ADU · Saratoga County

Can you build an ADU in Charlton, NY?

Town of Charlton has 3 districts. All districts allow ADUs. Check your address to confirm the district that applies to your parcel:

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What the Charlton code says

An ADU within or attached to a house is permitted in R, A and HO, and a detached ADU needs a special use permit. Either way the lot must be at least 10 acres.

Conditions the code attaches:

Floor area may not exceed 1,000 sq ft including basements, garages and porches, and no more than 600 sq ft of that may be heated, enclosed livable space.
No detached ADU may be built on steep slopes, within a wetland or stream buffer, or in a mapped floodplain.
A detached ADU must be subordinate in size and floor area to the house. It may be a manufactured home, but not a single-wide or double-wide mobile home.
The unit shares all utilities and the driveway with the house, and no new curb cut may serve it.
It may not be sold separately unless the land is subdivided so the house and the unit end up on separate parcels.
An existing barn or garage may be converted if setbacks, lot size, access and coverage are met.

What the Charlton 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
Rural	4 ac	60 / 15 / 50 ft	30 ft	As of right
Agricultural	4 ac	60 / 40 / 50 ft	30 ft	As of right
Historic Overlay	2 ac	30 / 15 / 50 ft	30 ft	As of right

Rural - The 4-acre minimum must include at least two acres of buildable land, so wetland, slope and floodplain can disqualify a parcel. Frontage must also be at least 400 ft, matching the width.

All other non-agricultural uses are held to a deeper envelope on the same lot: 40 ft of height, a 100 ft front yard, a 50 ft minimum side yard and 100 ft for the two sides combined.
Accessory buildings are capped at 5% of the lot. That cap applies to accessory buildings only, not to the house.
Special permit uses take their dimensions from Article VII.
Article VIII and the Subdivision Regulations set the cases where less than four acres, or less than 400 ft of frontage or width, may be permitted, so check them before ruling a smaller parcel out.

Agricultural - The 4-acre minimum must include at least two acres of buildable land, so wetland, slope and floodplain can disqualify a parcel. Frontage must also be at least 400 ft, matching the width.

Accessory buildings are capped at 5% of the lot. That cap applies to accessory buildings only, not to the house.
Special permit uses take their dimensions from Article VII.
Article VIII and the Subdivision Regulations set the cases where less than four acres, or less than 400 ft of frontage or width, may be permitted, so check them before ruling a smaller parcel out.

Historic Overlay - Development here goes through design review by the Historic District Commission. The lot must be at least two acres with two acres of buildable land, and frontage at least 100 ft.

Accessory buildings are capped at 10% of the lot. That cap applies to accessory buildings only, not to the house.
Uses are the same as in R.
Special permit uses take their dimensions from Article VII.

ADUs vs. short-term rentals in Charlton

No local short-term-rental law on record - which is not the same as permission for Town of Charlton. The Town of Charlton has no local short-term rental law, and that is not the same as permission. Confirm in writing with the Zoning Enforcement Officer before counting on short-term rental income. 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 minimum4 ac — an ADU still has to fit the district's lot and setback envelope.
UtilityNational Grid territory.
Zoning codewww.townofcharltonny.gov/zoning-building-department/files/new-zoning-law-2026
Building dept(518) 384-0152

ADU FAQ — Charlton, NY

Are ADUs allowed in Charlton, NY?

Town of Charlton has 3 districts. All districts allow ADUs. Check your address with the free ADU checker, or confirm with the building department at (518) 384-0152.

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

No district in Town of Charlton requires a special-use permit for an ADU - 3 districts allow ADUs. Site-plan review or a building permit may still apply.

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

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

Permission is one question and budget is another. An 800 sq ft accessory unit here runs roughly $200k–260k 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 Charlton, priced by size.

How we know this

Sections analyzed: Zoning Law (adopted January 26, 2026) Table IV-1 use table; Article IV Section 4(12) ADU standards; Subdivision Regulations cross-reference
Districts confirmed: 3 of 3 — every mapped district.
Last reviewed: 2026-08-01
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 Charlton: Full zoning for new construction · ADU build cost · House build cost · ADU rules across Saratoga County · All Saratoga County towns

ADU information for Town of Charlton is compiled from the municipal code (last reviewed 2026-08-01) 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) 384-0152 before relying on any answer. Source: the Offsite / Aldo zoning dataset.