Arlington | Three or More Homes

Arlington Townhouses, Cottages and Apartments: Three or More Homes on a Site

In Arlington's citywide code, three homes in one building count as a multi-family dwelling, the same use as an apartment complex, which is allowed in RMF-22 and on commercial land. For smaller projects the code offers two other routes: townhouses on their own small lots, and cottage communities approved as planned developments. Since September 1, 2025 apartments are also allowed on most commercial land, and since 2026 the downtown form-based districts list the triplex and fourplex by name. This page covers each route. The Arlington overview gives the short version.

Five Routes to Three or More Homes

Source: Arlington UDC, Tables 3.1-1 and 3.1-2, Sections 2.2.7, 2.2.8, 5.11, 5.12, 10.4.5 and 10.4.5B; Article 13; Fee Schedule effective October 1, 2026.

Townhouses

Section 12.3.1 defines a townhouse as "a building that has two or more single-family dwelling units erected in a row as a single building on adjoining lots, each unit being separated from the adjoining unit(s) by a fire wall along the dividing lot line." Each home sits on its own lot, which is what lets a builder sell the homes one by one. "Each individual townhouse unit has individual front and rear access to the outside."

• Lot. RM-12 and RMF-22 both require 2,900 square feet and 20 feet of width for a townhouse lot, and 100 feet of depth. RM-12 requires 800 square feet of gross living area.
• Coverage. 75 percent in RM-12 and 90 percent in RMF-22.
• Side setbacks. Section 4.1.6.G.3: "The side setback for an attached townhouse may be reduced to zero except for end units, which shall have a minimum side setback of five feet."
• Front setback. 20 feet on a local street, reduced to 15 feet when access comes from a private access easement at the rear (Section 4.1.6.G.2).
• Design. Section 5.5.3.E.5 requires variety on street-facing facades, such as a two-foot wall offset "after at least every 30 feet of frontage" or side or rear garages for 25 percent of the units, "reviewed as part of a required site plan before any building permit application is submitted."

Two garage rules conflict. Section 5.4.9.B.2.a requires "an enclosed two-car garage" for every townhouse, while Section 5.4.9.B.2.d says "tandem parking is permitted only for residential townhouses with a single-car garage, provided that the driveway accessing the garage has a minimum length of 20 feet." The second rule only makes sense if a single-car garage is allowed for a townhouse. Ask the Zoning Administrator which one the City applies to your plan. Table 5.4-1 asks for "2 per dwelling unit."

Density matters too. RM-12 allows 12 homes per acre, measured over the whole site including streets and open space (Section 4.1.1). A row of 2,900 square foot lots alone works out to 15 homes per acre by VanPlex arithmetic, so a townhouse project in RM-12 needs streets, open space or larger lots to stay under 12. In RMF-22 the cap is 22.

Cottage Communities

Ordinance No. 23-046, adopted September 5, 2023, created "a new housing use type to be known as 'Cottage Communities.'" Section 12.3.1 defines a cottage as "a generic term for a detached housing unit between 600 and 1,500 square feet," and a cottage community as small cottage homes built "in conjunction with shared open space." Under Section 5.11, "Cottage Communities shall be approved only as Planned Developments in the RM-12 Zoning District," so every project is a City Council zoning case.

• Site. "The minimum site area for a cottage housing development shall be one (1) acre."
• Pad or lot. On one lot, "the minimum pad site dedicated per dwelling unit shall be 1,750 square feet"; with separate lots, "the minimum lot size shall be 2,250 square feet."
• Setbacks. 10 feet from the front pad line, 5 feet from side and rear lines, 10 feet between structures, and 20 feet from an outside masonry fence.
• Size and height. At least 600 square feet per cottage; "the maximum building height for all structures is thirty-five (35) feet (two stories)."
• Mix. "Maximum of twenty (20) percent of the units can be twin units," meaning two-unit attached cottages.
• Open space. 15 percent of the gross site as amenities and common open space, plus 200 square feet of private yard for each unit.
• Parking. 1 space for units up to 700 square feet, 1.5 for 701 to 1,000, and 2 above 1,000, plus "one (1) guest parking spot for every four (4) dwelling units."

A cottage community also needs a six-foot masonry fence inside the planted strip at the edge of the site, two or three site amenities from a list that starts with a swimming pool, and an association or management company to own the common areas. A PD case on less than one acre costs $2,400, but since a cottage community needs at least one acre, the fee is $3,000 plus $200 per acre for 1 to under 5 acres.

Apartments in RMF-22

RMF-22 is the city's apartment district. A multi-family lot needs 15,000 square feet and 60 feet of width, and buildings may cover 90 percent of the lot. Each project still needs a City Council vote: Section 10.4.5 requires "a multi-family development plan" for "new construction of a multi-family residential building in the RMF-22," and "multi-family development plan approval occurs by ordinance," after a Planning and Zoning Commission hearing. The ordinance "may contain standards and safeguards over and above" the code.

Section 5.5.4 sets the design rules. "The height of any part of a multi-family building shall not exceed 40 feet if the building is located within 50 feet of a property zoned or used for single-family residential." Buildings facing each other with windows must be 50 feet apart. "At least half of the required number of parking spaces shall be provided in a parking structure, enclosed garage, or carport," and 20 percent must be in an enclosed garage. Each project provides two or more site amenities, such as a pool or sports court. Section 5.5.2.C sets minimum unit sizes of 600 square feet for a studio, 750 for one bedroom, 900 for two and 1,100 for three. Parking in RMF-22 runs from 1 space per studio to 2.5 per three-bedroom unit.

