ADU · Westchester County

Can you build an ADU in New Rochelle, NY?

City of New Rochelle has 38 districts. 37 of 38 districts prohibit ADUs. 1 district has incomplete data - verify with the building department at (914) 654-2035. Check your address to confirm the district that applies to your parcel:

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What the New Rochelle code says

New Rochelle does not allow an accessory apartment in any of its zoning districts, so the owner of a house lot cannot add a second unit.

Conditions the code attaches:

In the Two Family Residence district, a two-family dwelling is a principal use, not a unit accessory to a house.
The dwelling for a caretaker or watchman that § 331-49 allows on recreation and open-space land is not a unit the owner of a house lot can add.

What the New Rochelle 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	—	30 / 12 / 30 ft	—	No
One Family Residence	—	25 / 8 / 30 ft	—	No
One Family Residence	—	30 / 12 / 30 ft	—	No
One Family Residence	—	35 / 25 / 40 ft	—	No
One Family Residence	—	25 / 8 / 30 ft	—	No
One Family Cluster Residence	—	50 / 50 / 50 ft	—	No
One Family Historic Residence	—	—	—	No
One Family Waterfront Residential	—	30 / 12 / 30 ft	—	No
Urban Renewal Townhouse Residence	0.16 ac	10 / - / 10 ft	35 ft	No
Two Family Residence	—	20 / 8 / 30 ft	—	No
Multi - Family Residence	—	20 / 8 / 30 ft	—	No
Multi - Family Residence	—	20 / 8 / 30 ft	—	No
Multi - Family Residence	—	25 / 12 / 30 ft	—	No
Multi - Family Residence	—	25 / 12 / 30 ft	—	No
Multi - Family Residence	—	25 / 12 / 30 ft	—	No
Multi - Family Residence	—	20 / 20 / 20 ft	—	No
Planned Unit Development	—	—	—	No
Multi - Family Senior Citizen	0.46 ac	10 / 10 / 20 ft	—	No
Multi - Family Residence	—	—	—	No
General Commercial Modified	—	—	30 ft	No
Downtown Business	—	—	—	No
Downtown Mixed Use	—	—	—	No
Large Scale Retail	—	—	—	No
Mixed Use Family Entertainment	—	—	250 ft	No
Neighborhood Business	—	—	30 ft	No
Planned Waterfront Development	—	—	—	No
Industry	—	—	—	No
Light Industry	—	—	—	No
College Related Uses	—	—	—	No
Downtown Mixed Use Urban Renewal	—	—	—	No
Hospital	—	10 / 10 / 10 ft	180 ft	No
North Avenue	—	- / - / 30 ft	40 ft	No
Planned Waterfront Development	—	—	—	No
Planned Unit Development	—	35 / - / - ft	—	No
Planned Waterfront Development	—	—	—	No
Water Front Residence	—	—	—	No
Recreation Open Space	—	35 / 4 / 4 ft	—	No
Railroad	—	—	—	—

One Family Residence, One Family Residence, One Family Residence - The side and rear yards shown apply to lots with dwellings. Every other use needs at least 60 ft for both the side and the rear yard.

One Family Residence - The 25 ft side and 40 ft rear yards apply to lots with dwellings. Every other use needs at least 60 ft for both the side and the rear yard.

One Family Residence - The side and rear yards shown apply to lots with dwellings. Every other use needs at least 60 ft for both the side and the rear yard.

The Planning Board may reduce the frontage on a cul-de-sac or curve, but never below 15 ft.

One Family Cluster Residence - Where the project abuts an undeveloped area in a district requiring the same lot area per dwelling unit, the Planning Board may modify the side and rear yards, but never below what a one-family dwelling owes in the comparable one-family district.

The Planning Board sets the distance between buildings at review.
Further cluster standards are in § 331-45G.

One Family Historic Residence - The dimensional regulations for this district are set in § 331-45F.

One Family Waterfront Residential - Multifamily development is governed by § 331-115.1 instead of the figures shown, which apply to every other permitted and specially permitted use.

Urban Renewal Townhouse Residence - Urban Renewal Townhouse development here is on a 2-acre site at 2,200 sq ft of lot per dwelling unit (§ 331-61).

Two Family Residence - A two-family house needs at least 3,500 sq ft of lot per dwelling unit.

Every other use needs at least a 30 ft side yard and a 40 ft rear yard.

Multi - Family Residence - A lot may hold no more than four dwelling units.

A new multifamily dwelling with a rear or side exit, balcony, patio, porch, deck or similar outdoor area next to a side or rear yard must make that yard at least 30 ft.

Multi - Family Residence, Multi - Family Residence - A new multifamily dwelling with a rear or side exit, balcony, patio, porch, deck or similar outdoor area next to a side or rear yard must make that yard at least 30 ft.

Multi - Family Residence - The side yard is 12 ft but never less than half the height of the wall facing the side lot line, so a tall building needs more.

A new multifamily dwelling with a rear or side exit, balcony, patio, porch, deck or similar outdoor area next to a side or rear yard must make that yard at least 30 ft.

