Are you interested in building an ADU (Accessory Dwelling Unit)? Well, you need to get to know the ADU Laws in California.
I will try to give a quick and simple clarification of two of the Laws that went into effect the beginning of the year.
Before I do that, let me just give a bit of history. Before the terminology ADU became the norm, ADU’s were known by other names such as In-Law units, granny flats and backyard cottages to name a few. As time went by, here in California state and local politicians started to create ADU ordinances under the guise of being a solution to help in increasing the supply of affordable housing. This in turn has made the Ordinances different in almost every city and county in California.
When someone asked me about ADU regulations, I would, just simply say, that it is/was like the Wild West of Building Regulations & Ordinances.
As I mentioned above AB221 went into effect January 1st,2023 and it requires that all cities change their ADU size limits to at least 16 feet. In other words, the height needs to be minimum 16 ft, high. This is basically paving the way for more two story ADUs.
They have added new regulation in this law which allows to build even higher than 16 feet. For example, if the ADU is attached to the primary dwelling it can be up to even 25 ft high. Needless to say, this still leaves some questions for clarification, such as with the height restrictions how will this impact the maximum size of the ADU? Depending on what the local ordinance is it will affect it is my take.
In addition to AB221, there is also another Law that went into effect SB-897 the same day. This Law was intended as a “clean-up” bill, that supposed to clarify the previous provisions. One of them consists of the fact that many cities prohibit homeowners from developing ADU’s if there is unpermitted work on their property. Fixing or should I say correcting these issues to bring them up to code can take a lot of time and money. This in turn would delay the development of the ADU, hence SB-897 eliminates these restrictions and the home owner do not need to fix the violations, before building the ADU.
Keep in mind there are other laws that went into effect reference to grants and financial assistance that could be a post for another time.
These new ADU laws intended to make it easier to build an ADU in the state of California. I am confident that this will create more questions and confusion on how to interpret and enforce the new laws. I will go out on a limb that these changes will do more good than harm, since it has become trendy for politicians to show that they are helping the housing affordability crisis here in California.
Wishing you a safe and healthy life and I look forward to your comments. If you are looking for a knowledgeable, focused and goal-oriented Realtor in the Beverly Hills area who will help you achieve your Real Estate goals, please reach out to me directly! If you are looking for a pet friendly Beverly Hills Realtor who can handle and sell the most difficult properties that no one else could, please reach out to me directly!! If you are considering buying or selling a home, a luxury home, luxury investment real estate, luxury vacation homes, or luxury beach properties in Southern California, Los Angeles, Century City, Westwood, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Marina Del Rey, Venice or Malibu, feel free to contact me at 310.486.1002 ( m) homes@endrebarath.com or visit one of my websites at https://www.endrebarath.com I contribute a portion of my commission to local animal rescue organizations. Endre Barath, Jr. Realtor at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties DRE#01238708
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