Malta · ADU cost
What it costs to build an ADU in Malta, NY
An 800 sq ft accessory dwelling unit in Malta 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 Malta maps 26 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 Malta
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 Malta 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| R-1 Residential (baseline is the ONE-FAMILY DWELLING row: 40,000 sf, 200 ft minimum frontage width, 18% maximum building coverage, 30 ft height, 50 ft front, 15 ft side, 30 ft rear. Attachment 1 is USE-KEYED, so other uses in the district carry different standards: agriculture excluding poultry/livestock/fowl 217,000 sf / 200 ft / 15% / 35 ft with 50 ft yards all round; a two-family dwelling by special permit at 40,000 sf / 25% coverage; church with or without rectory 160,000 sf / 300 ft / 25% / 50 ft height / 50-30-60 yards; library or museum 100,000 sf / 300 ft / 20% / 60 ft height / 30-30-60 yards; equids (horses, donkeys) by special permit on 130,680 sf (3 acres) / 200 ft / 25% / 35 ft / 50-50-30; and chickens (hens) on 20,000 sf / 100 ft / 25% / 30 ft with 25 ft side and rear and no front yard requirement. For equids and chickens the lot area, frontage and coverage limits apply to the ENTIRE subject premises, while the yard and height figures apply only to the buildings housing the animals. Residential home business is dimensioned 'as defined in § 167-2' rather than by a table row. Minimum road frontage for FLAG LOTS is set separately in § 167-16 rather than by the 200 ft figure. Lots on Route 67 east of Round Lake or Little Round Lake must provide a 75 ft front yard instead of 50 ft (Attachment 1 note 8). Maximum building coverage in the residential table IS a genuine building-coverage maximum — unlike the commercial table, which states only a green-space minimum.) | 0.92 ac | 50 / 15 / 30 ft | 30 ft | No |
| R-3 Residential (baseline is the ONE-FAMILY DWELLING row: 40,000 sf, 200 ft frontage, 18% building coverage, 30 ft height, 50 ft front, 15 ft side, 30 ft rear. R-3 is the Town's widest-array residential district and the TOWNHOUSE standard was CUT IN HALF by L.L. No. 4-2026 — from 40,000 sf / 200 ft to 20,000 sf / 100 ft at the same 18% coverage, 30 ft height and 50-15-30 yards, with a ZERO setback at the property line bisecting the dwelling units and the remaining bulk requirements applying to each individual unit (§ 167-6). This is the single largest by-right density change in the new law and makes R-3 the most attached-housing-friendly district in Malta. A MOBILE HOME PARK is measured PER UNIT: 15,000 sf per unit, 100 ft frontage per unit, 20% coverage, 14 ft height, 25 ft front per unit, 15 ft side, 30 ft rear — and L.L. No. 4-2026 note 6 newly provides that mobile home parks may include TINY HOUSES as defined in § 167-2, provided they sit on a foundation rather than wheels and are connected to water and sewer. Special-permit rows: church with or without rectory 160,000 sf / 300 ft / 25% / 50 ft / 50-30-60; library 100,000 sf / 300 ft / 20% / 30 ft height / 60 ft front / 30 side / 60 rear; two-family dwelling 40,000 sf / 200 ft / 25% / 30 ft. CONFIRMED AS PRINTED (2026-07-31): the two-family row states 15 ft front, 30 ft side and 30 ft rear, which inverts the 50-15-30 pattern every other two-family row in Attachment 1 uses. It looks like a column transposition but it is not being treated as one — the figures carried unchanged from the 2019 table into L.L. No. 4-2026 and are recorded as the Town printed them. A two-family lot in R-3 therefore sits much closer to the street, and much further from its side neighbours, than a two-family lot in any other Malta district.) | 0.92 ac | 50 / 15 / 30 ft | 30 ft | No |
| R-4 Residential (the Town's smallest-lot district, mapped near Saratoga Lake: one-family dwelling on 15,000 sf with 100 ft frontage, 30% maximum building coverage, 30 ft height, 40 ft front, 12 ft side, 30 ft rear. R-4 is the only Malta district whose coverage allowance reaches 30% and the only one with a front yard below 50 ft and a side yard below 15 ft, which together make it the district where a modest lot is actually buildable. The use list is correspondingly narrow — one-family dwelling and residential home business are the only permitted principal uses, and a temporary mobile home, travel trailer or motor home on 15,000 sf / 100 ft is the sole special-permit row, with no dimensional limits stated for it. There is NO two-family, townhouse, agricultural, church or library use in R-4 at all.) | 0.34 ac | 40 / 12 / 30 ft | 30 ft | No |
