Dane County Housing Report Shows Zero ADU Permits in Fitchburg and a 13,000-Unit Deficit

Madison, United States – May 31, 2026 / Boundless Tiny Homes – Madison Tiny Home & ADU Builder /

MADISON, WI – May 2026 – Boundless Tiny Homes, Dane County’s only ADU-focused design-build firm, has released State of ADUs in Dane County 2026, the first comprehensive market report on Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) and Tiny Home development in Madison and across Dane County, Wisconsin. The full report is available at boundlesstinyhomes.com/state-of-adus-2026.

The report brings together thirteen years of City of Madison permit data, a timeline of seven Madison zoning reforms enacted since 2021, current construction costs across four Wisconsin-specific cost drivers, and ordinance summaries for every major municipality in Dane County – including Madison, Middleton, Fitchburg, Verona, Sun Prairie, Waunakee, Mt. Horeb, Stoughton, and McFarland.

Key findings:

Madison has issued approximately 50 ADU permits over 13 years, with nearly half of those issued in the 12 months following the removal of owner-occupancy requirements in April 2024.
Madison has passed seven distinct ADU reforms since 2021, including an October 2025 ordinance permitting two-unit detached ADUs and a December 2025 cottage court ordinance allowing up to eight detached homes on a single lot.
Dane County is 13,000 housing units behind accumulated demand from the past two decades. Rents have increased 47% over five years, and owner-occupancy vacancy stands at 0.6%.
Suburban ordinances remain largely inactive. Fitchburg has issued zero ADU permits since adopting its ordinance in September 2025. Waunakee has issued two permits over two years.

“Madison’s permit history is a playbook, not a history lesson,” said Devon, founder of Boundless Tiny Homes. “Every reform removed a specific friction point, and the data shows exactly which ones moved the needle. Fitchburg, Waunakee, and Mt. Horeb each adopted a first ordinance and stopped. Madison shows what reforms two through seven look like – and what happens to permit volume when those restrictions actually come off.”

The report also details AARP Wisconsin’s involvement in the April 2024 owner-occupancy removal, the senior housing case for ADUs in a county with more than 86,000 residents over the age of 65, and the $8,000 to $10,000 monthly cost of independent living facilities in Dane County – the financial reality that many multigenerational ADU projects are designed to address.

Boundless Tiny Homes publishes the report annually as a public resource for homeowners, municipal staff, lenders, and policymakers.

Read the full report at boundlesstinyhomes.com/state-of-adus-2026.

About Boundless Tiny Homes: Boundless Tiny Homes is Madison, Wisconsin’s only ADU-focused design-build firm. The company designs, permits, and builds Accessory Dwelling Units and Tiny Homes throughout Dane County, including detached and attached ADUs, garage units, in-law suites, senior suites, and backyard cottages. ADU specialization is the entirety of the business.

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