Status: bill in motion, enactment unconfirmed
Prince George's County is legalizing ADUs through a bill package: CB-092-2026, successor to CB-074-2026. The path so far: an ADU Task Force created October 2025, a Planning Board unanimous support vote July 2, 2026, introduction as CB-074-2026, committee amendments September 3, 2026, and reintroduction as CB-092-2026 — at Second Reading as of September 30, 2026. A companion bridge resolution (CR-095-2026) is meant to cover the gap between the October 1 state deadline and the bill's effective date. Final enactment is UNVERIFIED. Everything below marked "proposed" is the published bill package.
Sources: Prince George's County Council Legigram agenda (updated Sept 30, 2026); Coalition for Smarter Growth testimony (Sept 2026); pgccouncil.us ADU Task Force page.
What the bill proposes
Where: by right ("as a matter of right") on a lot with a single-family detached home. Before this package, the county did not allow ADUs at all — no detached cottages, no basement apartments, no garage conversions as legal secondary dwellings.
Size: not greater than 75% of the principal house — mirroring the state cap.
Height: detached ADUs no taller than 22 feet, and never taller than the main house.
Lot coverage: an addition to the main house may not add more than 900 square feet of lot coverage — and the bill lumps walkways, patios, and other impervious surfaces into that cap.
Owner-occupancy: YES, in the bill. Unlike Charles County (no requirement), Prince George's is adding one — with debate over how broad the absence exceptions should be.
Occupancy: maximum 4 persons in the ADU.
Short-term rentals: PROHIBITED for ADUs — named in the bill's purpose clause.
Sources: Coalition for Smarter Growth action alert & testimony (smartergrowth.net, July–Sept 2026); citizenportal.ai (PHED amendments); zookcabins.com Maryland ADU guide.
The traps to know about
Unpermitted existing units: the bill writes in a compliance pathway — owners must begin compliance within 90 days of the effective date. If you have an unpermitted basement apartment inside the Beltway, watch this provision.
Woodland and tree canopy: the bill restricts ADUs from variances under the county's woodland and tree-canopy ordinances — wooded lots face extra friction.
Municipal layering: PG municipalities can add their own ADU rules on top. Example: the Town of Capitol Heights adopted Ordinance 2026-02 — one ADU per lot by right, max 800 sq ft or 40% of the principal dwelling, whichever is less. If you live inside a municipality (Bowie, College Park, Laurel, Hyattsville, and others), check both layers.
Sources: citizenportal.ai (PHED Sept 3 amendments); capitolheightsmd.gov (Ordinance 2026-02).
How this compares to the neighbors
Charles County's draft: no owner-occupancy rule, 1,000 sq ft cap on smaller lots, zero parking required. Prince George's proposal: owner-occupancy required, 75%-of-house size rule, short-term rentals banned outright. Same state law, different counties, different ADUs. If you own property in both counties, do not assume the rules travel.
For the state-law floor both counties build on, see Mary land's ADU law in plain English.