| R-5 Agricultural Residential (one-family dwelling on 80,000 sf with 200 ft frontage, 18% building coverage, 30 ft height, 50 ft front, 15 ft side, 30 ft rear. R-5 keeps rural character on large lots and treats agriculture as a SPECIAL USE rather than a permitted one — that is the distinction from R-6 and R-8, where agriculture is permitted by right. Permitted rows: agriculture excluding poultry, livestock and fowl on 217,000 sf / 200 ft / 15% / 35 ft with 50 ft yards all round; equids on 130,680 sf (3 acres) / 200 ft / 15% / 35 ft / 50-50-50; chickens on 20,000 sf / 100 ft / 25% / 30 ft / 25 ft side and rear. Special-permit rows: agriculture WITH poultry, livestock and fowl 217,000 sf / 200 ft / 15% / 35 ft; two-family dwelling 80,000 sf / 200 ft / 25% / 30 ft / 50-15-30; church or rectory 160,000 sf / 300 ft / 25% / 50 ft; library or museum 100,000 sf / 300 ft / 20% / 60 ft. Lots on Route 67 east of Round Lake or Little Round Lake must provide a 75 ft front yard instead of 50 ft (Attachment 1 note 8). That 75 ft figure applies to every R-5 row, not just the dwelling row.) | 1.84 ac | 50 / 15 / 30 ft | 30 ft | No |
| R-6 Agricultural Residential (one-family dwelling on 80,000 sf, 18% building coverage, 30 ft height, 50 ft front, 15 ft side, 30 ft rear — the same lot area as R-5 but with a MINIMUM FRONTAGE OF 300 FT rather than 200 ft, which is the practical difference between the two and the reason an 80,000 sf R-6 lot is harder to subdivide out of a narrow parent parcel than an identically sized R-5 lot. Mapped near Saratoga Lake. Agriculture excluding poultry, livestock and fowl is a PERMITTED use here (217,000 sf / 200 ft / 15% / 35 ft / 50-50-30), not a special use as in R-5. Equids 130,680 sf (3 acres) / 200 ft / 15% / 35 ft / 50-50-50; chickens 20,000 sf / 100 ft / 25% / 30 ft / 25 ft side and rear. Special-permit rows: agriculture with poultry, livestock and fowl 217,000 sf but at 400 ft frontage; two-family dwelling 80,000 sf / 300 ft / 25% / 30 ft; church or rectory 160,000 sf / 300 ft / 25% / 50 ft; library or museum 100,000 sf / 300 ft / 20% / 60 ft height / 60 ft front.) | 1.84 ac | 50 / 15 / 30 ft | 30 ft | No |
| R-8 Agricultural Residential (the Town's largest-lot district and the one L.L. No. 4-2026 tightened: the one-family dwelling minimum ROSE from 200,000 sf to 217,000 sf — a full 5 acres — at 300 ft frontage, 18% building coverage, 30 ft height, 50 ft front, 15 ft side, 30 ft rear. Every other R-8 row was raised to 217,000 sf as well, including the two-family dwelling (previously 200,000 sf) and library or museum (previously 200,000 sf), so the district now runs on a single 5-acre floor for essentially everything except a church or rectory, which stays at 160,000 sf, chickens at 20,000 sf and equids at 130,680 sf (3 acres). NOTE THE COVERAGE GAP: the agriculture-excluding-poultry and equid rows print 'NA' rather than a percentage, so those two uses carry NO building-coverage limit in R-8 while the dwelling rows are held to 18% — a genuine asymmetry in the table, not a transcription gap. Agriculture is permitted by right; agriculture with poultry, livestock and fowl is a special use at 217,000 sf and 400 ft of frontage.) | 4.98 ac | 50 / 15 / 30 ft | 30 ft | No |
| LC Land Conservation (protects natural resources, ecosystem services and sensitive environmental areas; boundaries are whatever the Official Zoning Map shows as 'Land Conservation' under § 167-4, and § 167-3.1 states expressly that its narrative description is explanatory only and cannot modify those boundaries. THERE IS NO RESIDENTIAL USE IN LC AT ALL — the district's only permitted principal use is agriculture excluding poultry, livestock and fowl on 217,000 sf (5 acres) with 200 ft frontage, 15% building coverage, 35 ft height and 50 ft front, side and rear yards, which is the row recorded here. Special-permit rows are equids on 130,680 sf (3 acres) with coverage stated as 'NA', chickens on 20,000 sf, and agriculture with poultry, livestock and fowl on 217,000 sf. Attachment 1 note 7 adds a MINIMUM GREEN SPACE OF 50% for all uses excluding residential, which binds here because no residential use exists — an inverse standard, recorded in this label rather than as a coverage figure. SPLIT-ZONED PARCELS: § 167-15 carries additional regulations for lots split between LC and another district, and this is common in Malta because LC follows wetland and stream corridors rather than lot lines — determine how much of a parcel is LC before underwriting anything, since the LC portion carries no residential entitlement.) | 4.98 ac | 50 / 50 / 50 ft | 35 ft | No |
| C-2 Commercial Route 9 (the transition district immediately south and west of the Downtown Form-Based Code area, between the intensive downtown and the rural and residential neighborhoods. Residential is still permitted here: one-family and two-family dwellings both sit on 40,000 sf with 200 ft frontage, 30 ft height and 50-15-30 yards, and both are recorded as the baseline. The commercial rows run a consistent 40,000 sf / 200 ft / 30 ft height / 50 ft front / 20 ft side / 40 ft rear with 30% minimum green space, and L.L. No. 4-2026 introduced a NEW SMALL-LOT TIER at 20,000 sf with only 100 ft of frontage for bar, beer garden and brew pub — the first time Malta has priced a commercial use below 40,000 sf outside the hamlet districts. Larger-footprint uses step up to 80,000 sf (auto sales and service, boat