ADU · Ulster County
Are ADUs allowed in Ulster County, NY?
There is no county-wide answer. In New York an accessory dwelling unit is governed by the town, city or village — so the rule changes at every municipal line, and often between districts inside one town. Below is each of the 20 municipalities in Ulster County, with what its zoning districts actually say.
- 20municipalities with mapped districts
- 18allow an ADU in at least one district
- 3allow one by right somewhere
ADU rules by municipality in Ulster County
Can you build an ADU in Kingston, NY?
10 districts allow ADUs, 2 do not.
An accessory dwelling unit of up to 1,000 sq ft is allowed in T5MS, T5F, T5N, T4MS, T4NO, T4N, T3NO, T3N, T3L and T2C. The owner need not live there; it cannot be sold apart or rented short term. None in T1N, or in SDW unless the waterfront mixed-use overlay is approved.
Can you build an ADU in Denning, NY?
All districts allow ADUs with occupancy restrictions.
An in-law apartment is limited to someone related to the owner of the house, so it cannot be rented to a tenant at large. Subject to that, it is allowed in all three districts with Planning Board site plan review and no special permit.
Can you build an ADU in Esopus, NY?
9 districts allow ADUs, 4 do not.
An accessory dwelling unit is permitted by right in RF-1, RF-2, R-40, R-12, RG, NC and BC: inside or attached to the house, or freestanding where the lot is at least twice the district minimum. 400 to 750 sq ft and never larger than the house.
Can you build an ADU in Gardiner, NY?
6 districts allow ADUs with occupancy restrictions, 2 do not.
An accessory apartment is allowed in every district except SP-2 and SP-3, but the owner has to live on the property. It is capped at 1,000 sq ft, or 30% of the main building's floor space if it is inside the house. In CLI and HC it also needs site plan review.
Can you build an ADU in Hardenburgh, NY?
The only district prohibits ADUs.
The zoning law has no accessory dwelling provision of any kind, and § 2.4.3 treats a use it does not list as prohibited. A second unit inside or attached to the house is a two-family dwelling, which § 3.1 permits by right on a building permit.
Can you build an ADU in Hurley, NY?
7 districts allow ADUs with a special-use permit, 2 do not.
The owner has to live in the principal dwelling, and an accessory apartment needs a special use permit from the Planning Board, granted after a public hearing and revocable.
Can you build an ADU in Lloyd, NY?
9 districts prohibit ADUs, 6 require a special-use permit.
An accessory apartment is allowed only in A, R-2, R-1, R-1/2, R-1/4 and CB, and only with a Planning Board special use permit. The house must be owner-occupied, the apartment must be a studio or have one bedroom, and it runs 400 to 900 sq ft.
Can you build an ADU in Marbletown, NY?
6 districts allow ADUs with occupancy restrictions, 3 require a special-use permit, 2 do not.
An accessory dwelling unit, attached or detached, is allowed on a building permit in the A2, A3, A4, R1, R3 and SR districts. The owner of the lot has to live in either that unit or the main house.
Can you build an ADU in Marlborough, NY?
All districts prohibit ADUs.
Marlborough's code has no accessory dwelling use at all, and § 155-11A closes every district's use list to uses it does not name. A two-family residence is the second-unit route, a principal permitted use by right in the town's residential districts.
Can you build an ADU in New Paltz, NY?
8 districts allow ADUs with occupancy restrictions, 2 require a special-use permit, 1 does not.
An accessory dwelling unit is allowed under § 140-17 in A1.5, A3, R1 and GH, and in GB with a special use permit. It is not allowed in I1. The owner has to live on the lot.
Can you build an ADU in Olive, NY?
4 districts allow ADUs with occupancy restrictions, 1 does not.
An accessory apartment to a permitted residential use is allowed without Planning Board site plan approval. The owner has to live in the principal residence or the apartment, and may rent the other one out. B/H-1/2 lists no residential use, so it has no accessory apartment.
Can you build an ADU in Plattekill, NY?
5 districts allow ADUs with occupancy restrictions, 3 do not.
One accessory apartment may accompany a single-family detached house in RS1, HR1, RR1.5, AG1.5 and M3, only while the owner lives in the house. It is not allowed in BD40, BD60 or GB80. Added to an existing house it is a Code Enforcement Officer permit; built first, a special use.
Can you build an ADU in Rochester, NY?
