Side by side · California
Compare ADU rules across California
Flexible on where you build? The same backyard cottage can be routine in one city and impossible next door. This table puts 13 California cities side by side so you can shortlist the friendly ones before reading a single ordinance, or narrow it to just the cities you are deciding between. Every value is summarized from the city's own code; open a city's page for the full notes, citations, and fine print.
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| City | Detached ADU | Attached / internal | Max size | Owner occupancy | Extra parking | Approval |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anaheim | Allowed | Allowed | Detached: 1,200 sq ft. Attached: 50% of the main dwelling or 1,200 sq ft, whichever is less, but studio/1-bedroom units are permitted up to 850 sq ft and 2+ bedroom units up to 1,000 sq ft regardless. JADU: 500 sq ft. Minimum unit size 150 sq ft. | Not required | Studio ADU: 0 spaces. ADU with 1+ bedrooms: 1 space, waived under state-law exemptions (within half mile walking distance of transit, historic district, conversion of existing primary residence or accessory structure space, car share within a block, on-street permits not offered to ADU occupants, ADU built with a new primary dwelling, or garage demolished/converted for the ADU). JADU: 0 spaces. No replacement parking required when a garage or carport is demolished or converted for an ADU. | Permitted use |
| Chula Vista | Allowed | Allowed | Detached ADU: 1,200 sq ft. Attached ADU (existing primary dwelling): 50 percent of primary dwelling floor area; city table applies 50 percent or 850 sq ft (studio or 1BR) / 1,000 sq ft (2+ BR), whichever is less; state law still guarantees at least an 800 sq ft ADU with 4-ft side and rear setbacks. JADU: 500 sq ft. No local minimum size; an efficiency unit cannot be prohibited. | Not required | None per the city's published ADU standards table ('No parking requirements', single-family and multifamily). State law would in any case cap parking at 1 space per ADU or per bedroom (whichever is less), allows tandem parking on a driveway, bans replacement-parking requirements when a garage, carport, or covered or uncovered space is demolished or converted for an ADU, and bars any parking requirement for conversion ADUs, ADUs within a half mile walking distance of public transit, and the other Gov. Code 66322 cases. | Permitted use |
| Fontana | Allowed | Allowed | JADU: 500 sq ft of interior livable space. Class 1 detached (state track): 800 sq ft. Class 2 ADU, attached or detached: 1,200 sq ft, and an attached unit is further capped at 50 percent of the primary dwelling's floor area; no lot-coverage, FAR, setback, or open-space standard may force a Class 2 ADU below 800 sq ft. Conversion ADUs: limited to the existing space plus up to 150 sq ft for ingress and egress | Not required | 1 off-street space per ADU under the Class 2 local standards (tandem or setback-area parking allowed); waived within a half mile walking distance of public transit, in an architecturally and historically significant historic district, for ADUs converted from the primary residence or an accessory structure, when required on-street permits are not offered to the ADU occupant, or with a car-share stop within one block. No replacement spaces required when a garage, carport, or covered space is demolished or converted for the ADU. JADUs and Class 1 state-track ADUs: no parking required | Permitted use |
| Long Beach | Allowed | Allowed | Detached new construction: 800 sq ft (single-family lot). Attached new construction: 50% of primary dwelling size or 800 sq ft, whichever is more. Conversions of existing primary-dwelling space or accessory buildings: no size limit (accessory-building conversions may add only a 150 sq ft ingress/egress addition). JADU: 500 sq ft max. Minimum for any ADU or JADU: 150 sq ft (efficiency unit). Multifamily lots: up to 8 detached ADUs (or the number of existing permitted units, whichever is less) and attached conversions (1 ADU or 25% of existing units, whichever is more), no stated size limits. | Not required | At most 1 space per ADU or per bedroom, whichever is less, with tandem parking on a driveway allowed (state cap the city applies). No parking required for: ADUs within a half-mile walking distance of a transit stop; ADUs in a historic district; ADUs converted from part of the primary dwelling or an accessory building; where on-street permits are required but not offered to the ADU occupant; ADUs within a half-mile of a car share vehicle; ADUs in the citywide Parking Exempt Area (LBMC 21.41.175); and all JADUs. Replacement parking cannot be required when a garage, carport, or covered space is demolished or converted for an ADU. | Permitted use |