and RV storage). Building materials sales carries an 80,000 sf maximum gross floor area cap. Contractor's yard and amusement facility take the deeper 30 ft side / 50 ft rear yards. Attachment 2's percentage column is MINIMUM PERCENTAGE GREEN SPACE, not a coverage maximum — the 2019 table's 'Maximum Percentage of Lot Coverage (includes parking)' column was REPLACED by L.L. No. 4-2026. Malta therefore sets NO building-coverage cap in any commercial district, so maxLotCoverage is null by design and must not be back-filled from the green-space figure. Attachment 2 is USE-KEYED, not district-keyed: every permitted and special-permit use in the district carries its own lot area, frontage, height and yards. The figures recorded here are the district's baseline row; a different use can move every number. The ROUTE 67 WEST OVERLAY sits on part of this district and where the two conflict the overlay governs — see the separate Route 67 West Overlay entry, which PROHIBITS one- and two-family dwellings outright.) | 0.92 ac | 50 / 15 / 30 ft | 30 ft | No |
| Route 67 West Overlay (an overlay on part of C-2 whose stated purpose is to PROHIBIT one- and two-family dwellings, so that medical and health services, business park and business uses are not exposed to nuisance conflict with residential neighbours — § 167-3 and Attachment 2 both list 'One family dwelling' and 'Two family dwelling' as PROHIBITED principal uses here, which is the opposite of the underlying C-2 district. Where C-2 and the overlay conflict, the OVERLAY CONTROLS. The overlay adds uses C-2 does not have: multiple dwelling, medical center, personal service shop, recreation facility, restaurant, mid-size retail, wholesale business, club/lodge and convenience store without gas by right, and aquatic center, convenience store with gas, hotel and drive-through accessory use by special permit. The recorded baseline is the 80,000 sf / 200 ft frontage / 40 ft height / 50 ft front / 20 ft side / 40 ft rear row with 30% minimum green space. THE HEIGHT ESCAPE HATCH IS THE POINT OF THIS OVERLAY: a use exceeding the maximum building height may go to 5 STORIES and 75 FT on a 200,000 sf lot with 50 ft front and 40 ft side and rear yards and no green-space requirement — by a wide margin the tallest as-of-right envelope anywhere in Malta outside the C-3 NYSERDA district. Maximum gross floor areas are capped per use: recreation facility and mid-size retail 35,000 sf, wholesale business 40,000 sf, restaurant 20,000 sf, aquatic center 65,000 sf. THE 500 FT FRONT YARD ON MULTIPLE DWELLINGS IS REAL AND IT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT NUMBER IN THIS OVERLAY. The 'Dwelling, multiple' row states a 500 FT front yard where every other row in the overlay states 50, and that is deliberate: it implements the Town plan's intent to DISCOURAGE RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT IN THE ROUTE 67 CORRIDOR (confirmed 2026-07-31). Read it as a use control expressed in dimensions rather than as a setback — combined with the outright prohibition on one- and two-family dwellings, a 500 ft front yard makes multifamily practically undeliverable on any ordinary Route 67 parcel, because almost no lot here is deep enough to place a building 500 ft back and still meet the 20 ft side and 40 ft rear yards. Do not underwrite apartments in this overlay off the 80,000 sf lot figure without first measuring depth from the Route 67 right-of-way. frontSetback stores the overlay's ordinary 50 ft because that governs the nine non-residential uses; the 500 ft applies to the multiple-dwelling row alone. Attachment 2's percentage column is MINIMUM PERCENTAGE GREEN SPACE, not a coverage maximum — the 2019 table's 'Maximum Percentage of Lot Coverage (includes parking)' column was REPLACED by L.L. No. 4-2026. Malta therefore sets NO building-coverage cap in any commercial district, so maxLotCoverage is null by design and must not be back-filled from the green-space figure.) | 1.84 ac | 50 / 20 / 40 ft | 40 ft | No |
| C-3 NYSERDA (promotes light industry, office and institutional development advancing energy conservation, efficiency and sustainability, around the NYSERDA Saratoga Technology + Energy Park. THIS IS THE TALLEST CONVENTIONAL DISTRICT IN MALTA — light industry, office, adult entertainment, research and development, school/college/educational facility, municipal building, museum and conference center all carry an 80 FT MAXIMUM HEIGHT against 30 to 40 ft nearly everywhere else in Town. The recorded baseline is the OFFICE row: 20,000 sf, 100 ft frontage, 80 ft height, 50 ft front, 20 ft side, 30 ft rear, 30% minimum green space. THE MOST IMPORTANT ROW HAS NO LOT MINIMUM AT ALL: LIGHT INDUSTRY is stated as 'N/A' for minimum lot size, with 200 ft frontage, 80 ft height and 50-15-30 yards — the frontage and yards, not the lot area, are what bind an industrial site here. Research and development and school/college sit at 80,000 sf; park or playground at 40,000 sf with a 40 ft height. TOWNHOUSES ARE PERMITTED IN C-3 on 20,000 sf with 100 ft frontage and a 30 ft height, at a 40 ft front yard that rises to 500 ft where the lot is within that distance of Route 9, with a ZERO side yard at the party wall bisecting the units and 15 ft otherwise, and a 30 ft rear — the remaining bulk requirements applying to each individual dwelling unit. 