ADU · Rockland County

Can you build an ADU in Haverstraw, NY?

Village of Haverstraw has 13 districts. 7 districts allow ADUs with a special-use permit, 6 do not. Check your address to confirm the district that applies to your parcel:

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What the Haverstraw code says

An accessory apartment needs a special permit in R-1, R-1T, RC-1, RC-2, R-2 and R-3 and may house only the owner's parent, grandparent, son or daughter. In RC-1, RC-2 and R-2 an owner-occupied pre-1972 house can become a two-family let to anyone. Other districts allow neither.

Conditions the code attaches:

For an accessory apartment the owner must live in the main dwelling, have lived there ten continuous years before applying, and sign a sworn affidavit that the occupants are blood relatives.
For an accessory apartment the house must be 25 years old with at least 2,000 square feet of habitable space; a ZBA variance can relieve these two requirements.
The apartment must be at least 400 square feet and no more than the lesser of 50% of the dwelling's habitable area or 600 square feet, unless the dwelling's circumstances warrant more or less.
One apartment per dwelling and per lot, never in a cellar or garage; the premises are inspected yearly, and an apartment that stops meeting the criteria must be removed.
A converted two-family must stay owner-occupied, with no significant exterior change, one entrance, and no unit in a cellar or detached building (§ 245-14C).
Accommodations for servants are a permitted accessory use by right in R-1, R-1T, RC-1, RC-2, R-2 and R-3, with no special permit or affidavit.

What the Haverstraw 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
One-Family Residence	0.17 ac	25 / 10 / 25 ft	35 ft	Special permit
One-Family Residence Transitional	0.17 ac	25 / 10 / 25 ft	35 ft	Special permit
Planned Residential Development	0.17 ac	25 / 10 / 25 ft	35 ft	No
Residential Conservation 1	0.11 ac	25 / 10 / 20 ft	35 ft	Special permit
Residential Conservation 2	0.08 ac	20 / 10 / 20 ft	35 ft	Special permit
Two-Family Residence	0.08 ac	20 / 10 / 20 ft	35 ft	Special permit
Multiple Residence	0.08 ac	20 / 10 / 20 ft	35 ft	Special permit
Multifamily 1	0.46 ac	30 / 15 / 30 ft	52 ft	Special permit
Central Business District	—	10 / 8 / 10 ft	40 ft	No
Professional Office	0.23 ac	30 / 10 / 20 ft	35 ft	No
Highway Business	0.23 ac	30 / 20 / 35 ft	35 ft	No
Planned Industrial	0.92 ac	50 / 30 / 50 ft	35 ft	No
Waterfront Development	0.92 ac	50 / 30 / 50 ft	35 ft	No

One-Family Residence - The coverage figure is development coverage, not a building-footprint cap, and the bulk table sets no footprint cap. The side yards must total 25 feet, so with 10 feet on one side the other needs 15.

Street frontage of at least 50 feet is required separately from lot width, except in four use groups where frontage must equal the required width.
A front porch, covered or uncovered, a bay window, a balcony and stairs may extend into the front yard.
Where the property abuts a corner lot, the front setback may be no more than that of the other adjacent lot.

One-Family Residence Transitional - The coverage figure is development coverage, not a building-footprint cap, and the bulk table sets no footprint cap. The side yards must total 25 feet, so 10 feet on each side falls 5 feet short.

Street frontage of at least 50 feet is required separately from lot width, except in four use groups where frontage must equal the required width.
A front porch, covered or uncovered, a bay window, a balcony and stairs may extend into the front yard.
Where the property abuts a corner lot, the front setback may be no more than that of the other adjacent lot.

Planned Residential Development - A row of single-family attached homes may not exceed a hundred and fifty feet in length, and its end units must meet every requirement of a semidetached single-family use.

The coverage figure is development coverage, not a building-footprint cap, and the bulk table sets no footprint cap.
Street frontage of at least 50 feet is required separately from lot width, except in four use groups where frontage must equal the required width.
A front porch, covered or uncovered, a bay window, a balcony and stairs may extend into the front yard.
Where the property abuts a corner lot, the front setback may be no more than that of the other adjacent lot.

Residential Conservation 1 - The lot minimum is the smaller of the figure shown and the average of the two adjacent lots on the same street, so on a block of small lots the neighbors set it lower.

Side yards depend on lot width: on a lot under 35 feet wide none is required, and under 50 feet none is required on either side but the two must total 10 feet.
Where a side yard is provided on a lot under 50 feet wide, it must be at least 3 feet.
The coverage figure is development coverage, not a building-footprint cap, and the bulk table sets no footprint cap.
Street frontage of at least 50 feet is required separately from lot width, except in four use groups where frontage must equal the required width.
A front porch, covered or uncovered, a bay window, a balcony and stairs may extend into the front yard.
Where the property abuts a corner lot, the front setback may be no more than that of the other adjacent lot.

Residential Conservation 2 - Side yards depend on lot width: on a lot under 35 feet wide none is required, and under 50 feet none is required on either side but the two must total 10 feet. The figures shown apply to wider lots.

