ADU · Orange County

Can you build an ADU in Monroe, NY?

Town of Monroe has 11 districts. 6 districts allow ADUs with occupancy restrictions, 5 do not. Check your address to confirm the district that applies to your parcel:

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What the Monroe code says

In OSR, RR, SR-20, SR-15, SR-10 and URM, an owner living in a single-family detached house may apply to the Planning Board for an accessory apartment permit, which it reviews without a public hearing. An accessory apartment is not permitted in NB, GB, LI, HI or BP-O.

Conditions the code attaches:

The apartment must sit entirely within the single-family dwelling (§ 57-44A(1)).
Habitable floor area must be at least 450 sq ft and no more than the lesser of 30% of the house's gross floor area or 750 sq ft (§ 57-44A(2)(c)).
The lot must meet all bulk requirements for a single-family dwelling in its district (§ 57-44A(2)(b)).
The apartment may be occupied by no more than one family, and the occupants do not have to be related to the owner (§ 57-3).
The Planning Board applies the standards strictly and may not waive any of them except as the law specifically provides.
The house does not have to reach any particular age before an apartment is added.

What the Monroe 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
Open Space Residential	3 ac	60 / 50 / 60 ft	35 ft	Occupancy restricted
Rural Residential	1 ac	50 / 30 / 60 ft	35 ft	Occupancy restricted
Suburban Residential	0.46 ac	40 / 15 / 50 ft	35 ft	Occupancy restricted
Suburban Residential	0.34 ac	40 / 15 / 40 ft	35 ft	Occupancy restricted
Suburban Residential	0.23 ac	25 / 15 / 35 ft	35 ft	Occupancy restricted
Urban Residential Multiple	5 ac	60 / 30 / 60 ft	35 ft	Occupancy restricted
Neighborhood Business	0.46 ac	40 / 25 / 30 ft	35 ft	No
General Business	0.23 ac	60 / 8 / 20 ft	35 ft	No
Light Industry	1 ac	40 / 30 / 40 ft	50 ft	No
Heavy Industry	1 ac	40 / 20 / 20 ft	50 ft	No
Business Park Overlay	75 ac	40 / 20 / 20 ft	50 ft	No

Open Space Residential - The principal uses permitted are agriculture, horticulture, a single-family dwelling and a municipal park. A school, place of worship, cemetery or child day camp needs Planning Board authorisation and site plan approval.

So does a membership club, a public utility building, a bed-and-breakfast or the adaptive reuse of a historic building.

Rural Residential - A mobile home park needs a site of at least 15 acres and a golf course at least a hundred and seventy-five acres, and each needs Planning Board authorisation and site plan approval.

Suburban Residential - The figures shown are for a lot on central sewer. Without central sewer the lot must be at least a full acre and at least a hundred and twenty-five feet wide, with at least fifty feet to the front line and thirty to each side, and coverage is capped at fifteen percent.

Suburban Residential - The figures shown are for a lot on central sewer. Without central sewer the lot must be at least a full acre, on at least a hundred and twenty-five feet of width.

Suburban Residential - The figures shown are for a lot on central sewer. Without central sewer the lot must be at least a full acre and at least a hundred and twenty-five feet wide, with at least fifty feet to the front line and sixty to the rear, and coverage is capped at fifteen percent.

Urban Residential Multiple - The figures shown are for a multiple dwelling group, which is what the district exists for. A one-family house needs at least ten thousand square feet on central sewer, or at least a full acre without it.

Neighborhood Business - A child day-care centre or a drive-through facility needs Planning Board authorisation and site plan approval.

Light Industry - The figures shown are for a lot on central sewer. Without central sewer the lot must be at least two acres, on at least two hundred feet of width.

Business Park Overlay - BP-O is an overlay that sits on top of the underlying district rather than replacing it. It exists for a regional shopping centre, on a site of at least seventy-five acres.

ADUs vs. short-term rentals in Monroe

Short-term rentals allowed with local rules for Town of Monroe. Renting a home short term in the Town of Monroe requires an annual permit under Chapter 254, Rentals, Short Term, adopted as Local Law No. 1 of 2022. 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 minimum0.23–5 ac — an ADU still has to fit the district's lot and setback envelope.
UtilityOrange & Rockland territory.
Zoning codeecode360.com/MO0402
Building dept(845) 783-1900

ADU FAQ — Monroe, NY

Are ADUs allowed in Monroe, NY?

Town of Monroe has 11 districts. 6 districts allow ADUs with occupancy restrictions, 5 do not. Check your address with the free ADU checker, or confirm with the building department at (845) 783-1900.

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

No district in Town of Monroe requires a special-use permit for an ADU - 6 districts allow ADUs with occupancy restrictions, 5 do not. Site-plan review or a building permit may still apply.

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

Short-term rentals allowed with local rules for Town of Monroe. 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 Monroe

Permission is one question and budget is another. An 800 sq ft accessory unit here runs roughly $205k–270k 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 Monroe, priced by size.

How we know this

Sections analyzed: 57 Attachment A (Schedule of District Regulations) · § 57-44A · § 57-3
Districts confirmed: 11 of 11 — every mapped district.
Last reviewed: 2026-06-16
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 Monroe: Full zoning for new construction · ADU build cost · House build cost · ADU rules across Orange County · All Orange County towns

ADU information for Town of Monroe is compiled from the municipal code (last reviewed 2026-06-16) 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 building department at (845) 783-1900 before relying on any answer. Source: the Offsite / Aldo zoning dataset.