Madison, WI Accessory Structures: ADU Owner Occupancy (2026)

Madison General Ordinances Section 28.151 was amended in 2020 to remove the previous owner-occupancy requirement for ADUs. Today, a property owner may construct an ADU on a rental property, sell the property with the ADU intact, and lease both the primary dwelling and the ADU to separate tenants. Madison's progressive housing policy specifically identified the owner-occupancy requirement as a barrier to ADU production and removed it as part of the Comprehensive Plan housing strategy. Wisconsin has not enacted state-level ADU preemption legislation comparable to California's AB 671 or Oregon's HB 2001. Private restrictions remain: condominium declarations under Wisconsin Statute Chapter 703 (Condominium Ownership Act) and homeowner association covenants under common-law contract principles may impose owner-occupancy. Wisconsin courts uphold reasonable covenants in declarations. Most Madison single-family neighborhoods (Atwood, Williamson-Marquette, Tenney-Lapham, Sherman, Eken Park, Bay Creek) are fee-simple without HOAs. Newer subdivisions on the city's far west (Junction Road) and east (American Family Children's Hospital area) are more likely to have covenants.