Edinburg · ADU cost
What it costs to build an ADU in Edinburg, NY
An 800 sq ft accessory dwelling unit in Edinburg runs roughly $200k–260k, or about $249–327/sq ft, and that per-square-foot figure sits deliberately above the $204–268/sq ft a full house costs here. An ADU still needs one whole kitchen, one whole bath, its own service panel and its own heating plant no matter how small you draw it, and those costs do not shrink with the floor plan, so they land on half the square footage and push the rate up. Whether the town will let you build one is a separate question from what it costs, and it gets answered parcel by parcel rather than townwide, since the Town of Edinburg maps 4 districts that treat accessory units differently from one another, so read the table below as a starting point rather than a verdict.
ADU cost by size in Edinburg
Standard finish, slab on grade, on a flat and clear part of the lot, general-contractor margin included. These are structure costs at Saratoga County pricing, before the service and septic work a second dwelling can trigger.
| Size | Type | $ / sq ft | Estimated total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 400 sq ft | Studio | $331–$433 | $130k–175k |
| 600 sq ft | One bedroom | $276–$362 | $165k–215k |
| 800 sq ft | One bedroom, larger | $249–$327 | $200k–260k |
| 1,000 sq ft | Two bedroom | $233–$305 | $235k–305k |
400 sq ft — One room plus a bath. Garage conversions and small backyard cottages land here.
600 sq ft — The most common detached build - a real bedroom, full kitchen, one bath.
800 sq ft — Room for a proper living area. Still a single bath and one kitchen.
1,000 sq ft — About as large as most codes allow an accessory unit to go.
Why the rate is higher than a house
The systems below are priced for an 800 sq ft unit. The middle column is what each system would cost if it simply shrank with the floor plan; the left column is what it actually costs once you account for the equipment a dwelling needs one of regardless of size. The gap between the two columns is the whole reason small builds price the way they do.
| System | $ / sq ft in an ADU | If it scaled with floor area | Fixed per unit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Site work | $7–$11 | $7 | — |
| Foundation | $16–$23 | $16 | — |
| Framing | $25–$32 | $25 | — |
| Envelope - roof, siding, windows | $32–$41 | $32 | — |
| Plumbing | $28–$34 | $16 | 55% |
| Electrical | $18–$24 | $13 | 35% |
| HVAC | $23–$28 | $15 | 45% |
| Insulation | $7–$9 | $7 | — |
| Interior finishes | $32–$43 | $27 | 15% |
| Millwork & cabinetry | $18–$28 | $11 | 55% |
The fixed-per-unit share is a modeling assumption, not a figure from the code: it is our estimate of how much of each system's budget buys equipment a dwelling needs exactly one of - a kitchen rough-in, a bath group, a service panel, a heating plant - and therefore does not shrink when the unit does. Site work, foundation, framing, envelope and insulation are treated as scaling straight with floor area, which understates the premium slightly, because a small building carries more envelope per square foot of floor than a large one.
What the Edinburg code says about accessory units
Whether you can build one, and how large, is decided by the district your parcel sits in rather than by the town as a whole. The table shows how each mapped district treats ADUs alongside the lot and setback standards a second unit still has to fit inside. District boundaries and conditions vary, so treat it as a starting point and confirm the district that applies to your parcel.
