architecture is the norm in the Town.
Average ADU rental income in Paradise Valley: 1-bedroom units rent for Not rentable — a guest house may not be leased separately from the main house (Zoning Ordinance §1004.D). For reference, Paradise Valley's median gross rent for a whole property is $3,500+ (U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts, 2020-2024)/month, 2-bedroom units for Not rentable separately — see above. Whole-property rentals are permitted and common; the guest house is included in that single tenancy/month. Short-term rentals: For the whole property, yes: A.R.S. §9-500.39 preempts Paradise Valley from banning short-term rentals, and the Town says so on its own FAQ. For the guest house alone, no — "the entire property must be rented as a whole" (Town of Paradise Valley FAQ, Short-Term or Vacation Rental). Whole-property short-term rentals owe Transaction Privilege Tax and the Town transient (bed) tax, need a TPT licence from the Arizona Department of Revenue, and must be registered with the Maricopa County Assessor. HOA CC&Rs can still prohibit the use — the Arizona Superior Court upheld exactly that in Camelback Country Estates Unit One HOA v. Forty Sixth Place LLC (2019). Expected ROI: No rental return — a Paradise Valley guest house returns value through the sale price of the estate and through use by family or live-in staff, not through rent. Treat build cost as a lifestyle and resale investment, not a yield calculation.
The minimum lot size for an ADU in Paradise Valley is No guest-house-specific minimum in the standard districts — the district minimum lot size governs: 175,000 sq ft in R-175, 43,560 sq ft (one acre) in R-43, 35,000 sq ft in R-35 and R-35A, 18,000 sq ft in R-18 and R-18A, 10,000 sq ft in R-10 (Zoning Ordinance Table 1001-A1). On Cluster Plan lots the lot must still meet the underlying district minimum area for a guest house to be permitted (§2109; Town Planning Policy #25). This applies to detached ADUs — garage conversions and JADUs may have different or no lot size requirements.
Garage conversions are one of the most popular and affordable ADU options. In Paradise Valley, a garage conversion typically costs $120,000-$275,000. The key advantages are lower cost (no foundation work), potential setback exemptions, and faster permitting. Read our complete garage conversion guide.
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