Colonie, NY Accessory Structures: ADU Rental Restrictions (2026)

The Town of Colonie's accessory dwelling unit standards single out occupancy in § 190-22B(1)(a): accessory dwelling units shall be temporary, and occupancy shall be restricted to individuals related to at least one owner-occupant of the single-family dwelling in which the unit is placed, with the relationship between the owner-occupant and the accessory unit's occupant defined as a lawful family relationship or the functional equivalent thereof. This makes an ADU in Colonie fundamentally different from a market-rate rental unit: it exists to house relatives of the person who owns and lives in the main house, not tenants found through a listing service, and the code frames the whole permit as temporary rather than a permanent second dwelling right.

The "functional equivalent" language gives the Building Department room to recognize non-blood relationships that operate like family, such as a long-term domestic partner or a ward under guardianship, but it does not open the unit to ordinary leasing. Because occupancy eligibility is built into the permit itself, subsection (1)(b) makes the permit temporary, and subsection (2)(e) requires a decommission and restoration plan describing the cost of removing kitchen facilities and other improvements once the related occupant moves out or the relationship ends, reinforcing that the unit is not meant to convert into independent rental housing.