Rental conversions in San Antonio

San Antonio describes an accessory dwelling unit as a smaller home on the same lot as a larger main house, sometimes called a casita, alley home, carriage house, cuartito, garage apartment, guest house or in-law suite.¹⁰

In San Antonio the owner must live in the main house or the ADU, and must sign an affidavit saying so that is recorded in Bexar County's public records; a property where the owner does not live on site must be rezoned to allow more than one dwelling unit.¹⁰ San Antonio allows one ADU per property in the R-1 through R-6 and RM-4 through RM-6 districts, and in multifamily districts up to a total of five units.¹⁰

A San Antonio ADU, attached or detached, may be up to 800 square feet or half the size of the main house, whichever is larger, but no more than 1,600 square feet, and it has no limit on bedrooms.¹⁰ In San Antonio, only an ADU larger than 800 square feet needs a dedicated off-street parking space, and an ADU may have its own utility meters or share the main house's.¹⁰ A unit kept at or under the base size avoids the parking question entirely, which matters on a narrow lot with a single driveway.

A detached ADU in San Antonio is limited to two stories and 25 feet, and may sit 3 feet or more from side and rear property lines, but it must be fire rated if it is within 5 feet of the line.¹⁰ A garage apartment over a detached garage at the back of the lot fits these limits, but it adds a stair and second-floor framing that a one-story cottage does not need.

Besides permit-ready plans, a San Antonio ADU permit needs a site plan, a foundation plan, an energy report that meets the adopted energy code, and HVAC sizing calculations and an equipment list.¹⁰ San Antonio's technical review of an ADU application can take up to three business days for the first comments, and the unit may be occupied only after all inspections pass and a certificate of occupancy is issued.¹⁰

Turning an existing garage into the unit keeps the footprint but not the garage. The 2021 IRC requires at least 5/8-inch Type X gypsum board or equivalent between a garage and habitable rooms above it, and does not allow any opening from a garage directly into a sleeping room.¹² The 2021 IRC requires at least one egress door for each dwelling unit, reached by a continuous path that does not pass through a garage, and opening to a public way or a yard or court that leads to one.¹²

In a historic district the new unit is an exterior change. In San Antonio, exterior changes and repairs to a property with a historic zoning overlay need a Certificate of Appropriateness, including work in side and rear yards not readily visible from the street.¹³

A San Antonio ADU may qualify for waivers of city permit fees and SAWS impact fees if the main home or the ADU is rented for five years to a household at or below 80 percent of area median income, at no more than 30 percent of its income.¹⁰ If you plan to rent to a working household anyway, that waiver can offset part of the permit and utility connection cost, so ask the company to price the unit with and without it.

San Antonio defines a short-term rental as a dwelling unit, apartment, condominium or accessory dwelling where sleeping areas are rented to overnight guests for less than 30 consecutive days, and every one inside city limits needs a permit from Development Services.¹¹ San Antonio has two types of short-term rental: Type 1 is the primary residence of the owner or operator, including its accessory dwelling unit, and Type 2 is a property the owner or operator does not live in.¹¹

A San Antonio short-term rental permit is valid for three years, can't be transferred to a new owner, is needed for each unit, and is issued within five business days of a complete application.¹⁴ San Antonio's non-refundable short-term rental application fee is $450 for Type 1 and $1,000 for Type 2, plus an 8 percent surcharge.¹⁴ A San Antonio short-term rental application needs a floor plan and parking plan showing the maximum number of guests, sleeping areas, fire extinguishers, evacuation routes and off-street parking spaces.¹⁴

San Antonio caps short-term rentals by blockface, one side of a street between intersections, and once the limit is reached a permit needs a special exception from the Board of Adjustment.¹⁴ San Antonio short-term rental operators must report hotel occupancy tax every month, even at zero, at rates of 9 percent for the city and 1.75 percent for Bexar County on top of the state tax.¹⁵

The City of San Antonio enforces only city, state and federal zoning and development rules, not covenants and deed restrictions, and says it is the applicant's job to check for any that apply.¹⁵ A subdivision's covenants can bar short stays or a second unit even where the city would allow them.

A landlord who does renovation work on pre-1978 rental housing personally needs both EPA firm and renovator certification; a landlord who hires the work out needs neither, but the firm must be Lead-Safe Certified.¹⁶ Before a renter signs a lease for most pre-1978 housing, federal law requires the landlord to disclose known lead-based paint and hazards, share available records, hand over EPA's Protect Your Family From Lead pamphlet and include a Lead Warning Statement.¹⁷

The 2021 IRC requires smoke alarms in each sleeping room, outside each separate sleeping area and on every story including basements, interconnected within each dwelling unit so that one sounding sets off all of them.¹² When work that needs a permit is done, the 2021 IRC requires each dwelling unit to get carbon monoxide alarms as required for new homes, with exceptions for exterior work and plumbing.¹² Ask for the alarms and each bedroom's way out to be marked on the plans.

HUD's research office describes an ADU as compact, self-contained secondary housing on the same lot as an existing single-family home.¹⁸ More than one in four adults 65 and older fall each year.¹⁹ A one-story casita with a no-step entry, a curbless shower and a lit path to the main house serves a parent far better than a garage apartment up a flight of stairs. NAHB's Certified Aging-in-Place Specialist (CAPS) credential trains remodelers in home modifications for aging in place.²⁰

This page's number links you, on a recorded line, with one independent company that handles rental conversions in the San Antonio area. Lot, permits and price are for you and that company to sort out.

They pay us for the call; you don't pay us anything, and we won't reach out by phone or text later. How we make money

A new unit means a long contract, so read it. San Antonio's contractor registration requires an FBI background check, photo ID and a liability insurance certificate naming the city, and residential building contractors also need a residential ICC certification or another the building official approves.²¹ When the owner makes final payment on a Texas residential construction contract, the original contractor must sign and deliver an affidavit stating that the bills for the job have been paid.²² In Texas, every written proposal, invoice or contract for plumbing must show the name and license number of the responsible master plumber.²³ Check a Texas license