| Los Angeles | Allowed | Allowed | 1,200 sq ft (detached, also capped at 2 stories); attached capped at 50% of the existing primary dwelling's floor area, but an attached ADU under 850 sq ft (under 1,000 sq ft with more than one bedroom) is always allowed; no 50% cap when the ADU is attached to a new dwelling | Not required | 1 space per ADU, but waived if within 1/2 mile walking distance of public transit, within one block of a car-share location, in a designated historic district, or if the ADU is part of the proposed or existing primary residence or an accessory structure; no replacement parking when a garage or carport is demolished or converted for the ADU | Permitted use |
| Moreno Valley | Allowed | Allowed | Detached: 1,000 sq ft, with no maximum on parcels with a multifamily structure. Attached: 850 sq ft for an efficiency or one bedroom and 1,000 sq ft for two or more bedrooms, and Table E-1 also limits attached units to 50% of the primary dwelling while always permitting 1,000 sq ft. Conversions of existing accessory structures or primary-dwelling space: no size limit. JADU: 150 sq ft minimum, 500 sq ft maximum. By-right new detached units under the Gov. Code 66323 pathway: 800 sq ft with 4 ft side and rear setbacks. | Not required | One space per ADU or per bedroom, whichever is less; tandem parking on a driveway allowed. No replacement parking when a garage, carport, covered structure, or uncovered space is demolished or converted for an ADU. Exempt: ADUs within an existing dwelling or existing accessory structure, within one-half mile of a public transportation stop, within one block of a car-share space, in designated historic districts, or where on-street permits are not offered to ADU occupants. JADUs within the living area are exempt from all parking; a garage converted to a JADU triggers the standard requirement. | Permitted use |
| Oakland | Allowed | Allowed | Detached (Category Two): 850 sq ft for studio or 1-bedroom, 1,000 sq ft for 2+ bedrooms. Attached: the greater of those caps or 50% of the primary residence floor area, not to exceed 1,200 sq ft. Category One conversions: limited to the existing building envelope plus up to 150 sq ft for ingress and egress. JADU: 500 sq ft max. | Not required | One space per ADU (tandem allowed), but waived if the ADU is within a half-mile walking distance of a public transit stop, on a lot in a designated historic area (Area of Primary or Secondary Importance), in a residential-permit-parking area where permits are not offered to ADU occupants, within one block of a carshare vehicle, or created within the existing primary residence or an accessory structure. JADUs never require parking. No replacement parking is required when a covered or uncovered space is removed to build an ADU. | Permitted use |
| Riverside | Allowed | Allowed | Attached ADU: 50 percent of the existing or proposed primary dwelling floor area or 1,200 sq ft, whichever is less, but at least 850 sq ft (one bedroom or less) or 1,000 sq ft (more than one bedroom) must be allowed; detached ADU: 1,200 sq ft max; JADU: 500 sq ft max; movable ADU (MADU): 150 to 430 sq ft; minimum size for any ADU or JADU is an efficiency dwelling unit per California Building Code Section 1208.4 | Not required | None; no parking spaces are required for any ADU, MADU, or JADU, and no replacement parking is required for the primary dwelling when a garage, carport, or covered parking is converted to an ADU | Permitted use |
| Sacramento | Allowed | Allowed | 1,200 sq ft (detached, and combined cap if two detached); attached: greater of 50% of primary dwelling or 850 sq ft (1 bedroom or less) / 1,000 sq ft (2+ bedrooms); JADU 500 sq ft; 800 sq ft for a detached ADU under the state-standards path | Not required | None. Sacramento has no minimum off-street vehicle parking requirements for any land use citywide; the ADU section imposes no parking requirement and the bicycle parking table sets no minimum for ADUs or JADUs. | Permitted use |
| San Diego | Allowed | Allowed | 1,200 sq ft (attached or detached ADU); no maximum for an ADU created within an existing or proposed single dwelling unit, within an existing accessory structure (plus up to 150 sq ft for ingress/egress), or within existing multi-dwelling non-livable space; 150 sq ft minimum; JADU 150 to 500 sq ft | Not required | None for ADUs or JADUs, with one exception: one off-street space per ADU when the lot is inside the Beach Impact Area of the Parking Impact Overlay Zone and outside a transit priority area, waived if the ADU is 500 sq ft or less, attached, in a designated historic district, in a residential permit parking district, or within a block of a car share vehicle. Bonus and affordable ADUs outside transit priority areas need one space each. | Permitted use |
