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ADU Rules in Rockingham County, New Hampshire

21 towns covered · 19 human-verified · Reconciled with the 2025 state law · Last reviewed 2026-09-10
The short answer
Every town in Rockingham County must allow one ADU — attached or detached — by right on single-family lots.

That's the statewide floor under RSA 674:72, effective July 1, 2025. What differs town to town is the details: size caps, parking, owner-occupancy, and how much of each town's posted ordinance the state law now overrides. Pick your town below for the plain-English breakdown.

Rockingham County towns

Atkinson ✓ Human-verified

Atkinson's ADU ordinance (§460) already cites RSA 674:71-73 directly and tracks the 2025 state law closely — including a generous 1,000 sq ft size…

Read the full Atkinson ADU guide →
Auburn ✓ Human-verified

Auburn's 2026 Zoning Ordinance rewrote its ADU rules to closely track the new state law — replacing a 2024-era 'attached only, by special exception,…

Read the full Auburn ADU guide →
Brentwood ✓ Human-verified

Brentwood already allows detached ADUs by right and same-time construction with the main house — but where its size formula (the LESSER of 1,100 sq…

Read the full Brentwood ADU guide →
Candia ✓ Human-verified

Candia's zoning ordinance — reaffirmed as recently as March 10, 2026, well over a year after the state's July 1, 2025 ADU law took effect — still…

Read the full Candia ADU guide →
Chester ✓ Human-verified

Yes — Chester allows one ADU (verified with the town), up to 1,000 sq ft.

Read the full Chester ADU guide →
Deerfield

State law now guarantees Deerfield homeowners a parking-location choice, a detached ADU without extra acreage, and the right to convert an existing…

Read the full Deerfield ADU guide →
Derry ✓ Human-verified

Derry rewrote its ADU ordinance effective December 19, 2025 to largely match the new state law — including finally allowing detached-garage…

Read the full Derry ADU guide →
Exeter ✓ Human-verified

State law guarantees at least one ADU by right in Exeter, and town staff described ADUs as by-right as of mid-2024 — but the town's current ordinance…

Read the full Exeter ADU guide →
Hampstead ✓ Human-verified

State law guarantees you one ADU by right, and Hampstead's ADU guidelines — dated to match the July 1, 2025 state law — largely deliver: one ADU,…

Read the full Hampstead ADU guide →
Hampton ✓ Human-verified

Under the state's July 2025 by-right ADU law, Hampton's 2024-dated ordinance is overridden on its biggest hurdles: the CUP hearing requirement, the…

Read the full Hampton ADU guide →
Kensington ✓ Human-verified

Kensington rewrote its ADU ordinance effective March 6, 2026 to match the state's by-right law: a straight building permit (no more…

Read the full Kensington ADU guide →
Londonderry ✓ Human-verified

State law (RSA 674:71-73, effective July 2025) guarantees one ADU by right — and Londonderry already permits that — but the town's ordinance, last…

Read the full Londonderry ADU guide →
North Hampton ✓ Human-verified

North Hampton actually did the work — voters passed a full ADU rewrite on March 10, 2026 to match the new state law, and it even skips the extra…

Read the full North Hampton ADU guide →
Northwood

The July 2025 state law guarantees one ADU by right — Northwood already delivers that, detached units included — but its ADU rules (last updated…

Read the full Northwood ADU guide →
Plaistow ✓ Human-verified

Plaistow rewrote its entire ADU article at the March 10, 2026 town meeting (Article Z-26-8) specifically to comply with the new state law — and in…

Read the full Plaistow ADU guide →
Portsmouth ✓ Human-verified

State law (RSA 674:71-73, amended by HB 577 effective July 1, 2025) now entitles you to one by-right ADU; Portsmouth's ordinance — as amended through…

Read the full Portsmouth ADU guide →
Raymond ✓ Human-verified

Raymond amended its ADU ordinance in March 2026 to track the new state law — but it kept a 500 sq ft minimum size, a mandatory connecting door, an…

Read the full Raymond ADU guide →
Salem ✓ Human-verified

Salem rewrote its ADU rules on August 29, 2025 to comply with the new state law — most notably reversing an outright ban on detached ADUs — but the…

Read the full Salem ADU guide →
Sandown ✓ Human-verified

Sandown scrapped its old special-exception ADU process entirely and replaced it with a by-right ordinance that closely tracks the 2025 state law —…

Read the full Sandown ADU guide →
Stratham ✓ Human-verified

Stratham's ADU rules (Zoning §5.4, last revised March 2022) predate the July 1, 2025 state law: the town's own text requires 4 total parking spaces…

Read the full Stratham ADU guide →
Windham ✓ Human-verified

Windham voters overhauled the ADU ordinance on March 10, 2026 — and while the town got the big things right (detached ADUs now allowed, 950 sq ft,…

Read the full Windham ADU guide →

Not sure what your lot allows?

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Learn the statewide law

Wherever a town's rules are stricter than the state floor, the state law controls. Read the full New Hampshire ADU law explainer →

Other counties

Hillsborough CountyStrafford CountyMerrimack CountyBelknap CountyCarroll CountyGrafton County
This guide is an independent informational resource, not legal advice; confirm details with your town's planning department before you build.