Where a side yard is provided on a lot under 50 feet wide, it must be at least 3 feet.
The coverage figure is development coverage, not a building-footprint cap, and the bulk table sets no footprint cap.
Street frontage of at least 50 feet is required separately from lot width, except in four use groups where frontage must equal the required width.
A front porch, covered or uncovered, a bay window, a balcony and stairs may extend into the front yard.
Where the property abuts a corner lot, the front setback may be no more than that of the other adjacent lot.

Two-Family Residence - A two-family house takes the same figures as the single-family house shown. Side yards depend on lot width: on a lot under 35 feet wide none is required, and under 50 feet none is required on either side but the two must total 10 feet.

Where a side yard is provided on a lot under 50 feet wide, it must be at least 3 feet.
The coverage figure is development coverage, not a building-footprint cap, and the bulk table sets no footprint cap.
Street frontage of at least 50 feet is required separately from lot width, except in four use groups where frontage must equal the required width.
A front porch, covered or uncovered, a bay window, a balcony and stairs may extend into the front yard.
Where the property abuts a corner lot, the front setback may be no more than that of the other adjacent lot.

Multiple Residence - A multiple residence takes the same figures as the single-family house shown. Side yards depend on lot width: on a lot under 35 feet wide none is required, and under 50 feet none is required on either side but the two must total 10 feet.

Where a side yard is provided on a lot under 50 feet wide, it must be at least 3 feet.
The coverage figure is development coverage, not a building-footprint cap, and the bulk table sets no footprint cap.
Street frontage of at least 50 feet is required separately from lot width, except in four use groups where frontage must equal the required width.
A front porch, covered or uncovered, a bay window, a balcony and stairs may extend into the front yard.
Where the property abuts a corner lot, the front setback may be no more than that of the other adjacent lot.

Multifamily 1 - Each dwelling needs its own land on top of the lot minimum, set by bedroom count: 1,250 square feet for an efficiency, 1,500 for one bedroom, 2,000 for two and 2,500 for three, so the unit mix decides the yield.

The coverage figure is development coverage, not a building-footprint cap, and the bulk table sets no footprint cap.
Street frontage of at least 50 feet is required separately from lot width, except in four use groups where frontage must equal the required width.

Central Business District - No lot area is required at all. The coverage figure is development coverage, not a building-footprint cap, and the bulk table sets no footprint cap.

The height limit comes from a footnote, three storeys or forty feet, not the two and a half storeys and 35 feet printed in the table row.
Street frontage of at least 50 feet is required separately from lot width, except in four use groups where frontage must equal the required width.

Professional Office - The rear yard depends on the neighbor: 15 feet next to a commercial district and 25 feet next to a residential one, rather than the figure shown. The lot minimum is the smaller of the figure shown and the average of the two adjacent lots on the same street.

Side yards depend on lot width: on a lot under 35 feet wide none is required, and under 50 feet none is required on either side but the two must total 10 feet.
Where a side yard is provided on a lot under 50 feet wide, it must be at least 3 feet.
The coverage figure is development coverage, not a building-footprint cap, and the bulk table sets no footprint cap.
Street frontage of at least 50 feet is required separately from lot width, except in four use groups where frontage must equal the required width.

Highway Business, Planned Industrial, Waterfront Development - Every required distance increases by half where the lot is adjacent to a residential district; the side and rear yards shown apply next to a nonresidential district.

The coverage figure is development coverage, not a building-footprint cap, and the bulk table sets no footprint cap.
Street frontage of at least 50 feet is required separately from lot width, except in four use groups where frontage must equal the required width.

ADUs vs. short-term rentals in Haverstraw

Short-term rentals allowed with local rules for Village of Haverstraw. Short-term rentals in the Village of Haverstraw must be registered, and short-term rentals aggregating more than 90 days in any calendar year are prohibited. 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 minimum0.08–0.17 ac — an ADU still has to fit the district's lot and setback envelope.
UtilityOrange & Rockland territory.
Zoning codeecode360.com/10995934
Building dept(845) 429-0300

ADU FAQ — Haverstraw, NY

Are ADUs allowed in Haverstraw, NY?

Village of Haverstraw has 13 districts. 7 districts allow ADUs with a special-use permit, 6 do not. Check your address with the free ADU checker, or confirm with the building department at (845) 429-0300.

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

It depends on the district: 7 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 Haverstraw?

Short-term rentals allowed with local rules for Village of Haverstraw. 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 Haverstraw

Permission is one question and budget is another. An 800 sq ft accessory unit here runs roughly $225k–295k 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 Haverstraw, priced by size.

How we know this

Sections analyzed: Ch. 245 § 245-14B Accessory apartments and § 245-14C conversions (added by L.L. No. 1-1995); § 245-5 districts (amended through L.L. No. 2-2024); the thirteen per-district Tables of General Use Regulations
Districts confirmed: 13 of 13 — every mapped district.
Last reviewed: 2026-07-21
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 Haverstraw: Full zoning for new construction · ADU build cost · House build cost · ADU rules across Rockland County · All Rockland County towns

ADU information for Village of Haverstraw is compiled from the municipal code (last reviewed 2026-07-21) 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) 429-0300 before relying on any answer. Source: the Offsite / Aldo zoning dataset.