7 districts allow ADUs with occupancy restrictions, 2 do not. 1 district has incomplete data - verify with the building department at (845) 626-7561.
An accessory dwelling unit is permitted in the AR3, AB3, R1, R2, R5, H and B districts, interior to the house or in a detached accessory structure, and is not permitted in IND or NR. The owner has to keep their primary home in either the main house or the accessory unit.
Can you build an ADU in Rosendale, NY?
8 districts allow ADUs with occupancy restrictions, 1 does not.
One accessory dwelling unit is allowed with a house in every district except I-1, and no use permit is needed for the unit itself, but the owner has to live in either the house or the unit. The unit cannot be bigger than the house and cannot be a short-term rental.
Can you build an ADU in Saugerties, NY?
8 districts allow ADUs, 1 does not.
An accessory apartment is permitted in every district except the I district, on a building permit, and there is no owner-occupancy requirement. It has to sit in the principal dwelling or in a permitted accessory structure, so a detached unit is allowed.
Can you build an ADU in Shandaken, NY?
6 districts allow ADUs with a special-use permit, 2 do not.
An accessory apartment inside a single-family dwelling needs a special use permit from the Planning Board in R5, R3, R1.5, HR, HC and HB. It is prohibited in CLI and FW.
Can you build an ADU in Shawangunk, NY?
8 districts allow ADUs with occupancy restrictions, 3 do not. 2 districts have incomplete data - verify with the building department at (845) 895-2611.
An owner-occupied ADU is permitted in RS1, RS2, RAG1, RAG2, RAG4, H1, SB and 52BC, but only on a single-family house that existed on or before January 1, 2020. The owner must live in the house or the unit, and the permit expires if the owner stops living there.
Can you build an ADU in Ulster, NY?
5 districts prohibit ADUs, 3 allow them with occupancy restrictions.
Under § 190-14A Table 1 an accessory apartment is permitted by right as an accessory use in the R60, R30 and R10 residential districts, and the legal owner of the lot has to occupy either the principal dwelling or the apartment.
Can you build an ADU in Wawarsing, NY?
7 districts allow ADUs with occupancy restrictions, 3 do not, 2 require a special-use permit. 1 district has incomplete data - verify with the building department at (845) 647-6570.
In AD, VP, RU, RS-1, RMH, MU and NS an accessory dwelling is an accessory use and needs no special permit; in RP and RH it needs a special use permit. Either way it has to go in an accessory building that already exists, and the owner must live in one of the two units.
Can you build an ADU in Woodstock, NY?
7 districts allow ADUs with occupancy restrictions, 2 do not.
On a lot with a single-family house in R8, R5, R3, R1.5, HR, HC or NC, one accessory apartment is allowed, inside the house or in an outbuilding, up to 800 sq ft. The owner or an immediate family member must live in one of the two units. None in LI or FW.
ADU questions people ask about Ulster County
Are ADUs allowed in Ulster County?
There is no single county-wide answer — ADUs are governed by each town, city and village, not by the county. Of the 20 Ulster County municipalities with mapped zoning districts, 18 allow an accessory dwelling unit in at least one district, and 3 allow one by right somewhere. The section for your municipality below gives the specific answer.
Does Ulster County issue ADU permits?
No. Zoning approval and building permits both come from the municipality — the town, city or village — not the county. County health departments do commonly review septic and water supply for a new dwelling unit, which is often the binding constraint on a rural lot.
What size ADU can I build in Ulster County?
Size caps are set per municipality and frequently per district, and they are one of the details most often stated wrongly by national ADU sites. Open your municipality's page below for the code sections analyzed, then confirm the current figure with the building department before you design to it.
What an ADU costs to build in Ulster County
Permission and budget are separate questions. See the Ulster County cost-to-build breakdown for current per-square-foot ranges — an accessory unit runs above a full house per square foot, because the kitchen, bath, panel and heating plant cost the same at any size.
More on Ulster County: Zoning for new construction by town · Cost to build · ADU rules across every county we cover
ADU information for Ulster County is compiled from each municipality's own code , most recently reviewed Feb 2026, and provided for decision-support only — not legal or architectural advice. Eligibility, size, owner-occupancy and permit conditions vary by district and often carry exceptions; confirm with the municipality before relying on any answer. 3 of the 20 municipalities below still have one or more districts that have not been analyzed, and each says so in its own section. Source: the Offsite / Aldo zoning dataset.