Auburn Hills caps residential buildings at two stories and twenty-five feet — ten feet lower than Rochester Hills or Shelby. If you are thinking about a second story here, the height limit is the first conversation, not the last.
4.9 star
Over 100 Reviews
5 year
Warranty on our workmanship
2014
Founded in Metro Detroit
100%
In-house design, source & build
Auburn Hills incorporated in 1983 from the former Pontiac Township, but the settlement goes back to about 1821. The housing reflects both: a genuine pre-war core around Auburn Heights and the Village of Auburn, a substantial 1950s wave, then heavy 1970s and 80s suburban build-out and newer neo-traditional infill at Forester Square and The Preserve at Bald Mountain.
It is a more mixed market than its neighbours, with a large rental population around the corporate and university corridors, and owner-occupied work concentrated in specific subdivisions rather than spread evenly across the city.
For remodeling, the defining fact is the height cap. Two stories and twenty-five feet is low, and it makes a second-story addition or a steep-roofed great room a genuinely different proposition here than in Rochester Hills.
01 - Kitchens
Custom cabinetry and layout work across a range from postwar ranches to 2000s colonials.
$55,000 – $130,000+
02 - Bathrooms
Primary suites and hall baths, with waterproofing and a flood-tested pan on every shower.
$18,000 – $85,000+
03 - Additions
Ground-floor additions planned around a 25-foot height cap and a 30 percent coverage limit.
$110,000 – $320,000+
04 - Whole-home
Full renovations of well-built homes across several eras.
$220,000 – $600,000+
Ranges shown are typical for Auburn Hills. Full tier-by-tier pricing is on each cost guide.
Auburn Hills limits residential buildings to two stories and 25 feet across every single-family district. Rochester Hills allows 35 feet; Shelby Township allows 35. A second-story addition or a steep-pitched great room that clears comfortably one town over may need a variance here. We check ridge height against the cap during schematic design, not at permit.
A nonconforming structure may continue, but it may not be enlarged or altered in a way that increases the nonconformity. In practice that rules out extending a wall line that already sits inside a setback — a very common addition strategy elsewhere. It also means a structure destroyed beyond 75 percent of replacement value must be rebuilt to current standards.
The main building is limited to 30 percent coverage, which may rise to 40 percent including decks — but only where a 25-foot rear yard is maintained, against a base requirement of 10 feet. A generous rear deck therefore costs considerably more rear yard than people expect.
Auburn Hills has no Historic District Commission and no local historic district. The Historical Society is a community organisation, not a regulatory body. Exterior work here carries no Certificate of Appropriateness layer at all, which is a genuine advantage over Rochester Hills next door.
A residential application requires the applicant’s driver’s licence, the state contractor’s licence and a liability insurance certificate attached, plus three sets of plans. Additions and alterations carry a $31 application fee; new residential construction carries $781, including a $750 engineering review that does not apply to an addition. Processing runs two to four weeks.
Requirements change. Confirm current specifics with Auburn Hills Community Development before relying on any of the above. Tree and woodland exemptions for occupied single-family lots in particular should be confirmed per parcel.
We build throughout Auburn Hills and the surrounding communities — Rochester Hills, Bloomfield Hills and Troy.
Twenty-five feet is a low cap. On a house with an existing steep roof, a second story or a vaulted addition can run out of height before it runs out of budget, and the answer is either a redesign or a trip to the Zoning Board of Appeals.
The other early check is nonconformity. If part of your house already sits inside a setback, Auburn Hills will not let you extend that wall line, which rules out the simplest version of a great many additions.
Both are ten-minute checks at the survey stage. We don't reface cabinets and we don't paint them; we're the right fit when the house deserves a proper renovation within the rules that apply to it.
4.8 stars
Average customer review
2014
Founded in Metro Detroit
Old Woodward
Our office, in Birmingham
100%
In-house design, source & build
Can I add a second story?
It depends on your existing roof and ridge height, because Auburn Hills caps residential buildings at two stories and 25 feet. That is ten feet lower than Rochester Hills or Shelby Township. We measure against the cap during design rather than at permit.
Part of my house is inside the setback. Can I extend it?
Not along that line. Auburn Hills does not permit a nonconforming structure to be enlarged in a way that increases the nonconformity. There are usually other routes to the same square footage, but the straight extension is not one of them.
Is my house in a historic district?
No. Auburn Hills has no Historic District Commission and no local historic districts, so there is no design review layer on exterior work anywhere in the city.
How much of my lot can I build on?
Thirty percent for the main building, rising to 40 percent including decks, but that higher allowance requires a 25-foot rear yard against a base of 10 feet. The deck effectively buys coverage with rear yard.
What do you need from me to pull the permit?
Auburn Hills requires the contractor's licence, liability insurance certificate and a copy of a driver's licence attached to the application, plus three sets of plans. We assemble that packet so the submission is not held up.
Are you licensed and insured in Michigan?
Yes, licensed Michigan residential builder, Lic. 2102213502, fully insured, with our office on Old Woodward in Birmingham.
Planning a renovation in Auburn Hills?
