Yonkers, NY Accessory Structures: ADU Owner Occupancy (2026)

Owner-occupancy is not a side condition in Section 43-22, it is built into the operative sentence of both subsections. Subsection A, covering apartments that already hold a certificate of occupancy or completion, allows continued use of the accessory apartment only provided that the lot owner occupies and maintains the principal dwelling building on that lot as his or her primary residence. Subsection B, covering apartments legalized after the fact, repeats the same condition as its own numbered standard at Section 43-22B(5): the owner of a lot upon which an accessory apartment is located shall occupy and maintain the principal dwelling building on that lot as his or her primary residence.

In practice this means an owner who moves out, whether to rent out the whole property, relocate, or pass the house to an estate, loses the legal basis for the accessory apartment even if every other standard, bedroom count, parking, relative-only occupancy, continues to be met. The Commissioner of the Department of Housing and Buildings can require proof of primary residency when investigating a complaint or reviewing a certificate of occupancy for the apartment, since the code gives the Commissioner authority to inspect the apartment and the principal dwelling for compliance.