Detached ADU · Boise Bench, Boise, ID
A 491 sq ft Kingfisher one-bedroom detached ADU on a ~9,000 sq ft Boise Bench lot — alley access, no historic or hillside overlay, and a true separate bedroom. The owner rents the new unit and the main house both, the simplest path to a standalone rental in Boise.
Sited a detached Kingfisher in the rear yard of a mid-century Bench home with room to spare
Alley-loaded utility runs and a dedicated tenant entrance off the back lane
Standard City of Boise residential permit — no design review, no overlay constraints
Full kitchen, 1 bath, and a real separate bedroom finished to a long-term-rental standard
Independent electrical metering and its own address so the unit bills and leases on its own
Standard-finish interior — LVP flooring, quartz counter, tile-surround tub/shower
The challenge
The owner wanted a standalone unit they could lease long-term, not an in-law suite. The constraint wasn't the lot — Bench parcels run close to 9,000 sq ft, far more buildable room than the North End — it was building something that actually returns. A studio under-rents for a one-bedroom market, and a custom two-bed pushes cost past where the rent supports it. The job was matching the plan to the rent, not squeezing a box onto a tight envelope.
Our approach
The 491 sq ft Kingfisher is the pre-approved one-bedroom — a true separate bedroom rents for meaningfully more than a studio, while staying well under the 900 sq ft cap and inside the build budget. The Bench made it straightforward: no historic district, no foothills hillside overlay, and alley access meant we ran utilities and a tenant entrance off the back lane without touching the front of the lot. Pre-approved plus a clean standard permit kept it on a roughly six-month contract-to-keys schedule.
The outcome
Because Boise dropped owner-occupancy in December 2023, the owner isn't required to live on site — so both the new Kingfisher and the existing main house lease out. The ADU has its own meter, address, and back-lane entrance, so it operates as a fully separate rental, not a shared-yard arrangement. For a Bench lot with the room to absorb a one-bedroom and none of the overlay friction other neighborhoods carry, it's the most straightforward, best-value detached rental build in Boise.
"We had the backyard for it and we wanted real rental income, not a guest room. The Kingfisher's separate bedroom rents like a proper apartment, the permit was painless out here, and now both the house and the ADU are leased."
Marcus & Lena T.
Boise Bench, Boise
City
Zoning, plans, and local fit for Boise ADU builds.
Cost
Real 2026 pricing by plan and finish for this market.
Plan
Boise's pre-approved 491 sq ft one-bedroom — separate bedroom, full kitchen, full living room, ready to permit.
Detached ADU · Boise
A 280 sq ft Goldfinch studio on a ~5,000 sq ft North End lot — the smallest pre-approved plan, sited behind a 1920s bung…
Detached ADU · Meridian
A 695 sq ft Kestrel — Boise's only pre-approved two-bedroom — built on a deep newer-subdivision lot in Meridian's Lakemo…
Detached ADU · Eagle
A 396 sq ft Sandpiper studio with an attached garage bay on a large Two Rivers lot in Eagle — sited and styled to clear …
Free 24-hour lot check — plan fit, permitting path, and a real number for your lot. Or call (208) 297-2036.