'Mixed uses, commercial' is permitted but expressly PROHIBITS a multiple dwelling as the residential component. Attachment 2's percentage column is MINIMUM PERCENTAGE GREEN SPACE, not a coverage maximum — the 2019 table's 'Maximum Percentage of Lot Coverage (includes parking)' column was REPLACED by L.L. No. 4-2026. Malta therefore sets NO building-coverage cap in any commercial district, so maxLotCoverage is null by design and must not be back-filled from the green-space figure.) | 0.46 ac | 50 / 20 / 30 ft | 80 ft | No |
| C-5 Exit 11 Hamlet Commercial (intended as a walkable hamlet development pattern with a mixture of uses, in deliberate contrast to the Town's highway commercial districts. Baseline is the one-family and two-family dwelling row: 40,000 sf, 200 ft frontage, 30 ft height, 50 ft front, 15 ft side, 30 ft rear — residential is permitted by right here, and the residential rows carry no green-space requirement ('N/A') while the commercial rows require 30%. The hamlet character shows in the SMALL-LOT TIER, which is far more developed here than in the highway districts: bar, beer garden, convenience store without gas, office, municipal building and several others sit on 20,000 sf with only 100 ft of frontage, half the frontage of a standard commercial lot. Church with or without rectory and fitness center reach a 50 ft height where nearly everything else is capped at 30 ft. Garden center or nursery and nursing/convalescent home or assisted living step up to 80,000 sf. The municipal building row is the one exception on green space, requiring 50% rather than 30%. Attachment 2's percentage column is MINIMUM PERCENTAGE GREEN SPACE, not a coverage maximum — the 2019 table's 'Maximum Percentage of Lot Coverage (includes parking)' column was REPLACED by L.L. No. 4-2026. Malta therefore sets NO building-coverage cap in any commercial district, so maxLotCoverage is null by design and must not be back-filled from the green-space figure. Attachment 2 is USE-KEYED, not district-keyed: every permitted and special-permit use in the district carries its own lot area, frontage, height and yards. The figures recorded here are the district's baseline row; a different use can move every number. L.L. No. 4-2026 split off the auto-oriented uses into the NEW C-5A district — see that entry; C-5 no longer carries them.) | 0.92 ac | 50 / 15 / 30 ft | 30 ft | No |
| C-5A Auto Exit 11 Hamlet Commercial (A DISTRICT CREATED BY L.L. No. 4-2026 — it did not exist before 7-6-2026 and appears in no earlier version of the Zoning Map or Attachment 2. Its purpose is to carry the same hamlet development pattern as C-5 but with AUTO-ORIENTED USES ADDED, which is how the Town separated gas, service and drive-through activity from the walkable C-5 core rather than banning it. Baseline is the one-family and two-family dwelling row: 40,000 sf, 200 ft frontage, 30 ft height, 50 ft front, 15 ft side, 30 ft rear, no green-space requirement on the residential rows. The auto uses C-5 lacks: AUTOMOTIVE REPAIR at a notably small 20,000 sf with 200 ft frontage and a 40 ft rear yard, and CONVENIENCE STORE WITH GAS at 40,000 sf with a deeper 30 ft side and 40 ft rear. HOTEL is permitted at 40,000 sf, 200 ft frontage, 40 ft height and a reduced 40 ft front yard. Church or rectory and fitness center reach 50 ft in height. The 20,000 sf / 100 ft small-lot tier carries over from C-5 for bar, beer garden and convenience store without gas, and day-care centers (adult and child) sit at 20,000 sf here against 40,000 sf in C-5. Nursing or convalescent home and assisted living take 80,000 sf and are the only row in the district with a 20% rather than 30% green-space minimum. Attachment 2's percentage column is MINIMUM PERCENTAGE GREEN SPACE, not a coverage maximum — the 2019 table's 'Maximum Percentage of Lot Coverage (includes parking)' column was REPLACED by L.L. No. 4-2026. Malta therefore sets NO building-coverage cap in any commercial district, so maxLotCoverage is null by design and must not be back-filled from the green-space figure. Because this district is brand new, the Official Zoning Map amendment that maps it should be checked against any specific parcel before relying on a C-5 or C-5A designation.) | 0.92 ac | 50 / 15 / 30 ft | 30 ft | No |
