ADU rules in Anaheim

Detached ADUs are permitted by right in every single-family zone (RH-1 through RS-4) and every multiple-family zone. On a single-family lot the code allows one conversion ADU inside existing or proposed space, one new-construction ADU (which may be detached) and one JADU, with no more than four units in total including the main home. On a lot with an existing apartment building, up to eight detached ADUs are allowed (never more than the number of existing apartments); with a proposed apartment building, up to two; both at 18 ft plus 2 ft for roof pitch with 4-ft side and rear setbacks. ADUs are barred in areas the City Council designates as sewer-deficient and on parcels that used an SB 9 two-unit or lot-split permit.

Attached ADUs are allowed as an addition to the main home, and conversion ADUs are allowed within existing or proposed space of the home or an accessory structure, with up to 150 sq ft of expansion for ingress and egress. Attached units follow the attached column of Table 38-A (underlying-zone height, 4-ft side and rear setbacks) and must use the same materials, colors, roof form and architectural details as the main home. A JADU may sit within the walls of the home or be attached to a newly built detached ADU.

Table 38-A makes the 1,200 sq ft detached cap 'subject to 18.04.080.020', which on single-family lots caps all enclosed accessory structures combined at the zone's minimum home size (1,700 sq ft in RH-1 to RH-3 and RS-1, 1,225 sq ft in RS-2 to RS-4) and at no more than the main home's square footage; state law still guarantees an 800 sq ft unit with 4-ft side and rear setbacks. Conversions of legally established space may add up to 150 sq ft for ingress and egress and are exempt from lot coverage, setback, height and separation standards.

Section 18.38.015 imposes no owner-occupancy requirement on ADUs, consistent with Gov. Code 66315. For JADUs, .1101 requires the owner to live on the property only when the JADU shares sanitation facilities with the main home, matching Gov. Code 66333(b). The recorded JADU covenant clauses (.1152, duplicated at .1202) still tie every JADU's use to owner-of-record occupancy, and the city's November 2025 submittal checklist and ADU page describe a universal owner-occupancy covenant; that broader requirement yields to state law for JADUs with their own bathroom.

18.38.015.080 sends ADU parking to the residential parking section, whose subsection .070 carries the bedroom-based ratio and the exemption list (last amended by Ord. 6609 of 5-13-2025). Any required space may be placed in any configuration on the lot and must use the main home's driveway unless the lot has alley or permitted corner access.

ADUs and JADUs are listed as permitted by right in the single-family and multiple-family zone tables, and applications are reviewed ministerially by the Planning and Building Director under Gov. Code 66317 without discretionary review or a hearing: completeness within 15 business days, approval or denial within 60 days of a complete application. No variance, waiver or administrative adjustment from 18.38.015 may be approved or even accepted for processing. Qualifying single-family properties using a city pre-approved detached plan can use ADU Express for review in one to three days.

The short-term rental ban sits in the business code (AMC 4.05.040.030; 'short-term rental' is defined in 4.05.030.T as a stay of less than thirty consecutive calendar days), not in 18.38.015, whose former rental subsection .125 was repealed by Ord. 6620 in January 2026. State law sets a slightly longer floor for two kinds of units: state-exempt ADUs built under Gov. Code 66323 and JADUs must be rented for terms longer than 30 days (66323(e), 66333(g)).