Utah law changes October 1, 2026

Your backyard is about to become buildable.

Q: How long does the build take?

Weeks, not years. Panelized cold-formed steel is CAD-cut in a Salt Lake-area factory and assembled on site. Design and permitting usually run 4–8 weeks first.

Q: Are ADUs legal in Utah?

Yes. From October 1, 2026 Utah Code § 10-21-304 makes a detached ADU a permitted use on most lots of 11,000 sq ft or more. Cities keep setbacks, height and owner-occupancy rules.

On October 1, a new state law makes a detached backyard home a permitted use on most Utah lots over 11,000 sq ft — no conditional use permit, no public hearing. Arena builds them for a fixed, published price, and every plan is engineered to rent from day one.

Takes about 3 minutes. No email required to see your result.

11,000 sq ftLot size that qualifies

$128,625Smallest plan, price published

7Floor plans, 735–2,541 sq ft

Oct 1Law takes effect

Senate Bill 284 · 2026 general session

The single biggest change to Utah backyard building in a generation.

Utah Code § 10-21-304 requires every specified municipality to permit a detached accessory dwelling unit on any lot of 11,000 sq ft or larger that holds a single-family home, where that home is already a permitted use.

Your city may no longer

Make you ask permission

A city may not require a conditional use permit for a detached ADU in a primarily residential zone. It also may not require more than two parking spaces for a unit 650 sq ft or larger, or more than one below that.

Your city still may

Set the envelope

Cities keep setbacks, height, lot coverage and design consistency. They may cap the ADU at no larger than the main house, keep it out of the front yard, require 90-day minimum tenancies, and require the owner to live in one of the two homes.

Verified against the enrolled bill: “A specified municipality shall adopt a land use regulation that permits a detached accessory dwelling unit on any lot or parcel that is 11,000 square feet or larger…” — and “Section 52. Effective Date. The actions affecting Section 10-21-304 take effect on October 1, 2026.”
Source: S.B. 284, Enrolled Copy, Utah Legislature. Applies to municipalities of 5,000 people or more. Arena is a builder, not a law firm — confirm your parcel with your city before you sign anything. Read the plain-language explainer →

Your city's own numbers

No two cities read the law the same way. We wrote one page for each.

Salt Lake City Draper Sandy South Jordan West Jordan Herriman Riverton Murray Holladay Cottonwood Heights Lehi American Fork Provo Orem Pleasant Grove Park City Bountiful Layton Ogden St. George

Your house is the most expensive thing you own. From October 1 it can pay you back.

Most families sit on two things that earn nothing: the equity in their home and the yard behind it. An Arena ADU turns one into the other — a permitted, steel-built second home that rents for $1,400–$2,850 a month while the shell holds its value for generations.

That is the whole mission: bring the American Dream back within reach, starting with the homeowners who already have the ground.

Run my numbers →

The Arena Collection

Seven plans. Every price published.

Every plan below is a complete steel-built home — from a backyard rental to a triplex that pays your mortgage. The price you see is the price you sign.

Rental-ready

Run your property through the estimator.

Answer three questions and see the plan, the payment, and the rent your lot supports — before you give anyone your email.

Open the ADU estimator →

Every price above is fixed and turn-key — design, permits, site work, and the full Arena Standard included. Rent estimates are Wasatch Front averages; your advisor prices your exact lot.

How it works

Four steps. One team. One number.

Most builders won't quote you until you're committed. Arena does it the other way round.

Check your lot

Enter your address. We tell you whether the October 1 law applies, what your city still requires, and which plans fit the envelope. Three minutes, no email.

Pick a plan, see the price

Seven plans, every one priced and published. Add the rooftop deck, the garage, the extra bedroom — each part is priced separately and shown up front.

Lock the number

An Arena advisor runs setbacks, utilities and your city's counter, then hands you one fixed design-build price. That number is the number you sign.

We build it — fast

Our licensed general contractors handle permits and engineering. Steel panels are CAD-cut in a Salt Lake-area factory and assembled on site, so the build moves in weeks, not seasons.

Why Arena is different

Same lot. Same money. A fundamentally better house.

Almost every backyard unit sold in Utah today is a tiny home at around $500 a square foot. Arena builds a real, family-sized steel home for a fraction of that, with the price published. Four things make that possible.

01 · The bones

Steel, not sticks

~~Wood that rots, warps, molds, burns, and feeds termites.~~

Arena: CAD-cut cold-formed steel, non-combustible and dead straight for generations — the home your kids inherit is as solid as the day it was set.

02 · The price

A locked price, not a moving target

~~An estimate, then change orders that quietly balloon for a year.~~

Arena: a fixed, published price, turn-key — design, permits, and site work in. The number you see before we break ground is the number you sign.

