Field notes from California residential construction.
Guides on cost, permitting, design and finance for California homeowners, each with its sources and review date. Start with the route that matches your question.
Start with your question
Can I build an ADU on my lot?
Which rules apply, which ADU type fits, and what only a parcel review can answer.
What will it cost, and how do I compare bids?
How budgets are built and how to compare written proposals without guessing at unknowns.
How long will permits take?
What the state review clock covers, and what depends on corrections, utilities and construction.
4 min read
Permitting
- Permitting4 min
The LA ADU permit path, phase by phase
Find the responsible jurisdiction, assemble a complete application, track written corrections and clear property-specific referrals without treating the statutory clock as a permit guarantee.
Open → - Permitting5 min
Should I use a preapproved ADU plan?
Compare Beverly Hills, City of Los Angeles and unincorporated LA County programs without mistaking a reviewed building design for a site-specific permit.
Open → - Permitting4 min
Los Angeles ADU permitting rules: what applies now
Current California ADU rules for City of Los Angeles projects: application review, setbacks, height, occupancy, fees and site-specific documents.
Open → - Permitting2 min
ADU vs SB9 lot split: which path actually fits your lot
Two state laws now let LA homeowners add density. SB9 splits the lot and creates a separately sellable parcel; ADU law adds a unit. The decision turns on three numbers — and one local opt-out.
Open → - Permitting3 min
AB 1033 explained: selling your ADU separately from your house
AB 1033 allows local opt-in ordinances, not automatic ADU sales. Check City of LA council action separately from an effective ordinance and verify each property's jurisdiction.
Open → - Permitting2 min
AB 976: California's permanent ban on ADU owner-occupancy requirements
AB 976 removed the ADU owner-occupancy sunset effective January 1, 2024. Compare ordinary ADUs with qualified-buyer sales and JADUs with shared sanitation.
Open → - Permitting2 min
SB 1211: how California unlocked up to 8 detached ADUs on multifamily lots
SB 1211 (effective 2025) raises the cap on detached ADUs at existing multifamily properties from 2 to 8. Here is exactly how the math works and what it means for small-multifamily owners.
Open → - Permitting3 min
ADU vs JADU in California: the structural, legal, and cost differences
An ADU and a Junior ADU (JADU) sound similar but follow different rules for size, kitchen, owner-occupancy, and cost. A side-by-side breakdown so you pick the right one.
Open → - Permitting3 min
Can you rent your ADU on Airbnb? California short-term rental rules by city
California state law permits ADU short-term rentals, but cities can — and do — restrict them. How the rules read in the City of Los Angeles, unincorporated LA County, and the Greater Los Angeles cities we build in.
Open → - Permitting2 min
Long Beach ADU cost and permits in 2026: the field guide
Long Beach ADU permit steps, utility questions and cost drivers for conversions and detached units. Check local requirements before comparing written bids.
Open → - Permitting2 min
Pasadena ADU cost and permits in 2026: historic overlays and the real timeline
Check Pasadena's applicable historic and hillside constraints, permit steps and cost drivers before comparing project proposals.
Open → - Permitting2 min
Santa Monica coastal ADU guide 2026: Coastal Commission, R1 design, and the cost premium
Check Santa Monica's applicable coastal and local ADU standards, site conditions and written bid scope before comparing costs or rental assumptions.
Open → - Permitting2 min
Burbank ADU cost drivers and permits in 2026: utility and site checks
Check Burbank permit steps, municipal utility requirements and site-specific ADU cost drivers before comparing proposals.
Open → - Permitting1 min
Glendale ADU cost and permits in 2026: GWP utilities, hillside reality
Check Glendale permit steps, utility requirements and hillside constraints before comparing ADU project bids.
Open → - Permitting2 min
Culver City ADU permits and cost drivers in 2026
Check the permitting authority, property constraints and written scope before comparing Culver City ADU proposals. See the Culver City planning page for local context.
Open → - Permitting2 min
Torrance and South Bay ADU guide 2026: Torrance, Redondo, Hermosa, Manhattan Beach
Compare ADU site and coastal-zone questions in Torrance, Redondo Beach, Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach and El Segundo before requesting bids.
Open → - Permitting2 min
Irvine and Orange County ADU guide 2026: HOA reality, master-plan permitting
Check the actual city's ADU standards and any applicable association rules before comparing plans and cost drivers across Orange County.
Open →
Design
- Design3 min
Detached, attached, or conversion: choosing the right ADU type
A property-first framework for comparing detached, attached, and conversion paths without guessing parcel eligibility, cost, or timing.
Open → - Design2 min
Designing an ADU you actually want to live in
Twelve design moves that separate a great 700 sq ft ADU from a generic one — most cost nothing extra, all of them protect your re-sale and rental value.
Open → - Design3 min
Title 24 for ADUs: what actually triggers compliance
What California's Title 24 Part 6 energy code means for a new ADU: compliance paths, heat pumps, fenestration, envelope and the CF1R documentation.
