ADU · Rensselaer County

Can you build an ADU in North Greenbush, NY?

Town of North Greenbush has 13 districts. 7 districts prohibit ADUs, 3 allow them with occupancy restrictions, 2 require a special-use permit. 1 district has incomplete data - verify with the building department at (518) 283-5313. Check your address to confirm the district that applies to your parcel:

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What the North Greenbush code says

A detached carriage house needs a special permit in AR and R-1, but only on a lot of at least five acres with a primary residence over 4,000 square feet. In R-2, R-3 and R-4 the only accessory unit is an attached caregiver unit whose permit ends when its occupants leave.

Conditions the code attaches:

The 4,000 square feet excludes porches, decks, terraces, patios, breezeways, basements and garages.
A carriage house carries no kinship, owner-occupancy or rental restriction, is limited to one per parcel, and may not be subdivided from the house.
Its living area must be at least 750 square feet and no more than 25% of the house's, its average roof height at most 28 feet, and it must share the house's driveway.
The Planning Board may approve carriage houses on a subdivision plat after a public hearing, instead of a ZBA special permit for each lot.
The caregiver unit needs a special permit in AR, R-1, R-2, R-3 and R-4, must be attached to and within the house, and is capped at 1,000 net square feet, two bedrooms and three persons.
No accessory dwelling is permitted in H, BN, PBD, C, BG, IG or TP, and the rule in NP is not confirmed.

What the North Greenbush 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
Agriculture Residential District	2 ac	50 / 50 / 50 ft	35 ft	Special permit
Residential District 1	0.92 ac	50 / 50 / 50 ft	35 ft	Special permit
Residential District 2	0.92 ac	50 / 50 / 50 ft	35 ft	Occupancy restricted
Residential District 3	0.92 ac	50 / 50 / 50 ft	35 ft	Occupancy restricted
Residential District 4	0.92 ac	50 / 50 / 50 ft	35 ft	Occupancy restricted
Hamlet	0.46 ac	25 / 20 / 35 ft	40 ft	No
Neighborhood Business District	0.46 ac	30 / 20 / 35 ft	40 ft	No
Professional Business District	0.46 ac	30 / 20 / 35 ft	40 ft	No
Commercial District	5 ac	50 / 50 / 50 ft	45 ft	No
General Business District	0.46 ac	30 / 20 / 30 ft	45 ft	No
Industrial District	0.92 ac	35 / 40 / 50 ft	45 ft	No
Technology Park District	0.92 ac	35 / 40 / 50 ft	60 ft	No
Natural Products Extraction District	2 ac	50 / 50 / 50 ft	40 ft	—

ADUs vs. short-term rentals in North Greenbush

No local short-term-rental law on record - which is not the same as permission for Town of North Greenbush. The Town of North Greenbush has no local short-term rental law, and that is not the same as permission. Confirm with the building department before listing. 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 minimum0.46–2 ac — an ADU still has to fit the district's lot and setback envelope.
UtilityNational Grid territory.
Zoning codeecode360.com/10878926
Building dept(518) 283-5313

ADU FAQ — North Greenbush, NY

Are ADUs allowed in North Greenbush, NY?

Do I need a special permit for an ADU in North Greenbush?

It depends on the district: 2 of 13 require a special-use permit, the rest do not. Check the district that applies to your parcel before you design.

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

No local short-term-rental law on record - which is not the same as permission for Town of North Greenbush. 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.

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What an ADU costs to build in North Greenbush

Permission is one question and budget is another. An 800 sq ft accessory unit here runs roughly $195k–255k 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 North Greenbush, priced by size.

How we know this

Sections analyzed: Ch. 197 Zoning: Art II § 197-3 Definitions (carriage house; caregiver; dwelling, caregiver/receiver temporary); Art III § 197-4 Zoning districts (am. 3-14-2024 by L.L. No. 1-2024); Art IV § 197-7 Use schedule (Table 1), § 197-10; Art V § 197-12C Carriage houses C(1)(a)-(k) and C(2), § 197-13; Art VII § 197-31.1 Caregiver/receiver temporary dwelling unit A, B, C(1)-(8); 197 Attachment 1 Table 1
Districts confirmed: 12 of 13 — 1 not yet analyzed, so this page does not answer for it.
Last reviewed: 2026-09-16
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 North Greenbush: Full zoning for new construction · ADU build cost · House build cost · ADU rules across Rensselaer County · All Rensselaer County towns

ADU information for Town of North Greenbush is compiled from the municipal code (last reviewed 2026-09-16) 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 (518) 283-5313 before relying on any answer. Source: the Offsite / Aldo zoning dataset.