Apartments on Commercial Land (SB 840)

SB 840 requires a covered city to allow apartments in any zone that allows office, commercial, retail, warehouse or mixed use, without a rezoning. Arlington adopted its version in Ordinance No. 25-059. Table 3.1-2 now lists multi-family dwellings as a P in LO, OC, NC, CC, GC, HC, DB, BP, FH, LI, NMU and RMU. Section 10.4.5B requires a development plan, which "the Zoning Administrator has the final authority to approve or deny," after a required pre-application conference. Section 10.3.6.H says no public notice is needed.

Section 5.12 sets the standards. Common open space is 7 percent of the site for buildings over 20,000 and up to 50,000 square feet, and 10 percent above 50,000. Each project provides three amenities from a first list, such as a dog park or fitness center, and two from a second list, such as a pool or sports court; "Swimming pool and shaded children's play area" is "required for projects with more than 80 units." Buildings may be no longer than 180 feet. "At least 80 percent of the required number of parking spaces must be provided in covered parking," and half of those in an enclosed garage. "At least 15 percent of all required parking spaces must include electric vehicle charging stations." Projects of 100 or more units "shall take primary access from an arterial street."

Height follows Section 4.1.7.E. There is "no height limitation" in non-residential districts other than LO, except that a building may not exceed 45 feet within the first 75 feet of a shared line with single-family zoning or use, or one foot of height for every foot of distance from that line. The same section sets a floor: apartments in a non-residential district "must also meet a minimum height of six (6) stories when adjacent to major thoroughfares, freeways, and highways within the first 100 feet of the right-of-way." Section 5.12.5 cites this rule as "Section 4.1.6.E," but in the PDF the rule sits in Section 4.1.7.E; Section 4.1.6 covers setbacks.

Source: Local Government Code 218.101 and 218.102, read from the Texas Legislative Council file server; Arlington UDC, Section 5.12, Section 4.1.7.E and Table 5.4-1.

One row conflicts. Table 5.4-1 asks for "1 parking space per dwelling unit" plus "5 parking spaces (Office Staff) plus 1 space per 10,000 square feet of gross residential floor area (Visitor Parking)." Section 218.102 bars a city from requiring "more than one parking space per dwelling unit." For a 40-unit building of 40,000 square feet, the table asks for 49 spaces, by VanPlex arithmetic, more than one per unit. Section 218.301 lets an affected person or a housing organization sue. Raise the point in writing at the pre-application conference.

Density needs a check as well. Every non-residential district page in Section 2.3 that allows homes sets "Dwelling units/acre, max." at 36, and IM lists "N/A." The state floor is the greater of 36 and "the highest residential density allowed in the municipality." Since 2026 the downtown density bonus in Article 13 allows projects "over 60 DUA and under 100 DUA" in some sub-districts, so ask the City whether it reads that as raising the floor for SB 840 projects elsewhere.

Mixed-Use Buildings and Conversions

A mixed-use residential project on commercial land follows Section 5.13 and a development plan under Section 10.4.5C. It must include "a mix of two or more distinct types of permitted uses, with residential uses occupying at least 65 percent" of the total floor area, and sites "that exceed 50,000 square feet of gross floor area must include at least one use from the Commercial Uses category."

Converting an office, retail or warehouse building to homes has its own rules in Sections 5.12.3 and 5.13.4, which repeat Local Government Code 218.203 and 218.204. They apply when at least 65 percent of the building and of each usable floor is converted, and the building received its certificate of occupancy at least five years before. The City may not then require a traffic study, a traffic fee, "additional parking spaces, other than the parking spaces that already exist on the site," design rules stricter than the International Building Code, or impact fees unless the land already owed them.

Downtown Triplexes, Fourplexes and Cottage Courts (2026)

Article 13, adopted by Ordinance No. 26-019, defines a triplex as "a building that contains three dwelling units on a single lot, arranged side-by-side and/or stacked," and a fourplex the same way with four. Both are "a subset of Dwelling, Multi-Family." In the downtown district mapped by Ordinance No. 26-020:

• Traditional Neighborhood (TN). House, duplex, triplex, townhouse and ADU, with a maximum building width of 60 feet and "1,500 SF of lot area required for each dwelling unit." A triplex therefore needs 4,500 square feet, by VanPlex arithmetic. Downtown TN height is "31 feet or 2-1/2 stories." Parking is 2.0 spaces per home.
• Urban Neighborhood (UN). Everything in TN plus the fourplex, the mansion apartment of five to eight units, apartments, and the cottage court. Height is "three (3) stories or 40 feet" in areas marked UN-3 and "five (5) stories or 60 feet" in UN-5. Parking is 1.5 spaces per home.
• Cottage court. In UN, "min. 3 units, max. 12 units (each unit shall require 1,200 sq.ft. of land area)," with at least 15 percent of the site as common open space and a height of 2.5 stories.
• Density bonus. In UN-5, CMU, Downtown Core and Downtown Gateway, projects above 36 homes per acre pay a Downtown Beautification Fee, which the fee schedule sets at "$500 per dua over 36 dua," and must meet structured or shared parking rules.

The fee schedule effective October 1, 2026 lists a "Residential Form Based Zoning Site Plan (triplex, fourplex, and multi-family up to 8 units)" at $2,400 and a mandatory pre-development consultation at $200.

Where to Go Next

Related on VanPlex: the Arlington overview, the SB 840 page, and building codes for duplexes to fourplexes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Official sources (checked October 2026)