August 2025

Digging in to HB 577 - Lets Talk utilities this Month: Here's the important changes YOU need to know.

Utilities are things like water, electricity, gas, and sewer. These are the basic services that

make a home work – lights, water to shower, heat, and the ability to flush toilets. Here's theupdates around utilities that you need to know of considering building an Accessory dwelling unit:

● The ADU CAN share a water or sewer connection with the main house. Previously, 

some towns were requiring a separate water or sewer connection to the street, which

was resulting in costly connection fees, excavation, police details, and paving for

homeowners. Now under HB577, the homeowner can choose to simply tie in to the

existing home for water and/or sewer connections!

● Electric: under the new law, you CAN have a separate electric meter for the ADU if

you'd like. That means you can easily use your little home for a rental thay pays its own

electric once family moves out (or if you’re planning to use it for rental from the beginning)! If one electric meter works best for your family, that works too.

The goal of HB577 is to make it easier to add an ADU, and that includes keeping utility costs reasonable and allowing options for how to hook up services like water and electricity.

Contact us today if you have further questions on what this means for your family’s

multigenerational living plans!