| Max size | 750 sq ft or 30% of homewhichever is larger |
|---|---|
| Min size | No town minimumbuild as small as code allows |
| Bedrooms | Not capturedpending verification |
| Type | Attached onlydetached not recognized (state overrides) |
| Parking | 1 spacetown says on-site; state lets you pick |
| Owner-occupancy | Requiredin either the ADU or the primary home |
| Short-term rental | Not capturedpending verification |
| Utility connection | Tie into the existing electrical connection or choose a separate metersame statewide |
The July 2025 state law (RSA 674:71–73) overrides local ordinance language that conflicts with it — even language a town still has posted. Here's what that means in Wolfeboro:
As of July 1, 2025, state law entitles you to a staff-level building-permit process for one ADU — no hearing, no CUP, no annual re-approval. Wolfeboro's ordinance (unchanged since 2017) still routes every ADU through a Planning Board Conditional Use Permit hearing, complete with abutter notification and annual renewal — but state law now overrides that process. This is the single biggest gap between the town's posted rules and current law.
State law as of July 2025 requires the town to allow at least one detached ADU. Under Wolfeboro's posted ordinance, a standalone structure — a converted detached garage, a small cottage — doesn't even qualify as an ADU; the application form tells you to stop. State law overrides that limit.
As of the 2025 law, the town can't dictate where your door goes — that choice is the homeowner's. Wolfeboro's form still makes you justify or prove impossibility if your ADU's door isn't on the side or rear of the house, but that requirement is superseded.
The one-space number is within what the state allows, but 'dedicated ... for the ADU' reads as on-site only, with no mention of the off-site option the law now guarantees you. Also unconfirmed: whether Wolfeboro requires parking for ordinary single-family homes at all — that's the trigger condition for the town being allowed to require ADU parking in the first place. The town's general off-street parking standard has not been confirmed for this record.
Beyond the initial hearing, the town's form implies you have to re-file for approval every year. That's inconsistent with a by-right permit that, once issued, functions like any other building permit.
The controlling rule first: since July 1, 2025, RSA 674:71-73 (as amended by HB 577) entitles homeowners to one ADU — attached or detached — by right wherever single-family homes are allowed: a staff-level building permit, no conditional-use hearing, no annual re-approval, and no town-dictated entrance location. Wolfeboro's accessory dwelling unit rule (Zoning §175-57.1) was adopted March 14, 2017 and shows no amendment since, so it predates that law — and most of its process is now superseded. As written, the town requires a full Conditional Use Permit from the Planning Board for any ADU — abutter notification by certified mail, a public hearing, a possible $25 fee for a continued/re-noticed case, and annual renewal every January 1st — none of which state law allows anymore for the by-right ADU; you're entitled to a by-right, staff-level building permit instead. The town's ordinance only recognizes ADUs that are 'within or attached to' the single-family dwelling; a detached ADU (e.g., a converted garage) doesn't qualify at all under this version, while state law now requires the town to allow at least one detached ADU. The town also directs the ADU's exterior door to the side or rear of the building 'whenever possible' and makes the applicant prove impossibility if not — state law says that choice belongs to the homeowner. Sizing is comparatively generous and likely already compliant: the ADU may be up to the larger of 30% of the home's total habitable floor area or 750 sq ft, so the ceiling never drops below the state's 750 sq ft minimum cap, and there is no separate stated minimum size. Owner-occupancy is required in one of the two units (the town doesn't specify which — a requirement state law permits), one dedicated off-street parking space is required (the 'dedicated' language leaves the state-guaranteed on-site-vs-off-site choice unconfirmed), and both units must stay in common ownership. Because the town may have amended §175-57.1 since these rules were published, check the town's current eCode360 page or call the Office of Planning and Development (603-569-5970) before relying on the details — but wherever the posted rules are stricter than the state floor, state law wins.
Primary source: eCode360 (General Code) — §175-57.1 added 3-14-2017 (Annual Town Meeting, Article 2)
Get a free personalized report for your address in Wolfeboro — including where the 2025 law works in your favor.
Get My Free Wolfeboro ADU Report →House Bill 577 (2025) amended RSA 674:72, effective July 1, 2025. Wherever Wolfeboro's ordinance is stricter than this floor, the state law controls. Read the full NH ADU law explainer →
Yes — and since July 1, 2025, state law entitles you to a by-right ADU permit, attached or detached. Wolfeboro's ordinance (adopted 2017) still requires a Planning Board conditional-use hearing and doesn't recognize detached ADUs — both overridden by state law. Under RSA 674:72 (as amended effective July 1, 2025), one accessory dwelling unit — attached or detached — is allowed by right on single-family lots statewide.
750 sq ft or 30% of home — whichever is larger. State law doesn't let any town cap ADU size below 750 sq ft.
Attached only (detached not recognized (state overrides)). Since July 1, 2025, state law allows detached ADUs by right statewide — town provisions that prohibited them are superseded.
1 space — town says on-site; state lets you pick. State law caps what any town can require at one additional space, located on- or off-site at the owner's choice.
Required — in either the ADU or the primary home. Where owner-occupancy is required, state law lets the owner choose which unit to live in.