Building Official Determination 19-06: Accessory Kitchens

Building Code Guides (BCGs) and Building Official Determinations (BODs) provide answers about the application of building codes and outline optional alternates. BODs are typically smaller in scope and address simpler questions. Code Guides provide a comprehensive alternative to a complicated set of code requirements.

BOD 19-06: Accessory Kitchens in Single Family Dwellings

QUESTION: Can a single-family dwelling have more than one kitchen?

RESPONSE: The Oregon Residential Specialty Code (ORSC) does not limit the number of kitchens in a single-family dwelling. However, the ORSC defines a dwelling unit as, “A single unit providing complete independent living facilities for one or more persons, including provisions for living, sleeping, eating, cooking and sanitation.”  (ORSC R202). The City of Portland seeks to avoid illegal conversions of single-family dwellings into duplexes or multi-family structures. Such conversions create fire and life safety issues for the residents because the structures do not comply with the ORSC requirements for multiple dwelling units in a single structure or attached structures. In order to accomplish this goal, the City of Portland will require a building permit to install a new kitchen within a single-family dwelling and will impose certain conditions outlined in this document.  In order to install an additional kitchen:

1. The accessory kitchen may be located in a portion of the building that would meet the definition of a dwelling unit only if that portion of the building is not and will not be separated from the rest of the building by walls or closing a door. 
2. The accessory kitchen may not be located in a detached structure with a bathroom.
3. Any additional accessory kitchen installed in a single-family dwelling must comply with all of the same Electrical, Plumbing and Mechanical Code requirements as the main kitchen. 
4. The following uses are currently allowed in a single family dwelling and may include an accessory kitchen under the conditions of this BOD: 
   1. Detached owner-occupied lodging house containing not more than five guestrooms
   2. Adult foster homes located in detached one-family dwellings
5. The homeowner must complete and record an “Additional Accessory Kitchen Covenant” as part of the building permit process. That Covenant is the property owner’s acknowledgement that the structure will remain a single-family dwelling and that the accessory kitchen will not become part of an additional dwelling unit without obtaining a building permit for the creation of the additional dwelling unit. The covenant must have the permit number listed (available after the permit has been set up) and be signed by a City Plans Examiner before it is recorded.  Once it is recorded with the Multnomah County Recorder’s Office, a copy of the recorded Covenant must be provided to the City Plans Examiner as a condition of permit Issuance.

NOTE: This Building Official Determination may not be utilized for structures containing Accessory Dwelling Units, townhouses, structures that are considered two-family dwellings per the ORSC, or multi-family structures per the OSSC.

HISTORY: Implemented January 6, 2020. Revised February 20, 2020 and March 11, 2024.

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