Open → - Design2 min
ADU floor plans that actually work: a designer's guide
From 400 sq ft studios to 1,200 sq ft 2-bed units — the layout decisions that make or break a livable ADU.
Open →
Finance
- Finance5 min
A California homeowner’s guide to funding an ADU
Compare cash, home equity, refinance and construction funding by liquidity, lien position, draw rules, reserves and written lender terms—not an advertised rate alone.
Open → - Finance3 min
How to research an ADU rent scenario in Los Angeles
A cautious way to compare long-term, mid-term and short-term rental assumptions using current local evidence and a complete operating-cost model.
Open → - Finance3 min
HELOC, cash-out, renovation loan: the ADU money decision
A practical comparison of the four ways LA homeowners actually pay for an ADU — including the one product (renovation loan) that lets you borrow against the finished value.
Open → - Finance2 min
Will your ADU trigger a property tax reassessment?
Under Prop 13 and BOE Rule 463, only the new construction value is reassessed — not the entire property. A practical walkthrough of how the LA County Assessor calculates the bump.
Open → - Finance2 min
How much does an ADU add to your home's appraised value?
Appraisers don't always credit an ADU dollar-for-dollar. Here's what actually moves the comp.
Open → - Finance2 min
ADU insurance in California: what your policy must cover
Standard homeowners policies often exclude detached structures. The fix is rarely expensive, but it's never automatic.
Open → - Finance2 min
Mid-term rental ADUs: the 30–180 day strategy short-term restrictions can't touch
A research framework for furnished 30–180 day rental scenarios, including local rules, current comparable listings and often-missed operating costs.
Open → - Finance2 min
ADU construction financing in 2026: HELOC, renovation loan, and the new construction-to-perm landscape
How LA and Los Angeles homeowners are actually funding ADU builds in 2026 — HELOCs, renovation loans, and construction-to-permanent products; current rates change constantly, so confirm them directly with lenders via NMLS Consumer Access before you budget.
Open →Related: NMLS Consumer Access
Process
- Process4 min
How should I compare contractors and construction bids?
A California homeowner workflow for checking a contracting entity and comparing scope, allowances, exclusions, responsibilities, payment milestones and unknowns.
Open → - Process2 min
Hillside ADUs in LA: soils, grading, and the geo report
Slope, soils and mapped hazards can change an ADU's foundation, grading and review scope. A practical guide to soils reports, the LA Hillside Ordinance, and the engineering decisions that drive cost.
Open → - Process2 min
LADWP, SoCalGas and your ADU: the utility connection map
Power, water, and gas hookups add meaningful cost and schedule to an ADU project. A walkthrough of the actual approval paths in 2026 — and the factors that determine your specific utility scope.
Open → - Process5 min
Prefab ADU vs site-built: a decision matrix for California homeowners
How factory-built and site-built ADUs differ in regulatory category, scope, transport, site work, inspections, design changes and exclusions, and what documents let you compare written proposals.
Open → - Process3 min
ADU soft-story and foundation reality 2026: when the existing structure costs more than the new build
Soft-story retrofit triggers across Los Angeles, the LA grading-ordinance reality on hillside lots, and how to scope the existing-structure work before you sign anything.
Open →
Cost
- Cost2 min
How we estimate ADU costs (the calculator methodology)
A transparent planning method for organizing ADU cost assumptions, exclusions and property-specific unknowns without presenting an estimate as a quote.
Open → - Cost2 min
LA neighborhood ADU cost drivers: compare site conditions
Compare access, slope, utility and coastal questions for Silver Lake, Venice, Highland Park and Mar Vista before pricing an ADU.
Open → - Cost3 min
Los Angeles garage conversion cost in 2026: the honest 400 sq ft number
What actually drives a 400 sq ft LA garage-to-ADU conversion cost in 2026 — the factors that move your number, the upgrades that cause overruns, and how to compare it to a new detached build for your neighborhood.
Open →Related: your neighborhood
- Cost2 min
Inglewood and South LA ADU guide 2026: permits and cost drivers
Check ADU permit jurisdiction, utility capacity and site-specific cost drivers across Inglewood, Hawthorne, Lawndale and South Los Angeles.
Open →
Tools behind the guides
Turn a guide into a decision about your property
Which cities have comparable permit data?
Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, Pasadena, Culver City and Manhattan Beach, using the same Census month (August 2026) for each.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau — Building Permits Survey, place files
How do I build a project brief I can share?
Pick a city and project type in Project Studio, answer the property questions, and download a PDF with every entered field, source link and generation date.
What does this month's local data show?
In August 2026, the City of Los Angeles authorized 2,478 new housing units, of which 343 were in one-unit buildings (Census Building Permits Survey).
Source: U.S. Census Bureau — Building Permits Survey, place files