The short answer
A junior ADU, or JADU, is a unit of up to 500 sq ft carved out of the existing walls of your house. It needs an efficiency kitchen and its own entrance but can share a bathroom with the main house.
Typical cost in Los Angeles
Priced after site assessment
JADU cost is driven by the existing plumbing wall and egress. Quoted from the site visit.
A junior ADU, or JADU, is a unit of up to 500 sq ft carved out of the existing walls of your house. It needs an efficiency kitchen and its own entrance but can share a bathroom with the main house. The reason it matters in Los Angeles is stacking: state law lets a single-family lot have one JADU and one full ADU at the same time, so you can end up with three legal units on one parcel.
The stacking rule
- One JADU plus one detached ADU is permitted on the same single-family lot
- That gives three legal dwellings on a parcel zoned for one house
- The JADU must be inside the existing walls of the primary dwelling
- An attached garage counts as within the existing structure for JADU purposes
- Owner occupancy of one of the units is required for a JADU
What a JADU must have
- Maximum 500 sq ft of floor area
- An efficiency kitchen: sink, cooking appliance, counter and food storage
- A separate exterior entrance from the main dwelling
- Either a private bathroom or a shared bathroom accessible from the JADU
- A recorded deed restriction limiting rental to terms longer than 30 days
Rooms we convert
- Attached garages, the most common JADU in Los Angeles
- A ground-floor bedroom and adjacent den, walled off with a new entry
- A rear bedroom wing with an existing side door already in place
- Basement space where head height and egress allow it
- A converted family room off the kitchen, using the existing plumbing wall
Get a straight answer on your lot in 48 hours
Send the property address. We pull the parcel data, zoning, setbacks and any overlay, then tell you whether a junior adu (jadu) works on it, what size fits and roughly what it costs. No site visit needed and no obligation.
Free 48-hour lot check
One field that matters: the address.
Common questions
Can I build a JADU and an ADU on the same lot?
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.
Does a JADU need its own bathroom?
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.
What counts as an efficiency kitchen?
A sink, a cooking appliance such as a two-burner cooktop, counter space and food storage. A full range and a standard oven are not required, though nothing stops you installing them.
Do I have to live on the property?
Yes for a JADU. Owner occupancy of either the main house or the JADU is required, and it is recorded as a deed restriction. Full ADUs no longer carry an owner-occupancy requirement.
Can I rent a JADU on Airbnb?
No. The recorded deed restriction limits JADU rentals to terms of more than 30 days. Short-term rental is not permitted.
Related ADU types
Comparing options? A garage conversion is the cheapest path to a legal unit, a detached ADU earns the most, and the JADU stack can put both on one lot. Cost figures for every type are in the LA cost breakdown.
Areas we build in
Sherman Oaks / Van Nuys / Pasadena / Glendale / Burbank / Santa Monica / Long Beach / Torrance / North Hollywood / Studio City / Woodland Hills / Encino / Northridge / Culver City / Inglewood / Silver Lake and across Los Angeles County.