State officials outline new ADU rules, how Nantucket should prepare

Summary

State housing officials told a Nantucket audience that ADUs (the smaller of 900 sq ft or 50% of a principal dwelling) are now a protected use by right across single‑family zoning in the Commonwealth, advised towns on handling preexisting structures and short‑term rentals, and announced $5 million pilot incentives for FY26 and FY27.

Claire Morehouse, accessory dwelling unit coordinator at the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities, told Nantucket officials and residents at a regional webinar that under the Affordable Homes Act "ADUs under 900 square feet are now by right in all single family zoning districts across the entire Commonwealth." The regulations were published by EOHLC and took full effect Feb. 2, Morehouse said.

The change makes ADUs a "protected use" under chapter 40A and the Dover‑Amendment legal framework, Morehouse said, and municipal bylaws must be reviewed for conflicts. "If a preexisting accessory dwelling unit that was permitted prior to the Affordable Homes Act meets the standards of a protected use ADU, any prior conditions...may not be continued," she said, referring to owner‑occupancy or familial restrictions commonly attached to older permits.

Roy Montoya, counsel with the EOHLC municipal unit, told participants that the statute applies to municipal ordinances and bylaws, not private homeowners associations. "An HOA would be a private agreement between homeowners and not forced by the municipality," Montoya said, meaning deed restrictions remain a private civil matter rather than a zone‑based statutory…

State officials outline new ADU rules, how Nantucket should prepare

Summary

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