ADU Pass
Albany County
ADU Pass helps homeowners in Albany County, New York navigate the permit paperwork for building an accessory dwelling unit. We cover 28 cities and 45 ZIP codes in this county.
Map
County ADU details
County assessor
Assessment policy: New York generally uses municipal assessors at the local tier under N.Y. Real Property Tax Law (RPTL) Article 5, with the Albany County Real Property Tax Service Agency providing technical and equalization support to constituent municipalities. The county does not directly assess but maintains the county-tier tax map, equalization rates, and grievance support. Each city and town in Albany County maintains its own elected or appointed Assessor. New ADU construction is reassessed at full market value as of the next taxable status date (March 1) following completion. New York's STAR (School Tax Relief) program (RPTL § 425) provides school-tax exemption for the homestead; the Enhanced STAR (income-qualified seniors) provides additional relief. An ADU rented separately may carve out a non-homestead component.
County overlays (3)
Known county issues (3)
- other — ADU researchers in Albany County must look to town, village, and city ordinances. The City of Albany, the Towns of Bethlehem, Colonie, Guilderland, New Scotland, and the Villages of Altamont, Menands, Voorheesville, Green Island, Ravena each have distinct ordinances.
- other — ADU rights in Albany County depend entirely on each municipality's ordinance; some municipalities are ADU-permissive (Albany, Bethlehem) while others are restrictive (some Helderberg towns).
- other — ADU construction on parcels within or immediately adjacent to the Albany Pine Bush Preserve faces APBPC review or outright prohibition; researchers should check the preserve boundary before assuming a parcel is buildable.
New York state — ADU law and programs
State financing programs
New York operates the Plus One ADU Program, a state-funded grant initiative administered by NYS Homes and Community Renewal (HCR) that finances new ADU construction and the legalization of existing unpermitted units for low- and moderate-income homeowners. The program was capitalized at $85 million over five years by the FY2022-2023 NYS Capital Budget; approximately $59 million had been awarded to local government and non-profit subrecipients across the first two rounds. A separate NYC-administered Plus One ADU pilot (run by HPD) layers additional grant + loan dollars on top within the five boroughs.
State housing programs
Beyond the Plus One ADU funding stream, New York's statewide ADU policy footprint is concentrated in HCR's Plus One technical-assistance and pre-development resources for subrecipient localities. The state does not currently operate a statewide pre-approved ADU plan catalog, statewide impact-fee waiver, or statewide streamlined-review timeline floor — those tools sit at the municipal level (notably the City of Yes for Housing Opportunity package adopted by NYC in late 2024). New York's 'City of Yes' is a NYC zoning text amendment, not a state program, and is therefore not state-primary.
- Plus One ADU technical assistance — Bundled with the Plus One grant award — HCR-funded TA for subrecipients on ADU project scoping, contractor selection, design review, and homeowner outreach. Layered with local code-compliance support.
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.