ADU · Orange County

Can you build an ADU in Monroe, NY?

Village of Monroe has 7 districts. 5 districts prohibit ADUs, 2 allow them with occupancy restrictions. 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 Monroe code says

In SR-10 and SR-20 only, an accessory apartment is permitted inside a single-family detached house or in an accessory structure such as a garage on a lot with a single-family residence, and the owner must live on the premises (§ 200-49F). UR-M, GB and LI are excluded.

Conditions the code attaches:

The unit must have at least 600 and not over 1,000 square feet of habitable floor area, may not exceed the size of the primary residence, and is capped at one bedroom (§ 200-49E).
Where the unit is inside the main dwelling, the primary residence must have at least 1,000 square feet of habitable space.
No more than one accessory apartment is allowed per existing single-family detached dwelling on a lot (§ 200-49B).
The lot must meet its district's single-family requirements, or if already nonconforming, the apartment must not increase the nonconformity (§ 200-49A).
Proof of adequate water supply and sewage disposal is required (§ 200-49D), along with off-street parking for each dwelling unit (§ 200-49C).
Each unit needs its own bathroom and kitchen, and the structure may have only one front entrance and one entrance from any other facade (§ 200-49G).

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
Suburban Residential	0.23 ac	30 / 15 / 35 ft	35 ft	Occupancy restricted
Suburban Residential	0.46 ac	40 / 20 / 50 ft	35 ft	Occupancy restricted
Urban Residential-Multifamily	0.23 ac	30 / 15 / 35 ft	35 ft	No
Village Recreation	0.92 ac	40 / 20 / 20 ft	35 ft	No
Central Business	—	0 / 0 / 20 ft	35 ft	No
General Business	0.46 ac	60 / 50 / 40 ft	35 ft	No
Light Industrial	0.46 ac	60 / 50 / 40 ft	35 ft	No

Suburban Residential - Habitable space is held to thirty feet and two storeys, while total height at the peak may reach the thirty-five feet shown. An accessory apartment, bed-and-breakfast or residential gathering place takes a house's lot and yards but needs a special permit.

The special permits for those uses fall under §§ 200-49, 200-60 and 200-60.1.
A neighbourhood place of worship needs at least twenty thousand square feet, and a community place of worship at least sixty thousand on at least a hundred and fifty feet of width.
A school of general instruction needs at least a hundred and twenty thousand square feet on at least two hundred feet of width and a rear yard of at least fifty feet, plus more land under § 200-60.4.
A building is capped at the lesser of the height in feet and the storey count shown.

Suburban Residential - Habitable space is held to thirty feet and two storeys, while total height at the peak may reach the thirty-five feet shown. An accessory apartment, bed-and-breakfast or residential gathering place takes the same standards as a house but needs a special permit.

A convalescent home needs at least thirty thousand square feet on at least two hundred feet of width, with a front setback of at least a hundred and fifty feet and coverage up to sixty percent.
A community place of worship needs at least sixty thousand square feet; a neighbourhood place of worship needs at least twenty thousand square feet, the same as a house.
A school of general instruction needs at least a hundred and twenty thousand square feet, with a front setback of at least eighty feet.
A building is capped at the lesser of the height in feet and the storey count shown.

Urban Residential-Multifamily - Land per dwelling unit sets density here: at least three thousand square feet a unit for rental and townhouse developments, and at least seven thousand five hundred for a two-family house.

The lot figures shown are for a one-family house. A two-family needs at least fifteen thousand square feet, and multifamily rental and fee-simple townhouses at least forty thousand each.
A mobile home court needs at least five acres.
Each unit needs at least a thousand square feet of liveable floor area, or at least twelve hundred for a fee-simple townhouse.
No side yard is required for multifamily or townhouse development, except that a corner or end unit takes at least twenty feet.
A building is capped at the lesser of the height in feet and the storey count shown.

Village Recreation - The figures shown are for an indoor recreation facility, which needs a special permit under § 200-57. An outdoor recreation facility needs at least five acres.

A building is capped at the lesser of the height in feet and the storey count shown.

Central Business - For commercial uses the code specifies no minimum lot area, lot width or front setback, which lets a downtown building stand on the street line on a lot of any size.

An existing residential building has separate standards: at least ten thousand square feet on at least a hundred feet of width, with coverage up to twenty-five percent.
An existing residential building needs a front yard of at least thirty feet, side yards of at least fifteen feet each and at least thirty for the pair, and a rear yard of at least thirty-five feet.
A hotel may reach fifty-two feet and four storeys.
A building is capped at the lesser of the height in feet and the storey count shown.

General Business - A car wash needs at least forty thousand square feet on at least a hundred and fifty feet of width, with side and rear yards of at least twenty-five feet.

A garden centre needs at least forty thousand square feet, with coverage up to fifty percent and a front yard of at least forty feet.
A drive-through use needs a special permit under § 200-59 and at least a hundred and fifty feet of width.
A building is capped at the lesser of the height in feet and the storey count shown.

Light Industrial - The figures shown are the general commercial standards that most permitted uses share. Light industry itself needs a special permit and at least forty thousand square feet, with coverage up to fifty percent and shallower side and rear yards.

Motor vehicle repair and existing motor vehicle uses need at least forty thousand square feet on at least a hundred and fifty feet of width.
An existing residential building needs at least ten thousand square feet on at least a hundred feet of width, a front yard of at least thirty feet and side yards of at least fifteen feet each.
A building is capped at the lesser of the height in feet and the storey count shown.

ADUs vs. short-term rentals in Monroe

Short-term rentals allowed with local rules for Village of Monroe. The Village of Monroe prohibits short-term rentals through its zoning code. 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 minimum0.23–0.46 ac — an ADU still has to fit the district's lot and setback envelope.
UtilityOrange & Rockland territory.
Zoning codeecode360.com/7235050
Building dept(845) 783-1900

ADU FAQ — Monroe, NY

Are ADUs allowed in Monroe, NY?

Village of Monroe has 7 districts. 5 districts prohibit ADUs, 2 allow them with occupancy restrictions. 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 Village of Monroe requires a special-use permit for an ADU - 5 districts prohibit ADUs, 2 allow them with occupancy restrictions. 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 Village 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: § 200-49 · § 200-5 · § 200-46
Districts confirmed: 7 of 7 — every mapped district.
Last reviewed: 2026-07-12
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 Village of Monroe is compiled from the municipal code (last reviewed 2026-07-12) 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.