BUILD AN ADU

Convert your garage into significant income

What is an ADU?

ADU simply stands for “Accessory Dwelling Unit” (also were more commonly known as “in-law units”). Much like a guesthouse, they are independent units on a property where people may reside. Recently, California had passed laws facilitating the construction and permitting of ADUs in order to increase affordable housing availability for renters. A Garage is often an ideal space to convert to an ADU (called a Garage Conversion). Homeowners can receive increased income by renting out their former garage as an ADU, and provide additional housing opportunities for students, young families or even tourists.

Types of ADUs

Homeowners can build many different types of ADUs. ADUs can be attached or detached from the existing home, or located within the existing home.

Garage Conversions

Home Conversions

A converted former garage

A converted area of the primary home,

with its own kitchen and bathroom.

New Detached ADU

Garage Addition

A new independent structure, separated from the primary home and often placed in the backyard.

A new unit that shares at least one wall with the garage. Units can be built above the garage.

Home Addition

Junior ADU (JADU)

A unit that shares at least one wall with the primary home.

*More info on LA City ADU Website

An ADU of no more than 500 square feet that can be built within a proposed or existing single-family home or accessory structure.

ADU Benefits

Homeowners build ADUs for various reasons, including:

To generate rental income
To increase a property’s resale value and home equity
To create private living spaces for extended family or elderly parents

ADUs benefit communities by adding more housing units while maintaining the character of a neighborhood. ADUs are more affordable to build than other types of housing, such as single-family homes, because they do not require buying new land.

ADU Laws and Regulations

Since 2017, California State lawmakers have passed multiple bills to make it easier for homeowners to build ADUs. Five bills made effective on January 1, 2020 have significantly streamlined the ADU construction and approval process. These bills and their key provisions include: AB 68 and AB 881:

Require permits for ADUs and Junior ADUs (JADU) to be approved or denied within 60 days, rather than the 120 days allotted by previous law
- A Junior ADU (JADU) is an ADU of no more than 500 square feet. A JADU must be within a proposed or existing single-family home or accessory structure, such as a garage. Unlike ADUs, JADUs may share a bathroom with the single-family home and must only meet “efficiency kitchen” requirements.
Prohibit application of development standards that limit size (including floor area ratio, open space, and minimum lot size) if it prohibits the construction of at least an 800 square foot ADU that meets other criteria
Limit local discretion in establishing minimum and maximum unit size requirements
Allow for up to one ADU and one JADU on any residential property
Allow for multiple ADUs within an existing multi-family dwelling or up to two detached ADUs on a multi-family property
Remove parking replacement requirements when an ADU results in the demolition or conversion of existing parking SB 13:
Allows an ADU to be built in the same location and physical dimensions as an existing accessory building that is demolished to provide an ADU, along with an 150 square feet addition, if provided for ingress/egress
Prohibits owner-occupancy requirements until 2025
Eliminates impact fees for ADUs under 750 square feet and requires fees to be proportional to the square footage of the primary residence AB 670 and AB 671:
Prevent homeowners’ associations from barring ADU construction on single-family properties or imposing reasonable restrictions
Require local housing agencies to incentivize and promote the construction of ADUs that can be offered at affordable rental rates to very low, low-, or moderate-income households