ADU · Delaware County

Can you build an ADU in Andes, NY?

Town of Andes has 1 district. The only district allows ADUs. Check your address to confirm the district that applies to your parcel:

Check my address for ADU feasibility → Free · no account needed to start

What the Andes code says

An accessory apartment is permitted on a zoning permit from the Code Enforcement Officer, and the zoning law attaches no size cap or tenancy restriction to it. The deciding limit is the dwelling unit allocation: a tract under 5 acres is allowed one dwelling unit.

Conditions the code attaches:

Whether an accessory apartment counts against a tract's dwelling unit allocation is not stated in the law. On a parcel under 5 acres, that answer decides whether a second unit is possible.
Confirm the allocation question with the Code Enforcement Officer before counting on a second unit.
A detached second unit is materially harder: § 3.08 allows more than one principal building on a lot only where each has land area meeting the full lot area, frontage and setback requirements.
The law defines a dwelling unit as a building or portion of one with complete living, cooking, sanitary and sleeping facilities, wording an accessory apartment could fall under.
GR (General Rural) covers the whole town, so the same rule applies to every parcel.
The zoning law sets no separate standards section for accessory apartments and no annual filing.

What the Andes code indicates by district

The table below shows how each district treats ADUs, alongside the lot and setback standards that govern a second unit. District boundaries and conditions vary, so treat this as a starting point and confirm the district that applies to your parcel.

District	Min lot	Setbacks F / S / R	Max height	ADU
General Rural	1 ac	50 / 75 / 75 ft	—	As of right

General Rural - The number of homes a parcel can hold is set by an allocation tied to the tract as it existed in 1993, not by the one acre minimum: one unit under five acres, two from five to 9.99 acres, three at ten acres and over, plus one more for each additional seven acres above ten.

Subdividing does not create new units, and dwellings built or lots split since 1993 come off the total, so on a parcel with later history the remaining allocation is a document to obtain.
Side and rear yards grow with lot size: 25 ft under three acres, 50 ft from three to five acres, and 75 ft above five acres.
Required frontage steps up the same way: 100 ft, 200 ft and 300 ft, with a cul-de-sac alternative of 60 ft, 70 ft and 80 ft.
§ 2.06(C) sets the front yard at 75 ft from the road centre line where the right-of-way is under 60 ft, or 45 ft from the right-of-way edge where it is 60 ft or more.
Under § 2.04, topography, soil limitations or other site conditions may reduce the achievable number of units below the allocated maximum.
Driveways, fences, walls and hedges are exempt from the setbacks under § 2.06(E).

ADUs vs. short-term rentals in Andes

Short-term rentals allowed with local rules for Town of Andes. Short term rentals are regulated here through Local Law 1 of 2022, a standalone transient rental permit regime rather than the zoning law. Anyone operating a transient rental must hold a permit filed with the Town, obtained from the Code Enforcement Officer. These are separate questions from whether you can build an ADU — a unit you're allowed to add isn't automatically one you're allowed to rent nightly, so check both.

Good to know

Residential lot minimum1 ac — an ADU still has to fit the district's lot and setback envelope.
Zoning codedrive.google.com/file/d/1VGwKJyBvhHq2uMDJx-wkRrbKF0YTavTJ/view

ADU FAQ — Andes, NY

Are ADUs allowed in Andes, NY?

Town of Andes has 1 district. The only district allows ADUs. Check your address with the free ADU checker, or confirm with the building department.

Do I need a special permit for an ADU in Andes?

No district in Town of Andes requires a special-use permit for an ADU - 1 district allows ADUs. Site-plan review or a building permit may still apply.

Can I use an ADU as a short-term rental in Andes?

Short-term rentals allowed with local rules for Town of Andes. ADU occupancy and short-term-rental rules are separate: an ADU you can build isn't automatically one you can rent nightly. Confirm both before you count on STR income.

Run the free ADU check for your parcel →

What an ADU costs to build in Andes

Permission is one question and budget is another. An 800 sq ft accessory unit here runs roughly $185k–245k at a standard finish, and the per-square-foot rate comes in above a full house because the kitchen, bath, panel and heating plant cost the same either way. See the full cost to build an ADU in Andes, priced by size.

How we know this

Sections analyzed: Town of Andes Zoning Law § 2.07(C) Permitted Uses (accessory apartments); § 2.03 Allocations; § 2.06 Lot Dimension and Setback Requirements; § 3.03 Minimum Housing Unit Size; § 3.08 Minimum Area Required for Principal Building
Districts confirmed: 1 of 1 — every mapped district.
Last reviewed: 2026-08-24
Not covered here: Overlay districts, the zoning map, and any conditions attached to an individual parcel. Size limits and owner-occupancy terms sit in the code section above, not in this summary.

More on Andes: Full zoning for new construction · ADU build cost · House build cost · ADU rules across Delaware County · All Delaware County towns

ADU information for Town of Andes is compiled from the municipal code (last reviewed 2026-08-24) and provided for decision-support only — not legal or architectural advice. ADU eligibility, size, owner-occupancy and permit conditions vary by district and often carry exceptions; verify with the municipality before relying on any answer. Source: the Offsite / Aldo zoning dataset.