Hartford, CT Accessory Structures: ADU Owner Occupancy (2026)

Connecticut PA 21-29, signed by Governor Lamont on June 10, 2021, was the most significant zoning-reform law in Connecticut in decades. Section 7 (codified at CGS Section 8-1c) requires every zoning commission to permit one ADU as-of-right on each lot containing a single-family dwelling, subject to objective standards (size, height, setbacks, parking) that the commission may adopt but that may not include owner-occupancy of either unit, family-relationship restrictions, or minimum lot-size requirements above the underlying zone. The municipality could opt out of the as-of-right ADU provision (and remain free to adopt its own ADU framework, including owner-occupancy) only by a two-thirds vote of its legislative body within a window that closed January 1, 2023. The Hartford City Council did not opt out. The result is that Hartford's ADU framework is governed by the state default plus any objective standards the city has subsequently adopted that comply with PA 21-29. The Hartford Zoning Regulations Article IV accessory-use provisions do not impose owner-occupancy. This is a meaningful departure from many Connecticut suburbs where ADUs require the owner to occupy one of the two units. Practical implication: a Hartford investor or a heir who has inherited a property can lawfully construct an ADU and rent both the principal house and the accessory unit to unrelated tenants, subject to Hartford's rental housing inspection and registration requirements and Connecticut's Landlord-Tenant Act (CGS Chapter 830). Private covenants and HOA declarations (limited in Hartford because most of the city is detached single-family or older two/three-family housing without HOAs, but some condominium associations exist) may still impose owner-occupancy enforceable under CGS Chapter 825 (Common Interest Ownership Act).