Guides
Permits and rules
The permits a new home needs, and the rules that shape what you can build.
Permits & rules
Can you build a backyard cottage or in-law suite on your Triangle lot?
What Raleigh, Durham, Cary, Wake County and the new state law say about ADUs, and what to check before you plan a second home on your lot.
Permits & rules
Can you build on a Triangle lot with a creek or pond?
How the state's 50-foot stream buffers in the Neuse and Jordan Lake areas shape where a house, septic system and driveway can go, and who decides.
Permits & rules
How to look up a lot's zoning and see how big your house can be
Where to find a lot's zoning in Raleigh, Cary, unincorporated Wake County and Johnston County, and how setbacks, height limits and hard-surface caps shape where your house sits and what you can add.
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