ADU rules in Albany

Albany legalized ADUs citywide in 2025. Ordinance 68.121.24 (zoning text amendment ZTA-0023) replaced the old placeholder line 'No accessory dwelling unit shall be allowed until stated otherwise' with a full set of standards, and Table 375.302.1 now marks 'Accessory dwelling unit' with an 'A' (permitted accessory use, no hearing) in all sixteen residential and mixed-use districts: R-1L, R-1M, R-2, R-T, R-M, R-V, MU-NE, MU-NC, MU-CU, MU-CH, MU-DT, MU-CI, MU-FW, MU-FC, MU-FS and MU-FM. The cell is blank in the two industrial districts (I-1, I-2) and in Land Conservation (LC), so ADUs are not allowed there. The gate that actually bites is the host dwelling, not the zone: § 375-303(6)(a)(i) allows an ADU only as an accessory to a single-unit dwelling, so Albany's many two- and three-unit rowhouses cannot add one, and § 375-303(6)(a)(iv) caps a lot at two dwelling structures total.

The USDO definition of an accessory dwelling unit expressly covers a unit 'either internal to or attached to the dwelling structure or in a detached structure', so a basement, attic or addition unit qualifies on the same terms as a backyard cottage. An attached ADU is held to the same setback, height and impervious lot coverage limits as the primary structure rather than to accessory-structure rules, and only one entrance structure may face the front lot line. The city's ADU permit application (form BRCF-037, revised 02/2026) offers three checkboxes, detached, attached and interior conversion, confirming that Buildings and Regulatory Compliance processes internal conversions through the same by-right ADU permit.

The 800 square foot gross floor area cap applies to every ADU, detached or attached, with no percent-of-primary-dwelling alternative and no minimum size. Three further limits shape a detached unit: it may occupy no more than 30% of the rear yard, its height is the lesser of 24 feet or the principal dwelling's height, and it takes the accessory-structure setbacks (2 feet from side and rear lot lines in most districts, no side or rear setback in R-T, plus the principal building's front setback). A detached ADU must also sit within 150 feet of travel distance from the nearest street frontage, measured to the center of its rear wall, for fire access. Attached ADUs instead follow the primary structure's setback, height and impervious coverage limits, and district impervious lot coverage maximums (30% in R-1L, 40% in R-1M, 70% in R-2, 80% in R-T and R-M, 50% in R-V) can bind before the square footage cap does on a small or heavily paved lot.

The owner must occupy either the primary dwelling or the ADU as their primary residence, and the requirement is ongoing rather than a one-time attestation at permit issuance: the owner has to certify occupancy biennially with the Department of Buildings and Regulatory Compliance. The city's Owner Occupancy Attestation (form BRCF-037A, revised 02/2026) is notarized, defines principal residence as the dwelling where the owner lives more than six months of the calendar year and which is the address of record for voter registration, vehicle registration and tax filing, requires notice within 30 days if occupancy status changes, and states that the requirement continues following any sale or transfer of the property. New York has no statewide ADU law that would preempt this.

Table 375.405.1 sets the minimum off-street parking for 'All other accessory uses listed in Table 375.302.1' at zero, and the accessory dwelling unit is one of those listed accessory uses, so no space has to be added for the ADU in any district. The city's ADU permit application asks only for 'Off-Street Parking Spaces Provided (if any)'. One access rule does apply if you do park there: an ADU may be reached directly from an alley but may not be served by a driveway separate from the one serving the primary dwelling. Separately, the USDO waives off-street parking entirely on lots under 5,000 square feet and throughout the MU-DT district, and existing parking may not be removed in a way that creates or worsens a shortfall.

An 'A' in the Permitted Use Table means the use is permitted as an accessory use in support of a permitted principal use, with no conditional use permit and no Planning Board or Board of Zoning Appeals hearing. The route is a building permit decided by the Chief Building Official, who may refer the application to the Chief Planning Official for a zoning clearance; Buildings and Regulatory Compliance runs a dedicated Accessory Dwelling Unit Permit Application (form BRCF-037) whose checklist asks for a site plan, floor plans and elevations, the owner occupancy attestation and insurance. Two administrative overlays can add steps without turning the use discretionary: constructing a new detached ADU building can fall within minor development plan review, which the Chief Planning Official decides with mailed and posted notice and an appeal to the Planning Board, and any exterior work on a landmark or a property in one of Albany's historic districts needs a certificate of appropriateness from the Historic Resources Commission.

Renting the ADU on a normal lease is the expected use, and the owner-occupancy rule means one of the two units is always owner-occupied. Short-term rental is squarely banned: on a lot containing an ADU, neither the primary dwelling nor the ADU may be offered to guests for less than 30 consecutive days for tourist or transient use, and the applicant signs that acknowledgement on both the ADU permit application and the biennial attestation. Any unit rented to someone other than a lineal family member must be entered in the city's Rental Dwelling Registry, inspected by Buildings and Regulatory Compliance and covered by a Residential Occupancy Permit valid for 24 months; collecting rent without one is a code violation. The ADU cannot be sold off separately, because an accessory use must remain on the same lot as the principal use it serves and no more than two dwelling structures are allowed on that lot.