A single-family home is allowed in nearly every residential zone, and single-family districts like R-1, RS or RE are set aside mainly for detached houses, one per lot. Most agricultural and rural zones also allow a house, usually on a much larger lot.
New to zoning types? Read what residential zoning means and what it allows.
R - Residential
or
A - Agricultural
Is a single family home allowed in Columbus?
Open the Columbus zoning map to find a property's zoning district, then check what that district allows.
Check zoning in Columbus, OH →A single-family dwelling is a building with one dwelling unit, meaning one kitchen and living space for one household. Most codes mean a detached house when they say single-family detached, standing on its own lot with no shared walls.
Codes differ on the details. Some count a townhouse as single-family attached, and many let a house keep its single-family status with an accessory dwelling unit on the lot. Codes also define "family," which can limit how many unrelated people may share one home. Check the definitions chapter of your local code, since that wording controls.
Single-family zoning reserves an area mainly for detached houses, one per lot. These districts usually go by names like R-1, RS, RE or "low density residential," and some codes split them into tiers by minimum lot size. It is the most common residential zoning in the country. In many U.S. cities, about 75% of land zoned for housing is zoned single-family.
A single-family home is also allowed in most higher-density residential zones, though a few codes set minimum densities that discourage one house on a large multi-family lot. Our residential zoning guide walks through how these districts step up.
Single-use zoning separates land uses into districts, so homes, shops and factories each get their own areas. It's also called Euclidean zoning, after the 1926 Supreme Court case Village of Euclid v. Ambler Realty Co., which upheld that kind of zoning. Single-family zoning is the strictest version of it, since it limits a district to one housing type as well as one use.
Mixed-use zoning is the opposite approach. It allows homes, offices and shops in the same district or building.
Single-family districts control the size and placement of a home more than its use. Common rules include:
The setback calculator and lot coverage calculator help you check a design against these limits before you pay for plans.
Most single-family zones allow more than just the house. Accessory buildings, home offices and small home businesses are common, usually with limits on signs, employees and customer visits. Many cities also allow an accessory dwelling unit, and some states limit how far cities can restrict them.
A few states have gone further. Oregon requires many cities to allow duplexes where single-family homes are allowed, and California's Senate Bill 9 lets owners add a second unit on many single-family lots. If you're comparing options, see the rules for a duplex.
Agricultural and rural residential zones, often A-1 or RR, usually allow one single-family home per parcel. These zones tend to have large minimum lot sizes, sometimes many acres, and may limit how many homes a farm can hold. They also often allow more accessory buildings than a city lot. The agricultural zoning guide covers how those districts usually work.
To check a specific lot, search for your city's zoning map and read the district's lot size and setback rules.
Usually, as a home occupation with limits on signs, employees, customer visits and outdoor work. Our home business zoning guide covers the common rules.
They don't override it, but they add to it. An HOA's covenants can be stricter than zoning on things like home size, materials and rentals, and both have to be followed.
SFD usually stands for single-family dwelling or single-family detached. It refers to a house with one dwelling unit on its own lot.
Some codes set a minimum floor area for a house, and some subdivisions set one through covenants. Many other codes have no minimum beyond what the building code requires for rooms and ceilings.