ADU Pass
Albuquerque
Bernalillo County portion
Also in: No County
ADU Pass helps homeowners in Albuquerque, Bernalillo County, New Mexico navigate the permit paperwork for building an accessory dwelling unit. This area covers 17 ZIP codes.
Map
ADU details
ADU legality: unclear
New Mexico leaves ADU regulation to local municipalities under home-rule or Dillon-rule authority. Albuquerque permits ADUs subject to local conditions per its zoning ordinance.
Cost scenarios
| Scenario | Sq ft | Permit | Build | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| minimum | 150 | $1,700 | $37,500 | $39,200 |
| 600 | 600 | $1,700 | $150,000 | $151,700 |
| midpoint | 525 | $1,700 | $131,250 | $132,950 |
| maximum | 900 | $1,700 | $225,000 | $226,700 |
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. Albuquerque 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: Albuquerque Water Utility · 30d connect · $4,500
- Sewer: Albuquerque Sewer / Wastewater · 30d connect · $5,500
- Electric: Albuquerque Electric Utility · 21d connect · $1,800
- Gas: Albuquerque 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
New Mexico has no HOA-ADU preemption; HOA covenants restricting ADUs are enforceable.
Technical envelope (climate & building code)
Climate & energy code
Building code
Amendments:
- Amendment
- Amendment
Legal history (timeline)
Current ordinance: City of Albuquerque Municipal Code — Accessory Dwelling Units, adopted 2020-01-01, last amended 2024-04-01
- 2024-01-01 — City of Albuquerque ADU code refresh (city-ordinance)
Conforming local-code amendments aligning with current New Mexico accessory-dwelling framework.
Effect: Codified permissive ADU standards consistent with state law and local zoning.
New Mexico state — ADU law and programs
State financing programs
New Mexico Mortgage Finance Authority (MFA), branded 'Housing New Mexico', is the state's quasi-public housing finance agency administering 35+ state and federal programs. As of 2026-04-26 MFA does not operate an ADU-specific homeowner loan or grant product. ADU construction or rehab can be financed indirectly through MFA's homebuyer programs (FirstHome 30-year fixed first mortgage for first-time buyers; HomeNow first mortgage with up to $7,000 down-payment / closing-cost assistance forgivable after 10 years; NextHome for non-first-time buyers with $7,000 grant) when the underlying primary-residence transaction qualifies. MFA's HERO Program (Healthcare, Education, Police/Public Safety, and 'Other' essential workers) provides reduced-rate first-mortgage financing. Several MFA Single-Family rehab programs (Energy$mart, Weatherization, HomeForward) can fund ADU-adjacent rehab work when the project meets program criteria. None of these is ADU-specific.
State housing programs
New Mexico does not operate a statewide pre-approved ADU plan catalog, statewide impact-fee waiver statute, or per-ADU rebate / incentive program as of 2026-04-26. The state's ADU programmatic posture leans on (a) the New Mexico Housing Trust Fund administered by MFA — funding affordable housing development including some ADU-style infill — and (b) the OSI's $10M wildfire-mitigation grant program for FAIR Plan-eligible structures, which can support hardening measures on ADUs in WUI areas. Governor Lujan Grisham's 2025-2026 housing initiative has emphasized infill and missing-middle (HB 17 pending in 2026); the Office of Housing within the New Mexico Department of Finance and Administration coordinates state-level housing policy across MFA, OSI, and DFA. Locally, City of Albuquerque operates an ADU promotion microsite (https://www.cabq.gov/planning/accessory-dwelling-unit) and Santa Fe County maintains a comprehensive ADU permit checklist; neither is a state program.
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 Codes
- 87102
- 87104
- 87105
- 87106
- 87107
- 87108
- 87109
- 87110
- 87111
- 87112
- 87113
- 87114
- 87116
- 87120
- 87121
- 87122
- 87123
Post Office
- 1050 Sunset Rd SW, 87105
- 110 Montano Rd NE, 87107
- 111 Alvarado Dr SE, 87108
- 1135 Broadway Blvd NE Bldg C, 87101
- 11600 Haines Ave NE, 87112
- 13101 Lomas Blvd NE, 87123
- 2100 George Rd SE, 87106
- 2505 Graceland Dr NE, 87110
- 4600 Paradise Blvd NW, 87114
- 6255 San Antonio Dr NE, 87109
- 9719 Candelaria Rd NE, 87111