ADU · Orange County
Can you build an ADU in Otisville, NY?
Village of Otisville has 6 districts. All districts prohibit ADUs. Check your address to confirm the district that applies to your parcel:
What the Otisville 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single-Family Residence | 0.344 ac | 30 / 20 / 30 ft | 35 ft | No |
| Multiple-Family Residence | 0.344 ac | 30 / 20 / 30 ft | 35 ft | No |
| Single-Family Residence (large lot) | 0.918 ac | 100 / 25 / 30 ft | 35 ft | No |
| Commercial | 0.115 ac | 0 / 5 / 15 ft | 35 ft | No |
| Commercial | 0.23 ac | 30 / 20 / 25 ft | 45 ft | No |
| Heavy Commercial / Light Industrial | 0.23 ac | 30 / 50 / 30 ft | 45 ft | No |
ADUs vs. short-term rentals in Otisville
No local short-term-rental law on record - which is not the same as permission for Village of Otisville. Read in full 2026-08-27 against the Comprehensive Zoning Law of 2011 with Amendments (111 pp., amended through September 2015), its Appendix A Comprehensive Zoning and Planning Definitions, and the Village's complete published Local Laws index (92 entries). Nothing regulates short-term rental, transient occupancy, rental registration or rental licensing. THE DECISIVE PROVISION IS § 2.4.5: 'Any use not permitted by this Law shall be deemed to be prohibited. Any list of prohibited uses contained in any section of this Law shall not be deemed to be an exhaustive list.' Every district section repeats the closure in its own words — § 3.1.1 R-1: 'no building or premises shall be used ... for any use except the following.' APPENDIX A DEFINES THREE LODGING USES AND THE DISTRICT REGULATIONS LIST NONE OF THEM. 'Bed and Breakfast — A residence where overnight guests are lodged for compensation. The residence shall be occupied by the owner'; 'Boarding, Lodging, or Rooming House'; and 'Lodging Facility: Any hotel, motel, inn, or other establishment providing sleeping accommodations for transient guests ... excluding bed-and-breakfast establishments'. All three are defined and none is a permitted, conditional or accessory use in any district. Appendix A also defines 'Transient Occupancy — the occupancy of a room for sleeping purposes by the same person or persons for a period of 30 days or less', a defined term the zoning text never once uses. R-1 permits a one-family dwelling and municipal parks; its conditional uses are places of worship, schools and residential group homes; its accessory uses are home occupations, garden and tool houses and private garages. THE ONLY TRANSIENT LODGING ANYWHERE IN THE VILLAGE is § 3.7.1.1(i) — 'Motels/hotels provided that minimum lot size is increased 1,500 square feet for each unit over four' — in the C-2 General Commercial District. On the face of the code a short-term rental of a house in R-1 is an unlisted use and therefore prohibited, but that reading has not been confirmed with the Village, which is why this is recorded as no local law found rather than as a ban. ONE LIMIT ON COMPLETENESS: the Village's own Laws page carries the banner 'THIS SECTION IS UNDER CONSTRUCTION. NOT ALL LOCAL LAWS ARE LISTED HERE.' Since 2025 New York State requires every short-term-rental host to register the unit with the State through the county registry regardless of what the municipality allows. Call the Village Clerk at (845) 386-5172 before relying on this absence. 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. Municipal source
Good to know
- Residential lot minimum0.344–0.918 ac — an ADU still has to fit the district's lot and setback envelope.
- UtilityOrange & Rockland territory.
- Building dept(845) 386-5172
- Last reviewed2026-07-12
ADU FAQ — Otisville, NY
Are ADUs allowed in Otisville, NY?
Village of Otisville has 6 districts. All districts prohibit ADUs. Check your address with the free ADU checker, or confirm with the building department at (845) 386-5172.
Do I need a special permit for an ADU in Otisville?
No. No district in Village of Otisville permits an ADU, so there is no permit to apply for. Codes change, so verify with the building department at (845) 386-5172 before ruling it out.
Can I use an ADU as a short-term rental in Otisville?
No local short-term-rental law on record - which is not the same as permission for Village of Otisville. 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.
What an ADU costs to build in Otisville
Permission is one question and budget is another. An 800 sq ft accessory unit here runs roughly $205k–270k 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 Otisville, priced by size.
More on Otisville: Full zoning for new construction · ADU build cost · House build cost · All Orange County towns
ADU information for Village of Otisville is compiled from the municipal code (last reviewed 2026-07-12) 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 (845) 386-5172 before relying on any answer. Source: Offsite / Aldo zoning dataset, municipalData.js.