| District | Min lot | Setbacks F / S / R | Max height | ADU |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lakefront Residential (the Great Sacandaga Lake perimeter, intended as a recreation-oriented residential area of single-family dwellings while protecting the lakefront environment: a 1.3-ACRE minimum lot with 100 ft of road frontage, 100 FT OF SHORELINE LOT WIDTH, 35% maximum lot coverage — the highest in the Town — a 25 ft front yard, 10 ft side and rear yards and 40 ft of height. THE SHORELINE SETBACK IS 50 FT, the shallowest in the Town, but note 5 adds that FOR PARCELS WITH LAKEFRONT THE STRUCTURE SETBACK FROM THE HUDSON RIVER BLACK RIVER REGULATING DISTRICT PROPERTY LINE SHALL BE A MINIMUM OF 10 FEET — and § 3.4(2) defines the boundary of Great Sacandaga Lake as the HRBRRD PROPERTY LINE, not the water. On a Sacandaga parcel the regulating district's line, not the shoreline, is the datum that matters. Setbacks apply to ALL structures — principal, accessory AND temporary. USES ARE NOT LISTED IN THE ORDINANCE ITSELF — APPENDIX A CARRIES 'THE COMPLETE LIST OF THE COMPATIBLE USES LISTED IN ADIRONDACK PARK AGENCY ACT, SECTION 805', split into PRIMARY and SECONDARY uses per district. The Town has adopted the Agency's use classification verbatim rather than writing its own, so the use question is answered out of the APA Act and the permit question out of the Class A/Class B lists.) | 1.3 ac | 25 / 10 / 10 ft | 40 ft | No |
| Low Intensity (residential development and compatible uses at a density consistent with the district's relatively high tolerance: a 3.2-ACRE minimum lot — the APA Low Intensity guideline — with 100 ft of road frontage, 125 ft of shoreline lot width, 25% coverage, 25 ft front, side AND rear setbacks (all three equal), a 75 ft shoreline setback, 40 ft of height and a 750 sq ft minimum principal building. Two parking spaces per unit. USES ARE NOT LISTED IN THE ORDINANCE ITSELF — APPENDIX A CARRIES 'THE COMPLETE LIST OF THE COMPATIBLE USES LISTED IN ADIRONDACK PARK AGENCY ACT, SECTION 805', split into PRIMARY and SECONDARY uses per district. The Town has adopted the Agency's use classification verbatim rather than writing its own, so the use question is answered out of the APA Act and the permit question out of the Class A/Class B lists.) | 3.2 ac | 25 / 25 / 25 ft | 40 ft | No |
| Rural Use (rural land uses compatible with the district's relatively low resource tolerance, preserving the open space basic to the Town's character, and EXPRESSLY AIMED AT PREVENTING STRIP DEVELOPMENT ALONG MAJOR TRAVEL CORRIDORS 'in order to enhance the aesthetic and economic benefits derived from a park atmosphere along these corridors': an 8.5-ACRE minimum lot — the APA Rural Use guideline — with 100 ft of road frontage, 150 ft of shoreline lot width, 25% coverage, 25 ft front, side and rear setbacks, a 75 ft shoreline setback, 40 ft of height and a 750 sq ft minimum principal building. Uses follow the Low Intensity pattern, with multiple family dwellings, commercial uses, tourist accommodations and tourist attractions as SECONDARY (Class B) uses — and § 6.9's per-unit land rule applies here too, so a multiple-family dwelling needs 8.5 ACRES PER DWELLING UNIT. USES ARE NOT LISTED IN THE ORDINANCE ITSELF — APPENDIX A CARRIES 'THE COMPLETE LIST OF THE COMPATIBLE USES LISTED IN ADIRONDACK PARK AGENCY ACT, SECTION 805', split into PRIMARY and SECONDARY uses per district. The Town has adopted the Agency's use classification verbatim rather than writing its own, so the use question is answered out of the APA Act and the permit question out of the Class A/Class B lists.) | 8.5 ac | 25 / 25 / 25 ft | 40 ft | No |
| Resource Management (protection of delicate physical and biological resources and economic management of forest, agricultural and recreational land: A 42.7-ACRE MINIMUM LOT — the APA Resource Management guideline and the largest single lot requirement in this entire dataset — with 100 ft of road frontage, 200 ft of shoreline lot width, A 10% MAXIMUM LOT COVERAGE, 25 ft front, side and rear setbacks, A 100 FT SHORELINE SETBACK, 40 ft of height and a 750 sq ft minimum principal building. Like Rural Use it exists partly to PREVENT STRIP DEVELOPMENT ALONG MAJOR TRAVEL CORRIDORS, and its purpose clause likewise contemplates residential development 'on substantial acreage OR IN SMALL CLUSTERS on carefully selected and well designed sites' — so the § 13.2 cluster subdivision, preserved by Schedule 1 note 1, is again the intended route rather than the exception. § 6.9's per-unit land rule makes a multiple-family dwelling here require 42.7 ACRES PER UNIT, which is a prohibition written as an arithmetic. NOTE THAT THE SETBACKS DO NOT RISE WITH THE LOT: front, side and rear stay at 25 ft in Low Intensity, Rural Use AND Resource Management alike — this Town rations by LAND AREA AND COVERAGE, not by yard depth, which is the opposite of how the Town of Day next door does it. USES ARE NOT LISTED IN THE ORDINANCE ITSELF — APPENDIX A CARRIES 'THE COMPLETE LIST OF THE COMPATIBLE USES LISTED IN ADIRONDACK PARK AGENCY ACT, SECTION 805', split into PRIMARY and SECONDARY uses per district. The Town has adopted the Agency's use classification verbatim rather than writing its own, so the use question is answered out of the APA Act and the permit question out of the Class A/Class B lists.) | 42.7 ac | 25 / 25 / 25 ft | 40 ft | No |
