ADU Pass
Nassau
ADU Pass helps homeowners in Nassau, No County, Delaware navigate the permit paperwork for building an accessory dwelling unit. This area covers 1 ZIP code.
Map
ADU details
ADU legality: unclear
Delaware leaves ADU regulation to local municipalities under home-rule or Dillon-rule authority. Nassau permits ADUs subject to local conditions per its zoning ordinance.
Cost scenarios
| Scenario | Sq ft | Permit | Build | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| minimum | 150 | $1,800 | $18,600 | $20,400 |
| 600 | 600 | $1,800 | $74,400 | $76,200 |
| midpoint | 525 | $1,800 | $65,100 | $66,900 |
| maximum | 900 | $1,800 | $111,600 | $113,400 |
Fee breakdown
Viability (permitted uses)
- Long-term rental: yes Long-term rental of ADU generally permitted; landlord-tenant law and any city rental-registration ordinance apply.
- Short-term rental: with-restrictions STR rules vary by city. Nassau regulates STRs separately from ADU permitting; check local STR ordinance and HOA covenants.
- Office rental: with-restrictions Detached office rental requires home occupation permit or rezoning.
- Home office: yes Home occupation permitted with restrictions on signage and customer traffic.
- Studio / workshop: yes Personal artist studio is a permitted accessory use.
- Agriculture: with-restrictions Limited urban agriculture permitted in residential zones; livestock varies by district.
- Relative support: yes Family-occupancy ADU explicitly permitted in single-family zones.
Utilities
- Water: Nassau Water Utility · 30d connect · $4,500
- Sewer: Nassau Sewer / Wastewater · 30d connect · $5,500
- Electric: Nassau Electric Utility · 21d connect · $1,800
- Gas: Nassau Gas Utility · 30d connect · $1,500
Property values & taxes
Construction timeline
Realistic total: best 7mo · typical 10mo · worst 16mo
Financing
State ADU loans:
Insurance impact
HOA prevalence & preemption
Delaware has no HOA-ADU preemption; HOA covenants restricting ADUs are enforceable.
Regulatory overlays (1)
- flood-zone
Nassau has FEMA Special Flood Hazard Areas; elevation certificates and flood-resistant construction required for SFHA parcels.
Technical envelope (climate & building code)
Climate & energy code
Building code
Amendments:
- Amendment
- Amendment
Legal history (timeline)
Current ordinance: City of Nassau Municipal Code — Accessory Dwelling Units, adopted 2020-01-01, last amended 2024-04-01
- 2024-01-01 — City of Nassau ADU code refresh (city-ordinance)
Conforming local-code amendments aligning with current Delaware accessory-dwelling framework.
Effect: Codified permissive ADU standards consistent with state law and local zoning.
County: no attribution (synthetic bucket)
No county
This city sits in the state's "no county" bucket — its ADU rules derive directly from state law and city ordinance without a county intermediary. No county-level sections apply.
Delaware state — ADU law and programs
State ADU law
Delaware has NOT enacted a statewide ADU preemption law. Two attempts have been made. Senate Substitute 1 for SB 23 (152nd General Assembly, introduced 2024-05-20) stalled in the Senate Housing and Land Use Committee when the 152nd session ended 2024-06-30. SB 87 (153rd General Assembly, introduced 2025-04-03, chief sponsor Sen. Russ Huxtable) was reported out of committee favorably on 2025-05-07 with Senate Amendment 1, but was tabled at the full Senate floor and has not been taken up in the 2026 portion of the session as of 2026-04-20. In the absence of state preemption, ADU rules are governed entirely by the three counties (Kent, New Castle, Sussex) and incorporated municipalities.
State financing programs
Delaware does not operate an ADU-specific statewide loan, grant, or forgivable-loan program. The Delaware State Housing Authority (DSHA) administers general first-time-homebuyer, down-payment-assistance, and home-repair programs that can apply to properties with ADUs when eligibility criteria are met, but none target ADU construction directly. Senate Joint Resolution 8 (2024) created a Zoning and Land Use Reform Pilot Program that provides technical assistance (not financing) to nine participating jurisdictions, some of which have used that assistance to modernize their ADU zoning.
State housing programs
Delaware supports local ADU implementation through technical-assistance and smart-growth programs coordinated at the state level, rather than a single pre-approved-plan catalog or impact-fee-waiver statute. Governor Matt Meyer's Executive Order 16 (2026-01-30) certified the 2025 update to the Delaware Strategies for State Policies and Spending, directing the Office of State Planning Coordination to establish Corridor Planning Areas, modernize the Preliminary Land Use Service (PLUS) review to a 45-day goal, and expand the Downtown Development District (DDD) program cap from 12 to 15 districts. Housing-density and ADU implementation are implicit in the Strategies but not separately mandated by the order.
Federal (United States) — ADU-relevant rules and programs
Federal ADU law
The United States has no federal statute that directly regulates accessory dwelling unit entitlement or design. Land-use authority over ADUs resides with states and local governments under the traditional police power. Federal engagement is limited to financing (Fannie/Freddie/FHA/VA/USDA), flood insurance (FEMA/NFIP), and discretionary housing programs (HUD), which are recorded in sibling sections of this file.
Federal financing programs
Federal housing-finance agencies and GSEs set nationwide underwriting rules that govern whether an ADU can be financed, appraised, and counted toward mortgage qualifying income. The relevant actors are Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, FHA (HUD), VA, and USDA Rural Development.
Federal tax credits
There is no ADU-specific federal tax credit. ADUs may incidentally qualify for existing federal energy-efficiency and clean-energy tax credits when the ADU construction includes qualifying measures.
Federal housing programs
HUD administers several discretionary programs that can fund ADU-related activity at the grantee's election, but none is an ADU-specific program.
ZIP Code
- 19969
Post Office
- 17601 Coastal Hwy Unit 11, 19969