ADUās are not allowed through out the state of California, Cities and counties are not required to create ordinances for ADUs; however, any city/county that does adopt an ADU ordinance, must submit the ordinance to HCD within 60 days.
So far, only Los Angeles County has allowed for ADUās to be rented legally, and removed encumbering restrictions which made them more expensive. You can read more about ADUās in Los Angeles here: https://planning.lacity.org/ordinances/docs/ADU/InformationSheet.pdf
ADUs have been āallowedā throughout the state for a long time, but in reality were difficult to get permits for due to tight local regulations and a cumbersome approval process. In 2017, new laws were passed in California that reduce these barriers by 1) loosening structural regulations such as parking requirements and setbacks 2) reduced impact fees (connection and capacity fees must be proportional to usage) and 3) streamlined the permitting process. New laws passed Jan 1, 2018 further encourages the construction of ADUs by allowing them to be built concurrently with new single-family homes, as well as expanding the zoning areas where ADUs are allowed.
You can read more about ADU legislation in California here in BuildZoomās blog post.
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The City of Los Angeles is now allowing the construction of an ADU on any property zoned for residential use in the City and is complying with the new State law. However, ADUās are not permitted on Hillside Areas.
The purpose of the City and the State allowing ADUās to be placed on single-family property is to increase housing. There is a shortage of housing in California and in Los Angeles; primarily affordable housing. The thought is that your grown children who canāt afford a place to live and want to be independent, could have a place to live. Your parents or grandparents need some assistance and canāt afford a care facility. They would rather be independent, but knowing that someone who cares for them is nearby makes all the difference.
In the past dwelling units were not permitted in the City or in the State on single-family residential property. A guest house, granny house or any other living quarters other than the main house would not be allowed on a single-family residential property. We have designed Recreations Rooms, Pool Houses, Workshops and Storage Rooms. The most we could put in any of these would be a lavatory and toilet and a small bar with a bar sink. The City did not want renters on single-family residential property. Now that is possible. An ADU can be rented out to anyone
The ADU can be attached or detached to the existing house on the property. You can convert an existing accessory building on you property to an ADU. You can even convert the garage to an ADU. However, existing parking for the existing house is required.
One additional parking space is required for the new ADU. The parking space for the ADU can be ānot applicableā if certain criteria are met. There are a number of exceptions, but the most prominent one is if you are āLocated within one-half mile of a public transportation stop with a fixed scheduleā. In most of Los Angeles, Your property is probably located within one-half mile of a public transportation stop with a fixed schedule. That would exclude the requirement for ADU parking.
Setbacks are very reasonable, five feet side and rear. The side yard can be reduced to three feet if your lot is narrow. You can build an ADU on top of your garage as long as you comply with the setbacks of five feet side and rear. The ADU can be one or two story and up to one half the size of the existing house, but not over 1,200 square feet.
If this sounds like a solution to your problems, give us a call at 323-363-3548. We would be happy to work with you on the design for your property.
Sincerely,
William E. Jackson, AIA
Check with your local building department. Every jurisdiction is a little different.
Hopefully this info will keep the topic up to date