| C-7 Highway Commercial Exit 13 East (a wide variety of mid-size and smaller commercial uses plus residential at densities below multifamily, each with SIGNIFICANT SETBACKS FROM ROUTE 9 — that Route 9 relationship is the district's organising idea and the commercial use band was historically described as extending 500 feet back from the highway. Baseline is the one-family and two-family dwelling row: 40,000 sf, 200 ft frontage, 30 ft height, 50 ft front, 15 ft side, 30 ft rear, with no green-space requirement on residential rows. TOWNHOUSES are permitted at 20,000 sf and 100 ft frontage with a 40 FT FRONT YARD THAT BECOMES 500 FT WHERE THE LOT LIES WITHIN THAT DISTANCE OF ROUTE 9, a zero side yard at the party wall and 15 ft otherwise, and a 30 ft rear — the 500 ft figure is the district's defining constraint and it is stated in the table itself, not in a footnote. Agriculture excluding poultry, livestock and fowl is permitted on 120,000 sf with 200 ft frontage, 35 ft height and 50 ft yards all round. Commercial rows run 40,000 sf / 200 ft / 30 ft height / 50-20-40 with 30% minimum green space, stepping to 80,000 sf for larger uses. Attachment 2's percentage column is MINIMUM PERCENTAGE GREEN SPACE, not a coverage maximum — the 2019 table's 'Maximum Percentage of Lot Coverage (includes parking)' column was REPLACED by L.L. No. 4-2026. Malta therefore sets NO building-coverage cap in any commercial district, so maxLotCoverage is null by design and must not be back-filled from the green-space figure. Attachment 2 is USE-KEYED, not district-keyed: every permitted and special-permit use in the district carries its own lot area, frontage, height and yards. The figures recorded here are the district's baseline row; a different use can move every number. Attachment 2 note 1 adds a BUFFER REQUIREMENT specific to C-7, C-8 and C-9: where a lot abuts an existing residential development area or a conventionally platted residential map filed with the Saratoga County Clerk, the Planning Board sets a buffer, and if it is under 40 ft wide it must carry a 6 ft (up to 8 ft) fully opaque vinyl, wood or masonry fence or wall PLUS vegetation reaching 75% opacity of that fence within three years and 50% opacity year-round overall, certified by a licensed landscape architect and completed or bonded before a certificate of occupancy issues.) | 0.92 ac | 50 / 15 / 30 ft | 30 ft | No |
| C-8 Highway Commercial Exit 13 West (carries the same wide commercial range and low-density residential uses as C-7 but is additionally intended to accommodate LARGER MID-SIZE RETAIL ESTABLISHMENTS — that is the sole stated difference between the two districts, and it shows in the dimensional table as a step up to 80,000 sf and 300 ft frontage for uses that sit at 40,000 sf and 200 ft in C-7 (animal hospital is the clearest example, at 80,000 sf / 300 ft / 40 ft height here). Baseline is the one-family and two-family dwelling row: 40,000 sf, 200 ft frontage, 30 ft height, 50 ft front, 15 ft side, 30 ft rear, no green-space requirement on residential rows. Townhouses are permitted at 20,000 sf and 100 ft frontage with the same 40 ft front yard rising to 500 ft within that distance of Route 9, a zero party-wall side yard and 15 ft otherwise, and a 30 ft rear. Agriculture excluding poultry, livestock and fowl on 120,000 sf / 200 ft / 35 ft / 50 ft yards. Attachment 2's percentage column is MINIMUM PERCENTAGE GREEN SPACE, not a coverage maximum — the 2019 table's 'Maximum Percentage of Lot Coverage (includes parking)' column was REPLACED by L.L. No. 4-2026. Malta therefore sets NO building-coverage cap in any commercial district, so maxLotCoverage is null by design and must not be back-filled from the green-space figure. Attachment 2 is USE-KEYED, not district-keyed: every permitted and special-permit use in the district carries its own lot area, frontage, height and yards. The figures recorded here are the district's baseline row; a different use can move every number. The Attachment 2 note 1 residential-buffer rule applies here as it does in C-7 and C-9 — a Planning-Board-set buffer, and under 40 ft in width it requires a 6 to 8 ft fully opaque fence or wall plus vegetation reaching 75% opacity of the fence within three years and 50% opacity in all seasons overall, landscape-architect certified and completed or paid for before a certificate of occupancy.) | 0.92 ac | 50 / 15 / 30 ft | 30 ft | No |
| C-9 Gateway Commercial (establishes a welcoming gateway to the Town with CROSSROADS-STYLE development closer to hamlet character than to highway development — and unlike C-2, C-5, C-5A, C-7, C-8 and C-10 it has NO ONE-FAMILY OR TWO-FAMILY DWELLING ROW AT ALL. C-9 is commercial-only, which is why the recorded baseline is the standard commercial row rather than a dwelling row: 40,000 sf, 200 ft frontage, 30 ft height, 40 ft front, 20 ft side, 40 ft rear, 30% minimum green space. The 40 FT FRONT YARD IS THE TELL — every other Malta commercial district requires 50 ft, and the shallower gateway setback is what produces the crossroads rather than highway-strip form the district is named for. Note that the two day-care rows are the exception and revert to 50 ft. A well-developed 20,000 sf / 100 ft small-lot tier covers bar, beer garden, brew pub and convenience store without gas. Maximum gross floor areas are capped per use — bank 3,000 