10 things you should know about ADUs in Los Angeles

Whatever you choose to call them: Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU), Granny Flat, Casita or Guest House, they have opened up the doors to make owning a home more achievable with potential added income, and have helped increase affordable housing that the City of Los Angeles so desperately needs.

Here are 10 things you should know about ADUs in the City of Angels:

1. The law that allows new units to be built on lots with single family homes and gives the ability to convert garages into ADUs was put into action to add more affordable housing in California. You can also build ADUs new from the ground up. There are pre-approved standard plans provided by LA Dept of Building & Safety. https://www.ladbs.org/adu/standard-plan-program/approved-standard-plans
2. You can now build them under power lines: That’s right! In 2019, LADWP changed its stance about not allowing ADUs under their power lines. ADUs can be built under power lines provided they comply with the CPUC General Order 95 clearance standards. https://yimbyla.com/2020/04/02/navigating-los-angeles-department-of-water-power-ladwp-permitting-standards-for-adus/
3. ADUs and the Los Angeles Homeless Problem: LA County has a program called the Second Dwelling Unit (Accessory Dwelling Unit) Pilot Program where The County will provide a maximum subsidy of $75,000 per unit to build 2-3 new ADUs. The County will provide a maximum subsidy of $50,000 per unit to preserve 2-3 existing unpermitted ADUs. The subsidy will be provided in the form of a soft loan or forgivable loan tied to a commitment to rent the ADU to a homeless family/individual or participant in the housing choice voucher program. Unfortunately this program is not taking applications right now. There is another program offered through CalFHA called the ADU Grant Program where homeowners with low to moderate income may qualify for up to $40,000 to construct an ADU. The ADU Grant provides up to $40,000 towards pre-development and non-reoccurring closing costs associated with the construction of the ADU.
4. ADUs come in all sorts of shapes and sizes:
   • Garage Conversion: Converting an existing detached garage.
   • Home Conversion: Converting an area within the primary home, including a kitchen and bath.
   • New Detached ADU: Building a new independent structure, separated from the primary home.
   • Garage Addition: Building a new unit that shares at least one wall with an existing garage. This unit can be built above the garage.
   • Home Addition: Building a unit that shares at least one wall with the primary home.
   • Junior ADU (JADU): Building an ADU of no more than 500 sq ft that can be built within a proposed or existing single family home or accessory structure.
5. Size matters! A detached ADU can’t be over 1,200 square feet or be more than 50% larger than the main home if the ADU is attached
6. Is parking going to be an issue? This aspect of ADU construction has been problematic in the past but with recent passed legislation (primarily AB 68) if you convert a garage or tear down an existing garage and build an ADU with the same footprint, you do NOT have to add a parking space to replace the lost space. Also, if your location is within half a mile from public transportation you do not have to add a new parking space. And if you live in a historic district, you don’t have to add a parking space.
7. Don’t forget about Rent Control! In Los Angeles, the rent control ordinance is called the RSO (Rent Stabilization Ordinance) and it governs things like rent increases and evictions, among other issues. Generally, the RSO applies to rental properties that were first built on or before October 1, 1978 as well as replacement units under LAMC Section 151.28 and if any of the following: Apartment; Condominium; Townhome; Duplex; Two or more single family dwelling units on the same parcel; Rooms in a hotel, motel, rooming house or boarding house occupied by the same tenant for 30 or more consecutive days; Residential unit(s) attached to a commercial building; Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU); Junior Accessory Dwelling Unit (JADU). More specifically, If you have a single family home and you build a new ADU, the new ADU does not fall under rent control and the RSO but the existing single family home does. However, an existing garage converted into an ADU does fall under the RSO.
8. Setbacks…what setbacks?!?! No setbacks are required for an existing garage that is converted to an ADU or if a new ADU is built on the exact same footprint of an existing garage or accessory structure. ADUs that are constructed above a garage will need to provide a setback that is no more than 4 ft from the side and rear lot lines.
9. Do ADUs make great AirBnBs? Probably not. Under the City of LA Home-Sharing Ordinance, ADUs for which a building application was submitted on or after January 2017 cannot be rented out short term unless the person can prove the ADU is their primary home. If it’s not their primary residence for at least 6 months out of the year, the unit cannot be rented out short-term. There is also a limit of 120 rental days per year. If the unit already falls under the RSO, it cannot be rented out under Home-Sharing.
10. You're probably asking yourself, “How much is building an ADU going to cost?” Nowadays, there are many different options when building an ADU so determining the cost to build will require having a contractor come out and give a proper estimate. A good ball park budget to build an ADU is $80,000- $250,000 but there are many variables. It’s important to check to make sure the person has experience. In the ADU bandwagon that people are jumping on, many with little experience are building them so check references, licenses and do your research. For more information on the City of Los Angeles ADU ordinance visit: https://planning.lacity.org/ordinances/docs/ADU/InformationSheet.pdf