| San Francisco | Allowed | Allowed | State program: 850 sq ft (1 bedroom or less) / 1,000 sq ft (2+ bedrooms) detached; attached capped at the greater of 50% of the primary dwelling or 850/1,000 sq ft. Local program: no fixed size cap (limited by the lot's buildable area or existing built envelope), except the rear-yard detached ADU is capped at 850/1,000 sq ft | Not required | No; additional parking is not required for an ADU. When a garage, carport, or covered parking structure is demolished or converted to build a state-program ADU, the lost off-street spaces do not have to be replaced | Permitted use |
| Santa Ana | Allowed | Allowed | 1,000 sq ft (attached or detached); attached ADUs also limited to 50% of the primary residence's habitable space, though that ratio may be exceeded to allow up to 800 sq ft; 800 sq ft cap when an ADU and a JADU are both on the lot; JADUs max 500 sq ft; conversions of existing accessory structures or primary-residence space have no size limit (plus up to 150 sq ft expansion). Minimum size 220 sq ft. | Not required | 1 space per ADU (tandem permitted; none for JADUs), waived if any state exemption applies: within 1/2 mile walking distance of public transit, in a historic district, conversion of existing primary residence or accessory structure, on-street permits not offered to ADU occupants, car share within one block, studio ADU with no bedrooms, or ADU proposed with a new single-family or multifamily residence that meets any other criterion. No replacement parking required when a garage, carport, or covered or uncovered space is demolished or converted for the ADU. | Permitted use |
| Santa Clarita | Allowed | Allowed | Current UDC sets no local ADU size caps; it defers to state law. State framework: attached ADU up to 50% of the existing primary dwelling; detached ADU up to 1,200 sq ft; local caps below 850 sq ft (0-1 bedroom) or 1,000 sq ft (2+ bedrooms) are prohibited and at least an 800 sq ft ADU must always be allowed; JADU max 500 sq ft of interior livable space, entirely within the single-family residence. The city's October 2023 handout (still posted) lists 850 sq ft (0-1 bedroom) and 1,000 sq ft (2 bedroom) caps for attached and detached ADUs, with attached ADUs also limited to 50% of primary residence floor area, and JADU at 500 sq ft. | Not required | Maximum 1 space per ADU or per bedroom, whichever is less; tandem parking on a driveway allowed. No parking may be required if the ADU is within a half mile walking distance of public transit, is in an architecturally and historically significant historic district, is part of the proposed or existing primary residence or an accessory structure, where on-street permits are required but not offered to the ADU occupant, or where a car share vehicle is within one block. No replacement parking when a garage, carport, or covered or uncovered space is demolished or converted for an ADU. JADUs require no additional parking. The current UDC sets no local ADU parking standard; the city handout states one space with the state exemptions. | Permitted use |
Summarized from each city's ordinance text, most recently read July 2026. Tap a value marked with an info icon to see exactly what it depends on, straight from the ordinance. Nearly every value has zone, lot-size, or process caveats beyond that; the per-city pages carry the full notes and code citations. Treat this as orientation, not a permit determination.
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Reading the table
- Detached ADU is the make-or-break column for backyard cottages: minimum lot sizes (often 8,000 to 14,500 sq ft) hide behind many of the "Allowed" values, so check your lot before celebrating.
- Attached / internal (basement apartments, additions) is legal almost everywhere and is usually the path of least resistance.
- Approval: "Permitted use" means staff-level sign-off; "Conditional use" means a public hearing, which adds time, cost, and uncertainty.
Anaheim: full rules and sourcesChula Vista: full rules and sourcesFontana: full rules and sourcesLong Beach: full rules and sourcesLos Angeles: full rules and sourcesMoreno Valley: full rules and sourcesOakland: full rules and sourcesRiverside: full rules and sourcesSacramento: full rules and sourcesSan Diego: full rules and sourcesSan Francisco: full rules and sourcesSanta Ana: full rules and sourcesSanta Clarita: full rules and sources
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