sf, convenience store without gas 5,000 sf, restaurant 10,000 sf, microdistillery 5,000 sf, recreation facility 30,000 sf, mixed use 15,000 sf — and the MIXED-USE row uniquely REQUIRES a multitenant building with habitable second-story space rather than merely permitting it. Attachment 2's percentage column is MINIMUM PERCENTAGE GREEN SPACE, not a coverage maximum — the 2019 table's 'Maximum Percentage of Lot Coverage (includes parking)' column was REPLACED by L.L. No. 4-2026. Malta therefore sets NO building-coverage cap in any commercial district, so maxLotCoverage is null by design and must not be back-filled from the green-space figure. The Attachment 2 note 1 residential-buffer rule applies here as in C-7 and C-8.) | 0.92 ac | 40 / 20 / 40 ft | 30 ft | No |
| C-10 Highway Commercial South (transitions the village-residential development of Round Lake to the highway commercial development further north on Route 9, and does so by SUBTRACTION — the district description states expressly that it carries NEITHER RETAIL BUSINESSES NOR LIGHT INDUSTRY, which is what distinguishes it from C-7 and C-8. Baseline is the one-family and two-family dwelling row: 40,000 sf, 200 ft frontage, 30 ft height, 50 ft front, 15 ft side, 30 ft rear, no green-space requirement on the residential rows. Agriculture excluding poultry, livestock and fowl is permitted on 120,000 sf / 200 ft / 35 ft / 50 ft yards all round. Antique shop is the notable step-up at 80,000 sf where most commercial rows sit at 40,000 sf, and a 20,000 sf / 100 ft small-lot tier covers bar, beer garden and brew pub. Several uses carry a shallower 15 ft side and 30 ft rear yard — bed-and-breakfast residential, business office, day-care center, gallery, personal service shop and professional office — reflecting the district's residential-scale intent, while bed-and-breakfast commercial takes 25 ft and religious worship 160,000 sf / 300 ft / 30-60 yards. Maximum gross floor areas run 3,000 to 5,000 sf across most rows, which is the real cap on scale here. The mixed-use row limits a multitenant building to a MAXIMUM OF THREE FIRST-FLOOR UNITS and requires habitable second-story space. Attachment 2's percentage column is MINIMUM PERCENTAGE GREEN SPACE, not a coverage maximum — the 2019 table's 'Maximum Percentage of Lot Coverage (includes parking)' column was REPLACED by L.L. No. 4-2026. Malta therefore sets NO building-coverage cap in any commercial district, so maxLotCoverage is null by design and must not be back-filled from the green-space figure.) | 0.92 ac | 50 / 15 / 30 ft | 30 ft | No |
| DN-4 Downtown Northway (Downtown Malta Form-Based Code, Attachment 5 § 2.4 — a mix of uses in a variety of building types in a pedestrian-friendly, walkable environment where buildings do not exceed 4 STORIES. THE FORM-BASED CODE SETS NO MINIMUM LOT AREA, NO LOT COVERAGE PERCENTAGE AND NO CONVENTIONAL SETBACKS AT THE DISTRICT LEVEL — those standards attach to the BUILDING TYPE under § 3, not to the district, so every null here is the correct record of a form-based code rather than missing data and must not be back-filled from the conventional districts. What the district does set is which building types are permitted and how tall each may be. Permitted types: Mixed Use Shopfront, Traditional Shopfront, Single-Story Shopfront, General Building, Civic Building, Apartment, Townhouse, Cottage Court and Detached House — the widest palette of any downtown district. Height by type: 4 stories for Mixed Use Shopfront, General Building and Apartment; 3 stories for Civic Building and Townhouse; 2 stories for Traditional Shopfront; 1 story for Single-Story Shopfront. Read § 3 for the build-to zones, frontage occupation percentages and lot dimensions that actually govern a site, and § 6 for the street types.) | — | — | — | No |
| DC-4 Downtown Civic (Form-Based Code § 2.5 — a mix of compatible community-serving and office-related uses in a pedestrian-friendly, walkable environment where buildings do not exceed 4 STORIES, centred on a community green space. Although the permitted building type palette is as wide as DN-4's (Mixed Use Shopfront, Traditional Shopfront, Single-Story Shopfront, General Building, Civic Building, Apartment, Townhouse, Cottage Court, Detached House), THE HEIGHT TABLE ASSIGNS 4 STORIES TO ONLY TWO TYPES — General Building and Civic Building — and leaves the 3-, 2- and 1-story rows blank, so the district's form is deliberately concentrated in larger civic and office structures rather than in shopfront or residential types. As with every Form-Based Code district, no minimum lot area, coverage percentage or district-level setback is stated; the governing dimensions come from the building type standards in § 3 and the nulls recorded here are correct.) | — | — | — | No |
