Off-Grid Living in Andover, Massachusetts

Andover, Massachusetts is not the place to try to quietly live off the grid on raw land. It's a fully zoned town, and its Zoning Bylaw (Article VIII of the Town of Andover Code, administered by the Building Commissioner) works on a "prohibited unless specifically allowed" basis. That's a stricter starting point than a lot of rural towns where anything not banned is fine.

Zoning and land use. Andover's zoning bylaw states plainly that no structure may be built or land used except as set out in its Table of Use Regulations, and anything not specifically permitted is prohibited. Dimensional rules (lot size, setbacks, frontage) come out of the town's Table of Dimensional Requirements, and generally only one dwelling is allowed per lot. This is a local Andover rule on top of the fact that Massachusetts itself has statewide building code requirements.

Dwellings, tiny homes, RVs. I didn't find any Andover-specific carve-out for tiny houses or RV living. That means a tiny home or RV used as a permanent residence would have to satisfy the same dimensional and use rules as any other dwelling, and the Building Commissioner would make the call. Massachusetts adopted the Appendix Q tiny-house provisions at the state level, but Andover hasn't published its own tiny-house standard as far as I could find, so confirm directly with the Building Commissioner's office before you plan around it.

Building permits. All construction, alteration, or change of use in Andover goes through the Building Commissioner (also called the Inspector of Buildings), who certifies compliance with federal, state, and local law. This is a local administrative role, but the underlying building code is the Massachusetts State Building Code.

Septic and greywater. Septic systems fall under Title 5, the Massachusetts DEP's statewide septic regulation, but permitting happens locally through Andover's Board of Health, which issues soil test, septic, and sewer permits. I found no separate Andover greywater reuse allowance, so greywater would fall under the same Title 5 and town Sewer Regulations framework as regular wastewater, meaning informal reuse systems aren't clearly addressed and should be checked with the Board of Health.

Rainwater harvesting. I found no Andover bylaw addressing rainwater collection one way or the other. That's not a prohibition, just a gap, so I'd call it unconfirmed rather than assume it's free and clear.

Wells. Private wells are permitted, but Andover has its own local well testing standard (its Well Water System Requirements, adopted by the town and periodically amended) layered on top of state well rules, and the Health Division issues the well permits.

Off-grid utility disconnection. No bylaw specifically bans living without utility hookups, but any structure still has to clear zoning and building code review regardless of whether it's tied to the grid.

Bottom line: Andover is a zoned, code-enforced suburban town, not off-grid-friendly territory by default. Nothing here is impossible, but almost everything runs through a town office, so plan on making calls before you buy land or build.