ADU Questions Los Angeles Homeowners Ask

A garage conversion runs roughly priced from the site assessment, and a detached new build $400 to $600 per square foot. A typical 750 sq ft detached ADU in Los Angeles lands between $300,000 and $450,000 all-in, including design, permits and utility connections.

Nine to twelve months from first call to certificate of occupancy for a detached unit. Roughly three to five months of that is design and LADBS plan check, and five to seven months is construction. Garage conversions run about three months shorter.

Almost. State law requires Los Angeles to allow at least one ADU on any single-family or multifamily lot. The practical limits are physical: setbacks, existing structures, slope, protected trees, fire access and whether the utility service can carry the load.

In most of Los Angeles, no. State law removes the parking requirement for any parcel within half a mile of a transit stop, which covers the large majority of the city. Garage conversions never require replacement parking anywhere.

Up to 1,200 sq ft detached. Attached ADUs are limited to 50 percent of the main house's floor area, with a minimum of 800 sq ft always allowed. A junior ADU is capped at 500 sq ft inside the existing walls.

On a single-family lot, one full ADU plus one junior ADU, giving three legal units total. Multifamily properties can add more, based on a percentage of existing units plus up to two detached units.

The ADU is assessed as new construction and added to your existing base. Your original house is not reassessed. The LA County Assessor can give you the exact figure for your parcel.

Not for a full ADU. State law removed the owner-occupancy requirement for ADUs. A junior ADU does still require owner occupancy of one of the units, recorded as a deed restriction.

We pull your parcel data, zoning, setbacks, overlay zones and any hillside or fire designation, then tell you the maximum ADU size that fits and a realistic cost band. It takes 48 hours and does not require a site visit.

PLACEHOLDER: state the CSLB license number, general liability limits and workers compensation carrier here before launch. Every homeowner should verify a contractor's license at cslb.ca.gov before signing.

Up to 1,200 sq ft under state law. Los Angeles cannot impose a smaller cap on a detached ADU, and it cannot apply a lot-coverage or floor-area limit that would push you below 800 sq ft.

Usually no. State law removes the parking requirement if the property is within half a mile of a bus stop or transit stop, which covers the overwhelming majority of parcels inside Los Angeles city limits.

You lose the covered space, but Los Angeles cannot force you to build replacement parking. State law removed that requirement specifically to make garage conversions viable. Street or driveway parking stays available.

Often yes. Los Angeles runs an ADU amnesty path for unpermitted conversions built before 2018. We assess what is salvageable, what has to be opened up for inspection, and what it costs to bring to code.

Up to 50 percent of your existing house's floor area. If your house is 1,400 sq ft, that is 700 sq ft. You are always allowed at least 800 sq ft even when the percentage would give you less.

No. An attached ADU must have its own independent exterior entrance. An interior connecting door is allowed as long as the independent entrance exists and the fire separation is maintained.

Yes. State law explicitly allows one junior ADU plus one full ADU on a single-family lot in Los Angeles. That is three legal dwelling units total, including the main house.

No. A JADU may share a bathroom with the main house as long as the shared bathroom is accessible from inside the JADU without going outside. Most owners add one anyway for rentability.