Rental Income
A rentable backyard cottage
Detached one- or two-bedroom cottage. $1,500–$2,500+/month typical rent in Northern Virginia.
SB 531 · Effective July 1, 2027
A legal, income-producing
home in your backyard.
Virginia's SB 531 opens accessory dwelling units on every single-family lot statewide. We design and build the small buildings homeowners will live beside for decades — with clarity, honest numbers, and craft.
2027 By-Right
$500 Permit-Fee Cap
1 ADU Per Lot
Turnkey Design·Build
The 2027 Law
What SB 531 means for your backyard.
SB 531 makes ADUs permitted by-right on every single-family lot in Virginia, effective July 1, 2027. Local governments may no longer require a special-use permit for one ADU per lot, and permit fees are capped at $500. Setbacks can be no stricter than what already applies to the primary home, and the old family-relation rule is removed — you can rent to anyone.
Localities retain authority over building code, size, height, and reasonable design standards. Signed in April 2026 and sponsored by Sen. Kannan Srinivasan (D-Loudoun) and Sen. Saddam Salim (D-Fairfax), the law positions Virginia as one of the most homeowner-friendly ADU states in the country — but only for those who plan early enough to break ground the moment it takes effect.
Why Move Now
The homeowners who plan in 2026 build first in 2027.
Feasibility, architectural design, engineering and permit review take months — not weeks. Every Virginia locality will see a flood of ADU applications the week SB 531 takes effect. We're helping a small number of homeowners quietly complete Readiness Assessments and permit-ready plans now, so their crews are on-site while others are still filling out forms.
- Locked design & permit set ready to file July 1, 2027
- Reserved production slots with our field crews
- Honest cost, financing and rent projections — before you spend
- One accountable design·build team from sketch to keys
What You Can Build
One small building. Many meaningful uses.
Multigenerational
In-law & aging-parent suite
Independence next door. Zero-step entry, wide doors, accessible bath — designed for decades.
Adult Children
A first home for a returning graduate
Privacy, dignity, and their own front door — without a Virginia mortgage of their own.
Work From Home
Studio, office or creative space
A quiet, dedicated building with real walls, real light, and no morning commute.
Selected Work
Small buildings, made carefully.
A glimpse of the design vocabulary we bring to every project — warm materials, honest structure, and a quiet respect for the yard around the building.
Free · 60 Seconds
The Quick-Fit Check.
Answer five questions and we'll tell you honestly whether your property is a strong candidate for a legal ADU under SB 531 — before you spend a dollar on plans, surveys or engineering.
- Lot size and setback screen
- Sewer vs septic implications
- County-level rule check
- Goal-fit for rent, family or office
Free Quick-Fit CheckStep 1 of 5
Do you own a single-family home in Virginia?
Our Process
Three clear steps. No surprises.
01
Free Quick-Fit
A 60-second screen and a call with our team. We tell you honestly whether SB 531 is likely to work on your lot.
02
Readiness Assessment
Paid on-site feasibility. Setbacks, utilities, septic/sewer, county rules, cost band and a design direction — in writing.
03
Design · Permit · Build
One accountable team. Architectural design, engineering, permit filing the week SB 531 opens, and turnkey construction.
Honest Numbers
What Virginia ADUs actually cost.
Interior conversion (basement, garage, attic)$60k – $150k
New detached backyard cottage$180k – $400k+
Per-square-foot range$250 – $400/sf
Typical rent (Northern Virginia)$1,500 – $2,500+/mo
Paying For It
Four common financing paths.
HELOC
Draw against home equity. Fast, flexible, interest-only during draw.
Cash-out refinance
Replace your mortgage and pull equity in one loan. Locks a fixed rate.
Renovation-construction loan
Underwritten on the after-built value, including the new ADU.
Projected-rent loans
Lenders that count expected ADU rent toward qualifying income.
The Team Behind This
Built by operators who've delivered real projects across Virginia.
Virginia Backyard Homes is the ADU division of Hearthstone Design Build — a Leesburg-based design-build firm whose portfolio includes Lark Brewing Co., Walsh Family Wine, Tuttaposto. Our founder is a service-connected U.S. Marine Corps veteran. We hold VA Class A Contractor License #2705195817 and our office sits on King Street in Leesburg.
VA Class A
License #2705195817
Veteran-Owned
USMC, service-connected
Design·Build
One accountable team
Common Questions
Answered plainly.
Written to be useful to homeowners, indexable by search engines, and quotable by AI assistants. If your question isn't here, call us — we answer our phone.
When does SB 531 take effect in Virginia?
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July 1, 2027. That's when accessory dwelling units become permitted by-right on single-family lots statewide, with a $500 local permit-fee cap and setbacks no stricter than the primary home.
Can I rent my ADU to anyone once SB 531 is in effect?
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Yes. SB 531 removes the family-relation requirement, so you can rent to a tenant of your choosing. Localities may still enforce short-term-rental rules and reasonable design standards.
How much does a Virginia ADU cost?
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Interior conversions (basement, garage, attic) typically run $60,000–$150,000. New detached backyard cottages typically run $180,000–$400,000+, or roughly $250–$400 per square foot depending on site and finishes.
Why start planning before 2027?
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Design, feasibility and permitting take months. Homeowners who complete their Readiness Assessment now can submit permit applications the week SB 531 goes into effect and be first-in-line with local building departments.
Do you build outside single-family suburbs?
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Yes. On rural or Piedmont land we design and build barndominiums as primary residences — a separate service line from our SB 531 ADU work.
Plan Now. Build First.
The homeowners at the front of the 2027 line are lining up today.
Take the free Quick-Fit Check, or join our 2027 planning list to be first to hear when local building departments open SB 531 filings.
Or Send Us A Note
A short form. A real reply.
Tell us about your property and what you're hoping to build. We'll respond within one business day.
Or call 571-556-1900