Size limits on record in Edinburg
Where the code states a size cap, it decides which row of the cost table above actually applies to you. These are the caps recorded for Edinburg:
- Lakefront Residential (the Great Sacandaga Lake perimeter, intended as a recreation-oriented residential area of single-family dwellings while protecting the lakefront environment: a 1.3-ACRE minimum lot with 100 ft of road frontage, 100 FT OF SHORELINE LOT WIDTH, 35% maximum lot coverage — the highest in the Town — a 25 ft front yard, 10 ft side and rear yards and 40 ft of height. THE SHORELINE SETBACK IS 50 FT, the shallowest in the Town, but note 5 adds that FOR PARCELS WITH LAKEFRONT THE STRUCTURE SETBACK FROM THE HUDSON RIVER BLACK RIVER REGULATING DISTRICT PROPERTY LINE SHALL BE A MINIMUM OF 10 FEET — and § 3.4(2) defines the boundary of Great Sacandaga Lake as the HRBRRD PROPERTY LINE, not the water. On a Sacandaga parcel the regulating district's line, not the shoreline, is the datum that matters. Setbacks apply to ALL structures — principal, accessory AND temporary. USES ARE NOT LISTED IN THE ORDINANCE ITSELF — APPENDIX A CARRIES 'THE COMPLETE LIST OF THE COMPATIBLE USES LISTED IN ADIRONDACK PARK AGENCY ACT, SECTION 805', split into PRIMARY and SECONDARY uses per district. The Town has adopted the Agency's use classification verbatim rather than writing its own, so the use question is answered out of the APA Act and the permit question out of the Class A/Class B lists.)Note the 1,250 sq ft minimum principal building size in Lakefront Residential (750 sq ft elsewhere) — a floor on what may be built
- Low Intensity (residential development and compatible uses at a density consistent with the district's relatively high tolerance: a 3.2-ACRE minimum lot — the APA Low Intensity guideline — with 100 ft of road frontage, 125 ft of shoreline lot width, 25% coverage, 25 ft front, side AND rear setbacks (all three equal), a 75 ft shoreline setback, 40 ft of height and a 750 sq ft minimum principal building. Two parking spaces per unit. USES ARE NOT LISTED IN THE ORDINANCE ITSELF — APPENDIX A CARRIES 'THE COMPLETE LIST OF THE COMPATIBLE USES LISTED IN ADIRONDACK PARK AGENCY ACT, SECTION 805', split into PRIMARY and SECONDARY uses per district. The Town has adopted the Agency's use classification verbatim rather than writing its own, so the use question is answered out of the APA Act and the permit question out of the Class A/Class B lists.)Note the 1,250 sq ft minimum principal building size in Lakefront Residential (750 sq ft elsewhere) — a floor on what may be built
- Rural Use (rural land uses compatible with the district's relatively low resource tolerance, preserving the open space basic to the Town's character, and EXPRESSLY AIMED AT PREVENTING STRIP DEVELOPMENT ALONG MAJOR TRAVEL CORRIDORS 'in order to enhance the aesthetic and economic benefits derived from a park atmosphere along these corridors': an 8.5-ACRE minimum lot — the APA Rural Use guideline — with 100 ft of road frontage, 150 ft of shoreline lot width, 25% coverage, 25 ft front, side and rear setbacks, a 75 ft shoreline setback, 40 ft of height and a 750 sq ft minimum principal building. Uses follow the Low Intensity pattern, with multiple family dwellings, commercial uses, tourist accommodations and tourist attractions as SECONDARY (Class B) uses — and § 6.9's per-unit land rule applies here too, so a multiple-family dwelling needs 8.5 ACRES PER DWELLING UNIT. USES ARE NOT LISTED IN THE ORDINANCE ITSELF — APPENDIX A CARRIES 'THE COMPLETE LIST OF THE COMPATIBLE USES LISTED IN ADIRONDACK PARK AGENCY ACT, SECTION 805', split into PRIMARY and SECONDARY uses per district. The Town has adopted the Agency's use classification verbatim rather than writing its own, so the use question is answered out of the APA Act and the permit question out of the Class A/Class B lists.)Note the 1,250 sq ft minimum principal building size in Lakefront Residential (750 sq ft elsewhere) — a floor on what may be built