| DX-3 Downtown Mixed Use (Form-Based Code § 2.6 — a mix of uses in a pedestrian-friendly, walkable environment where buildings do not exceed 3 STORIES. Height by type: 3 stories for Mixed Use Shopfront and General Building; 2 stories for Traditional Shopfront, Cottage Court and the residential types; 1 story for Single-Story Shopfront. Sits a step down in intensity from DN-4 and DC-4 while keeping a full mixed-use palette. No minimum lot area, coverage percentage or district-level setback is stated — the building type standards in § 3 govern, and the nulls here are the correct record of a form-based code.) | — | — | — | No |
| GC-3 Green Commercial (Form-Based Code § 2.7, where buildings do not exceed 3 STORIES. NAMING CONFLICT IN THE CODE ITSELF: the district list in § 2.1 calls this 'Green Corridor' while the standards section heading at § 2.7 calls it 'Green Commercial' — the same conflict appears in the 2013 adoption and was carried into L.L. No. 4-2026 unchanged; the § 2.7 form is used here because it heads the standards. GC-3 IS THE ONE DOWNTOWN DISTRICT WITH ITS OWN SPECIAL BUILDING RULES: § 3.13 'Special Rules for the GC-3 District' modifies the ordinary building type standards for this district only, so § 3.13 must be read alongside § 3 before siting anything here. No minimum lot area, coverage percentage or district-level setback is stated at the district level; the nulls are the correct record of a form-based code.) | — | — | — | No |
| RA-3 Downtown Residential Attached (Form-Based Code § 2.8 — a mix of detached and attached residential building types in a pedestrian-friendly, walkable environment where buildings do not exceed 3 STORIES. Height by type: 3 stories for Apartment, Civic Building and Townhouse; 2 stories for Cottage Court and Detached House. THIS IS THE DENSEST PURELY RESIDENTIAL DISTRICT IN MALTA — a 3-story apartment or townhouse by right, with no minimum lot area and no coverage percentage, is an envelope no conventional Malta district offers at any lot size. Paired with the R-3 townhouse standard that L.L. No. 4-2026 cut to 20,000 sf, it is where attached housing in this Town is actually deliverable. The nulls are the correct record of a form-based code; the governing dimensions are the building type standards in § 3.) | — | — | — | No |
| DA-2 Downtown Auto-Oriented (Form-Based Code § 2.9 — balances safe, active, pedestrian-scaled areas against convenient automobile access, with buildings not exceeding 2 STORIES. Height by type: 2 stories for Mixed Use Shopfront and Traditional Shopfront; 1 story for Single-Story Shopfront. THE DISTINCTIVE RULE IS A PARKING ALLOWANCE, NOT A DIMENSIONAL ONE: DA-2 is the only downtown district that permits parking between the building and the street, and then only A MAXIMUM OF TWO BAYS OF PARKING WITH ONE DRIVE AISLE — everywhere else downtown, parking is relegated. Building type, circulation and parking lot layout are otherwise given deliberate flexibility here. NAMING CONFLICT: the district list in § 2.1 calls this 'DA-3' while the intent paragraph and the § 2.9 standards heading both call it 'DA-2'; the DA-2 form is used here because two of the three references and the district's own 2-story limit support it, but the Town should reconcile the list. No minimum lot area, coverage or district-level setback is stated — the § 3 building type standards govern.) | — | — | — | No |
| DP-2 Downtown Parade Grounds (Form-Based Code § 2.10 — a mix of compatible uses in a pedestrian-friendly, walkable environment where buildings do not exceed 2 STORIES. Height by type: 2 stories for Traditional Shopfront and Civic Building; the 1-story row is blank. THIS DISTRICT IS EXPRESSLY PRESERVATIONIST: it is intended to preserve the historic character of the Parade Grounds, and new structures and additions to existing structures are required to EVOKE AND COMPLEMENT THE HISTORIC CHARACTER OF THE BUILDINGS ALONG DUNNING STREET — a design-contextual obligation that operates on top of the form standards and will shape massing and materials more than any dimensional figure. Expect a longer design review here than in the other downtown districts. No minimum lot area, coverage or district-level setback is stated; the § 3 building type standards govern and the nulls are correct.) | — | — | — | No |
| RA-2 Downtown Residential Attached (Form-Based Code § 2.11 — the same intent as RA-3, a mix of detached and attached residential building types in a pedestrian-friendly, walkable environment, but capped at 2 STORIES rather than 3. Height by type: 2 stories for Townhouse, Cottage Court, Detached House and the other residential types; the 1-story row is blank. The single-story difference from RA-3 is the whole distinction between the two districts and it is the difference between a 2- and a 3-storey attached product on an otherwise identical form-based envelope. No minimum lot area, coverage percentage or district-level setback is stated — the § 3 building type standards govern and the nulls are the correct record of a form-based code.) | — | — | — | No |