Multi - Family Residence - For a building up to 40 ft tall, the side yard is 12 ft and never less than half the height of the wall facing the side lot line. Above 40 ft it becomes 25 ft plus 1/16 of that wall's height.

Where the site does not abut a residential district, the side yard is never less than 20 ft.

Multi - Family Residence - A new multifamily dwelling with a rear or side exit, balcony, patio, porch, deck or similar outdoor area next to a side or rear yard must make that yard at least 30 ft, except where the site does not abut a residential district.

Planned Unit Development - The Planning Board sets the minimum standards for this affordable housing development at site plan or subdivision review, on the recommendation of the Commissioner of Development (§ 331-80E(4)).

Multi - Family Senior Citizen - Multifamily senior citizen housing needs at least 250 sq ft of lot per dwelling unit.

Multi - Family Residence - The lot and yard standards for RMSC - 4 are not confirmed. Confirm them with the City of New Rochelle Development Department before planning a building.

General Commercial Modified - Where the parcel is contiguous to a residence district, the rear yard abutting it must be at least 30 ft and side yards abutting it at least 20 ft.

No yard is required except where the parcel is contiguous to a residence district.

Downtown Business, Downtown Mixed Use, Large Scale Retail, Mixed Use Family Entertainment, Neighborhood Business, Industry, Light Industry, Planned Waterfront Development - A rear yard abutting a residence district must be at least 30 ft, and a side yard abutting one at least 20 ft.

Planned Waterfront Development - Height may reach 5 stories and 50 ft within 300 ft of East Main Street, and 3 stories and 35 ft elsewhere.

A rear yard abutting a residence district must be at least 30 ft, and a side yard abutting one at least 20 ft.

College Related Uses - The lot and yard standards for CR - 1 are not confirmed. Confirm them with the City of New Rochelle Development Department before planning a building.

Downtown Mixed Use Urban Renewal - The side yard must be at least 2 ft. A rear yard abutting a residence district must be at least 30 ft, and a side yard abutting one at least 20 ft.

Hospital - The minimum lot is 12,000 sq ft.

North Avenue - Where the parcel is contiguous to a residence district, side yards must be at least 20 ft.

Planned Unit Development - All buildings must be set back at least 35 feet from the mean high tide line.

Where the parcel is contiguous to a residence district, the rear yard must be at least 30 ft and side yards at least 20 ft.

Planned Waterfront Development - Height is limited to 35 ft, up to 5 stories on sloped sites, with a floor area ratio of 1.0 and at least 1,750 sq ft of lot area per unit (§ 331-80.1E(4)). Other dimensions follow the conceptual development plan submitted with the rezoning petition.

A rezoning to PWDE - 5 reverts automatically to C - 1M if a certificate of occupancy is not issued within 30 months.

Water Front Residence - Water-dependent and special-permit uses are capped at 3 stories and 35 ft.

A rear yard abutting a residence district must be at least 30 ft, and a side yard abutting one at least 20 ft.

Recreation Open Space - Where the lot abuts a residence district or use, the side yard must be at least 20 ft, and where the parcel is contiguous to a residence district the rear yard must be at least 30 ft.

The maximum floor area ratio is 0.05.

Railroad - The lot and yard standards for Railroad parcels are not confirmed. Confirm them with the City of New Rochelle Development Department before planning a building.

ADUs vs. short-term rentals in New Rochelle

No local short-term-rental law on record - which is not the same as permission for City of New Rochelle. The City of New Rochelle has no local short-term rental law, and that is not the same as permission. Confirm with the building department before counting on the use. 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 minimum0.16–0.46 ac — an ADU still has to fit the district's lot and setback envelope.
UtilityCon Edison territory.
Zoning codeecode360.com/NE0964
Building dept(914) 654-2035

ADU FAQ — New Rochelle, NY

Are ADUs allowed in New Rochelle, NY?

Do I need a special permit for an ADU in New Rochelle?

37 of 38 districts prohibit ADUs, so no permit applies in those. 1 district has incomplete data - verify with the building department at (914) 654-2035.

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

No local short-term-rental law on record - which is not the same as permission for City of New Rochelle. 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 New Rochelle

Permission is one question and budget is another. An 800 sq ft accessory unit here runs roughly $235k–310k 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 New Rochelle, priced by size.

How we know this

Sections analyzed: Ch. 331 § 331-4 definitions; § 331-5 enumeration; §§ 331-30 to 331-45 residence districts; § 331-49 ROS
Districts confirmed: 37 of 38 — 1 not yet analyzed, so this page does not answer for it.
Last reviewed: 2026-06-08
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 New Rochelle: Full zoning for new construction · ADU build cost · House build cost · ADU rules across Westchester County · All Westchester County towns

ADU information for City of New Rochelle is compiled from the municipal code (last reviewed 2026-06-08) 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 (914) 654-2035 before relying on any answer. Source: the Offsite / Aldo zoning dataset.