- Resource Management (protection of delicate physical and biological resources and economic management of forest, agricultural and recreational land: A 42.7-ACRE MINIMUM LOT — the APA Resource Management guideline and the largest single lot requirement in this entire dataset — with 100 ft of road frontage, 200 ft of shoreline lot width, A 10% MAXIMUM LOT COVERAGE, 25 ft front, side and rear setbacks, A 100 FT SHORELINE SETBACK, 40 ft of height and a 750 sq ft minimum principal building. Like Rural Use it exists partly to PREVENT STRIP DEVELOPMENT ALONG MAJOR TRAVEL CORRIDORS, and its purpose clause likewise contemplates residential development 'on substantial acreage OR IN SMALL CLUSTERS on carefully selected and well designed sites' — so the § 13.2 cluster subdivision, preserved by Schedule 1 note 1, is again the intended route rather than the exception. § 6.9's per-unit land rule makes a multiple-family dwelling here require 42.7 ACRES PER UNIT, which is a prohibition written as an arithmetic. NOTE THAT THE SETBACKS DO NOT RISE WITH THE LOT: front, side and rear stay at 25 ft in Low Intensity, Rural Use AND Resource Management alike — this Town rations by LAND AREA AND COVERAGE, not by yard depth, which is the opposite of how the Town of Day next door does it. USES ARE NOT LISTED IN THE ORDINANCE ITSELF — APPENDIX A CARRIES 'THE COMPLETE LIST OF THE COMPATIBLE USES LISTED IN ADIRONDACK PARK AGENCY ACT, SECTION 805', split into PRIMARY and SECONDARY uses per district. The Town has adopted the Agency's use classification verbatim rather than writing its own, so the use question is answered out of the APA Act and the permit question out of the Class A/Class B lists.)Note the 1,250 sq ft minimum principal building size in Lakefront Residential (750 sq ft elsewhere) — a floor on what may be built
Costs an ADU adds that a house does not
- Septic and water A second dwelling adds bedrooms to the design flow, which on an unsewered parcel often means expanding or replacing the existing system rather than tapping it. This is the single most common reason an ADU budget moves after design, and it is site-specific enough that no model should quote it - get it evaluated early.
- Utility service National Grid territory. A detached unit needs power run to it, and whether it goes on its own meter or subfeeds the main house changes both the cost and the permit path.
- Access and parking Many codes require an added parking space for the accessory unit, and a detached unit usually needs a driveway extension or a path, both of which count against a lot-coverage or impervious-surface cap.
- Short-term rentalsNo local short-term-rental law on record - which is not the same as permission. NO SHORT-TERM-RENTAL PROVISION EXISTS IN THE TOWN OF EDINBURG ZONING ORDINANCE. A full-text read of the 74-page ordinance returns no 'short-term rental' and no 'vacation rental'. Recorded 'unknown' rather than 'prohibited': whole-house rental of a permitted single-family dwelling is arguably the residential use itself, and absence of a found provision is NOT permission. WHAT THE ORDINANCE DOES REGULATE IS THE TOURIST ACCOMMODATION, AND § 6.8's LAND RULE IS UNUSUAL AND USEFUL: for each unit attached to another by a party wall, each accommodation unit of a tourist home, and each tourist cabin FOR RENT OR HIRE INVOLVING LESS THAN 300 SQUARE FEET of floor space, THE MINIMUM LAND AREA IS ONE-TENTH THE DISTRICT MINIMUM LOT SIZE — but for a cabin OVER 300 SQUARE FEET the minimum land area is THE FULL DISTRICT MINIMUM LOT SIZE. THE 300 SQ FT LINE IS A TEN-FOLD CLIFF: in Low Intensity a 299 sq ft cabin needs 0.32 acres and a 301 sq ft cabin needs 3.2 acres. Anyone contemplating a cabin colony should design to it deliberately. Parking is 1.5 spaces per rental unit under 300 sq ft, two per unit over 300 sq ft, one per full-time employee living off premises and one per two employees living on premises. NO PORTION OF ANY TOURIST-ACCOMMODATION STRUCTURE MAY SIT WITHIN 50 FT OF ANOTHER PARTY'S PROPERTY OR WITHIN 125 FT OF THE SHORELINE of any body of water — a 25 ft deeper shoreline setback than any district requires of a house. And WHERE A TOURIST ACCOMMODATION HAS ACCESS TO GREAT SACANDAGA LAKE it must have 100 FT OF SHORELINE FRONTAGE FOR THE FIRST TEN UNITS OR FEWER AND EIGHT FEET FOR EACH ADDITIONAL UNIT. Tourist accommodations and tourist attractions are SECONDARY uses — Class B Regional Projects the Town Planning Board decides — in Low Intensity, Rural Use and Resource Management, and are unavailable in Lakefront Residential. A CAMPGROUND is defined as an area used for TRANSIENT OCCUPANCY by camping. Separately, New York State has required every short-term-rental host to register the unit with the State through the county registry since 2025 regardless of what the municipality allows, and Saratoga County HAS adopted a county-level short-term-rental programme: a 3% occupancy tax and a MANDATORY county registry, covering any room or space in a dwelling let for under 30 consecutive days. Registration runs two years, an unregistered host faces fines of up to $500, and the booking platform is separately liable for processing an unregistered listing — so Airbnb and Vrbo will delist. The City of Saratoga Springs runs its own registry alongside it. Separate question from whether you can build the unit.