03 · The timeline

Weeks, not years

~~A build that drags through seasons while your rate clock ticks.~~

Arena: panels are CAD-cut in a Salt Lake-area factory and assembled on site — so after permits the build itself moves in weeks, not years.

04 · The payoff

A home that pays you back

~~A $500/sq ft tiny home that's worth less the day it lands.~~

Arena: every plan is engineered to rent from day one — a backyard ADU or a multi-unit that puts $1,400–$2,850 / mo back in your pocket.

The arithmetic

735 square feet, two ways

	Typical Utah tiny home	Arena · The Lookout
735 sq ft, all in	~$367,500	$128,625
Structure	Wood or trailer chassis	Cold-formed steel, MgO floors
Bedrooms	Usually one, often a loft	Two real bedrooms, two baths, roof deck
Rents as	A tiny home	A two-bedroom apartment: ~$1,400/mo

Tiny-home figure is the market's typical per-square-foot ask for a delivered unit in Utah in 2026; it is a category comparison, not a quote from any named company. Arena figures are published plan prices.

And under all four: the Arena Standard — one locked, engineered spec for Utah's climate and seismic code, on every home. Why the industry builds the other way →

A-103 · The Arena Standard

The Arena Standard

Every system in the house, chosen like your life depends on it.

Most builders pick whatever the lumberyard has. Arena runs a locked spec — engineered for Utah's climate, seismic code, and the next fifty years. Pick a system. See what it does for you.

Arena cutaway render — upper level, bedrooms and bath — The drawing and the reality — same millimeter spec

The Venue — 3-car-bay elevation line drawing — The drawing and the reality — same millimeter spec

Steel bones, millimeter precision

Every wall panel and truss is CAD-cut cold-formed steel from a Salt Lake fabricator — non-combustible, straight forever, and immune to the rot, mold, warp, and termites that quietly eat wood houses. The home your kids inherit is as solid as the day it was set.

Non-combustibleNever rots or warpsTermite-proofPanelized — set in days

The full Arena Standard runs deeper — foundation, pocket doors, a rooftop deck, solar & battery — every assembly with a locked spec and two vetted backups. See the full spec, system by system →

Designed for how you live

Every space, optimized for real life.

Kitchen, bathrooms, bedrooms, and the spaces you share — each one re-thought from scratch around how families actually live, modern technology, and zero waste. Not a tiny home. A home.

Arena interior — open main floor with island kitchen

A kitchen built like a workspace

The heart of the home, optimized for flow. Smart appliances, efficient water and energy, and a layout where nothing is wasted and everything is within reach.

Smart appliancesWater-efficientNatural lightZero wasted space

Three ways in

The ADU is the first move. It isn't the only one.

Add a steel-built home to land you already own, build a real family home at an attainable price, or put your ground to work.

Backyard homes

Add an ADU

Turn your backyard into rental income, a home for your parents, or a first place for your kids — a complete steel-built home, permitted by right from October 1.

Explore ADUs →

Family homes

Build a real home, around $300k

A full-size steel-built family home for roughly a third less than the state's own $450,000 "attainable" line — because we build a completely different way.

Explore new homes →

Land & investors

Own land? Put it to work.

A lot, a field, an oversized backyard — Arena runs the feasibility, designs to your parcel, and builds at a fixed price. Your ground becomes housing, income, and equity.

Talk land with an advisor →

A-104 · Questions

Six questions everyone asks first.

How much does an Arena home cost?

Every plan has a fixed, published, turn-key price. ADUs run $128,625–$444,675 across the seven plans; family homes land around $300k. The price locks before construction starts. See every price →

Are ADUs legal in Utah?

Yes — and from October 1, 2026 a detached ADU is a permitted use on most lots of 11,000 sq ft or more in cities of 5,000 people or more. Cities keep setbacks, height and owner-occupancy rules. See your city's rules →

What could an ADU rent for?

Roughly $1,400–$2,850 a month across the Wasatch Front depending on the plan. Utah law sets a 90-day minimum tenancy, so this is a long-term rental, not a nightly listing. Run the numbers on your lot →

How do people pay for it?

Most homeowners use the equity they already have — a HELOC, a cash-out refinance, or a construction loan — and let the rent carry the payment. How ADU financing works →

How long does the build take?

Design and permitting usually run 4–8 weeks. Then the panelized steel frame is assembled on site in weeks, not the seasons a stick-built job takes.

Have you built one of these before?

Our licensed general contractors have completed internal basement ADUs across the Wasatch Front and have detached units in permitting now. The first Arena model home breaks ground in Draper in September 2026, and we're documenting the whole build in public. Ask us anything about it.

No pressure. Just your numbers.

Let's talk numbers.

You've probably been burned by "free estimates" that turn into sales marathons. This isn't that. An Arena advisor runs your address, your goal, and your budget — and calls back with a fixed price and a floorplan that fits.

Arena roof deck — hot tub, outdoor kitchen and lounge seating