Austin MF-6 zoning: the district with no density limit
| Standard | MF-6 | MF-5, for comparison |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum lot size | 8,000 sq ft | 8,000 sq ft |
| Minimum lot width | 50 ft | 50 ft |
| Minimum site area per dwelling unit | none set | 800 to 1,200 sq ft, depending on bedroom count |
| Maximum height | 90 ft | 60 ft |
| Front setback | 15 ft | 15 ft |
| Street side setback | 15 ft | 15 ft |
| Interior side setback | 5 ft | 5 ft |
| Rear setback | 10 ft | 10 ft |
| Building coverage | 70% | 60% |
| Impervious cover | 80% | 70% |
| Floor-to-area ratio | none set | 1:1 |
From §25-2-492 and §25-2-563. MF-6 carries the highest height, building coverage and impervious cover of any MF district, and is the only one with no per-unit site area minimum and no floor-to-area ratio.
There is no density figure anywhere
Every other multifamily district in Austin is bounded by a minimum site area per dwelling unit, set out in §§25-2-560 through 25-2-563 — see the MF-1 through MF-5 breakdown for those numbers. MF-6 has no equivalent section. §25-2-564 is Reserved — it carries a heading and nothing else, no operative text at all.
The designation doesn't fill the gap either. §25-2-67 describes MF-6 only as "the designation for multifamily and group residential use," appropriate for "a centrally located area near supporting transportation and commercial facilities" or "an area for which the high density multifamily use is desired." No units-per-acre figure, no per-unit square footage — MF-6 is the only multifamily designation that names no density at all.
And there is no floor-to-area ratio. The §25-2-492 table sets 0.75:1 in MF-3 and MF-4 and 1:1 in MF-5; the MF-6 cell is blank, the same as MF-1 and MF-2.
Three places a density number could live — the per-unit minimum, the designation, the FAR — and all three are empty. That is not an oversight to work around; it is the whole shape of the district.
What actually bounds an MF-6 building
With no density mechanism, what limits an MF-6 building is the envelope alone, from §25-2-492:
- 90 ft maximum height — the tallest allowance of any residential district in the code, 30 ft above MF-4 and MF-5.
- 70% maximum building coverage — ten points above MF-4 and MF-5.
- 80% maximum impervious cover — also ten points above MF-4 and MF-5.
- Setbacks of 15 ft front, 15 ft street side, 5 ft interior side and 10 ft rear, identical to MF-4 and MF-5.
The minimum lot size and width — 8,000 sq ft and 50 ft — are the same across every MF district from MF-1 to MF-6, so they don't move here either.
Practically: divide the buildable footprint by whatever unit sizes the market and the building code support, and that arithmetic — not a zoning minimum — sets the unit count. The 70%/80% gap of 10 percentage points is the entire budget for drive aisles, walkways and surface parking beyond the building footprint, which on a site pushing 90 ft of height is usually structured parking rather than surface, changing the economics well before zoning does.
Reaching MF-6 standards on MF-2 to MF-5 land
§25-2-567 is a density bonus that predates the current affordability programs and is still on the books. On property zoned MF-2, MF-3, MF-4 or MF-5 that is either undeveloped or developed only with an agricultural use, a development may comply with MF-6 site development regulations if the director of the Neighborhood Housing and Community Development Department certifies compliance with the City's S.M.A.R.T. Housing Program, and one of these holds:
- Rental — 10% of the residential units reserved as affordable for at least 40 years, for households at or below 60% of median family income for the Austin metropolitan statistical area.
- Owner-occupied — 5% reserved for at least 99 years at or below 80% MFI, and a further 5% for at least 99 years at or below 100% MFI.
What that unlocks, against the table above: an MF-2 site moving to MF-6 standards goes from 50% building coverage to 70%, from 60% impervious cover to 80%, and loses its per-unit site area minimum entirely.
One important limit. Subsection (C) says development under this section must still comply with the height regulations established elsewhere in the code. So this is not a straightforward route to 90 ft — the coverage and density standards travel with the bonus, and height is handled separately.
What we check first on MF-6 land
Whether it's actually MF-6, first. Because the envelope is this generous, the district gets talked about loosely — "MF-6 standards" is also the shorthand for what a §25-2-567 bonus project reaches on MF-2 through MF-5 land. Those are two different starting points with the same coverage and impervious numbers but different underlying zoning, and a §25-2-567 project still has to clear the S.M.A.R.T. Housing certification and the affordability reservation. Confirming which one you actually have changes the entitlement conversation from the first meeting.
Then parking and structure, before unit count. With no per-unit density limit, the 70% building coverage and 80% impervious cover are what set the footprint, and at up to 90 ft that footprint usually needs structured rather than surface parking — which is a cost question that belongs in the pro forma early, not after a unit count has already been assumed.
Then height against everything sitting on top of the base district. 90 ft is the base zoning number; compatibility standards and neighborhood plan overlays can cut it well below that depending on what's adjacent, and we treat 90 ft as the ceiling before that analysis, never as the answer.
Common questions
Send us an address and we will tell you what we find
We do this research ourselves on every project we take on — zoning, floodplain, watershed, trees, whether it is a legal lot. Send us an address and we will run it and tell you what we find. It works the same whether you own a vacant lot, a house you are thinking of adding a unit to, or a house you are thinking of replacing. No charge and no strings, and if it is a bad lot we will say so.
Send us an addressWe are homebuilders, not the City of Austin. This page explains how we read the code in practice — it is not legal advice and it is not an official determination. Always confirm with Austin Development Services before you rely on it for a project. The authoritative text is the Austin Land Development Code; permitting questions go to Austin Development Services Department.