- Building dept(518) 863-2034
Sizing up a specific parcel in Edinburg?
Aldo pulls the exact zoning district, setbacks, and build feasibility for any parcel — before you buy. Enter your email to open Aldo and run your free report.
Building a full house instead?
A standard-finish house in Edinburg runs $204–268/sq ft, about $370k–480k at 1,800 sq ft . See what it costs to build a house in Edinburg.
ADU cost in nearby towns
All Saratoga County towns: Mechanicville (City) · Saratoga Springs (City) · Ballston · Charlton · Clifton Park · Corinth · Day · Galway · Greenfield · Halfmoon · Malta · Milton · Moreau · Northumberland · Providence · Saratoga · Stillwater · Waterford · Wilton · Ballston Spa (Village) · Corinth (Village) · Round Lake (Village) · Schuylerville (Village) · South Glens Falls (Village) · Stillwater (Village) · Victory (Village) · Waterford (Village)
More on Edinburg: Can you build an ADU here? · Zoning for new construction · Saratoga County build cost
ADU cost in Edinburg: common questions
How much does it cost to build an ADU in Edinburg, NY?
An 800 sq ft accessory dwelling unit in Town of Edinburg runs roughly $200k–260k at a standard finish, general-contractor margin included. A 400 sq ft studio runs about $130k–175k. Those are structure costs on an easy site and do not include the septic, water or electrical service work a second unit often triggers.
Why does an ADU cost more per square foot than a house in Edinburg?
Because a lot of a dwelling's cost is per dwelling, not per square foot. One kitchen, one bath group, one service panel and one heating plant cost about the same in an 800 sq ft cottage as in a 1,800 sq ft house, so on the smaller unit they get spread over less than half the floor area. That is why an ADU here prices at $249–327/sq ft against $204–268/sq ft for a full house, even though it is the same trades doing the same work.
Are ADUs allowed in Edinburg?
Town of Edinburg has 4 districts. All districts prohibit ADUs. Check the specific address with the free ADU checker or confirm with the building department at (518) 863-2034 before you spend money on design.
Can I rent an ADU in Edinburg short term?
No local short-term-rental law on record - which is not the same as permission for Town of Edinburg. ADU rules and short-term-rental rules are set separately, so a unit you are allowed to build is not automatically one you are allowed to rent nightly. Confirm both before you underwrite the build on short-term-rental income.
ADU costs are modeled estimates in current 2026 dollars at the Saratoga County regional index, general-contractor margin included, derived from Offsite's cost engine with a stated adjustment for the equipment a dwelling needs one of regardless of size. They are planning numbers for decision-support only - not a bid, quote, or guarantee, and not legal, architectural or engineering advice. They cover the structure and exclude septic expansion, utility service runs, site work beyond a flat and clear pad, and permit fees. ADU eligibility, size, owner-occupancy and permit conditions in the Town of Edinburg vary by district and often carry exceptions this page does not show; zoning last reviewed 2026-08-03; verify with the building department at (518) 863-2034 before relying on any answer. Sources: Offsite / Aldo cost engine (costEngine.js + constants.js); zoning dataset (municipalData.js).