Pawtucket, RI Accessory Structures: Garage Conversions (2026)

Section 410-46B(6), added with the city's August 21, 2024 ADU overhaul (Ch. No. 3302), specifically addresses converting existing accessory structures into ADUs rather than building a new detached unit. It allows garages, workshops and similar existing accessory structures to be converted into an ADU provided the finished unit meets the requirements of the ADU section as a whole, meaning the same size caps (900 square feet for a studio or one-bedroom, 1,200 for a two-bedroom, each capped again at 60% of the principal dwelling's floor area), the same setback and height match to the principal dwelling, the one-space parking requirement, and the utility-connection standard.

Subsection (b) adds that all conversions must comply with the building code and obtain the necessary permits, meaning a converted garage cannot simply be furnished and rented; it has to pass building and electrical inspection as living space and receive the zoning certificate the Director of Zoning and Code Enforcement issues under § 410-46B(8) before a building permit is reviewed. Because the underlying structure already exists, converting it does not reopen the rear-yard placement rule that applies specifically to newly constructed detached ADUs under § 410-46B(5), but every other ADU standard still applies in full.