| RD-2 Downtown Residential Detached (Form-Based Code § 2.12 — a mix of DETACHED residential building types only, in a pedestrian-friendly, walkable environment where buildings do not exceed 2 STORIES. Height by type: 2 stories for Civic Building, Cottage Court and Detached House; the 1-story row is blank. This is the lowest-intensity residential district downtown and the only one that excludes attached types altogether — the counterpart to RA-2 and RA-3. Note that the COTTAGE COURT type is still available here, which is how the district reaches a small-lot detached product without permitting townhouses. No minimum lot area, coverage percentage or district-level setback is stated at district level; the § 3 building type standards govern and the nulls are correct.) | — | — | — | No |
| OS Open Space (Form-Based Code § 2.13 — accommodates open-air outdoor activity such as a civic green, plaza, park or cemetery, plus temporary outdoor uses such as a farmer's market or festival, which under L.L. No. 4-2026 now require a TEMPORARY USE PERMIT that the 2013 code did not demand. OS IS THE ONE DOWNTOWN DISTRICT NOT REGULATED BY BUILDING TYPE — § 2.13B states its dimensional standards directly, which is why real figures are recorded here where every other Form-Based Code district is null: all structures set back at least 10 FT from any property line, and a maximum structure height of 20 FT. Two further rules make it effectively unbuildable as a development site and should be read as the binding constraints: 95% OF THE LAND AREA MUST BE PERMANENT OUTDOOR AMENITY SPACE, and NO ON-SITE PARKING IS ALLOWED AT ALL. The 95% amenity requirement is an inverse standard — it leaves at most 5% for structures — and is recorded in this label rather than as a maxLotCoverage figure, consistent with how green-space minimums are handled throughout Saratoga County.) | — | 10 / 10 / 10 ft | 20 ft | No |
Check my address for ADU feasibility → Free · no account needed to start
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 Malta Zoning Law. Chapter 167 was rewritten in its entirety by L.L. No. 4-2026 on 7-6-2026 and the new text — read in full — defines no short-term rental, vacation rental or transient-rental use, creates no registration or licensing requirement, and lists none in Attachment 1, Attachment 2 or the Downtown Form-Based Code use tables. The chapter's own general-references list names no rental or lodging chapter elsewhere in the Town Code. The nearest defined uses are all permit-gated and none is a whole-house short-term rental: BED-AND-BREAKFAST, COMMERCIAL (breakfast only, transient guests, maximum 10 rental rooms), BED-AND-BREAKFAST, RESIDENTIAL (the same but capped at five rooms), ROOMING OR LODGING HOUSE, and HOTEL/MOTEL. Recorded 'unknown' rather than 'prohibited' because the Town has never legislated on the question — but note that Chapter 167 operates as a closed-list permissive code, so a use that is not enumerated is not thereby permitted, and every one of the transient-lodging uses that IS enumerated is a listed use requiring approval rather than an as-of-right activity. Absence of a found STR provision is NOT permission. Get a written answer from the Building and Planning Department at (518) 899-2685 before underwriting short-term rental income on a Malta parcel. 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) 899-2685
Sizing up a specific parcel in Malta?
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 Malta runs $204–268/sq ft, about $370k–480k at 1,800 sq ft , plus roughly $19,038 for a conforming lot. See what it costs to build a house in Malta.
ADU cost in nearby towns
Mechanicville (City)
800 sq ft ≈ $200k–260k
Saratoga Springs (City)
800 sq ft ≈ $200k–260k
Ballston
800 sq ft ≈ $200k–260k
Charlton
800 sq ft ≈ $200k–260k
Clifton Park
800 sq ft ≈ $200k–260k
Corinth
800 sq ft ≈ $200k–260k
All Saratoga County towns: Mechanicville (City) · Saratoga Springs (City) · Ballston · Charlton · Clifton Park · Corinth · Day · Edinburg · Galway · Greenfield · Halfmoon · 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 Malta: Can you build an ADU here? · Zoning for new construction · Saratoga County build cost
ADU cost in Malta: common questions
How much does it cost to build an ADU in Malta, NY?
An 800 sq ft accessory dwelling unit in Town of Malta 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 Malta?
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 Malta?
Town of Malta has 26 districts. All districts prohibit ADUs. Check the specific address with the free ADU checker or confirm with the building department at (518) 899-2685 before you spend money on design.
Can I rent an ADU in Malta short term?
No local short-term-rental law on record - which is not the same as permission for Town of Malta. 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 Malta vary by district and often carry exceptions this page does not show; zoning last reviewed 2026-07-31; verify with the building department at (518) 899-2685 before relying on any answer. Sources: Offsite / Aldo cost engine (costEngine.js + constants.js); zoning dataset (municipalData.js).