ADU rules in Daly City

Detached ADUs are allowed on any lot with an existing or proposed single-family or multifamily dwelling under state ADU law, which the Planning Division has applied in place of the codified 'second unit' rules since 2020. On a single-family lot the city allows one detached ADU together with one attached or conversion ADU and one JADU (Gov. Code 66323(a)(1)-(2) requires ministerial approval of 'any combination' of these units), with 4-ft side and rear setbacks and a recommended (not required) 6 ft separation from the house; the codified one-ADU-per-parcel limit of DCMC 17.40.100(B)(1) is superseded, and its repeal is pending in Ord. No. 1494. On a lot with an existing multifamily building state law allows up to eight detached ADUs, never more than the number of existing units, or two with a proposed multifamily building (66323(a)(4)), although the city's January 2026 ADU Guide still says two. In the coastal zone (west of Skyline Boulevard, and west of Eastgate Drive north of John Daly Boulevard) a detached ADU may also need a coastal development permit, which must be decided within 60 days without a hearing (66329).

ADUs attached to the house as additions or created inside it, in an attached or detached garage, or in an existing accessory structure are allowed; the city estimates it has permitted over 2,200 ADUs since the early 1980s, traditionally most of them in the unfinished basement level of its homes. Conversions of existing space qualify for the state-exempt path with up to 150 sq ft of expansion for ingress and egress (Gov. Code 66323(a)(1)), and a JADU of up to 500 sq ft may be created within the walls of an existing or proposed single-family home, one per lot, with an efficiency kitchen and either its own bathroom or shared access to one in the main home. On multifamily lots ADUs may be converted from non-livable space (storage rooms, garages and the like) for up to 25 percent of the existing units, at least one (66323(a)(3)); JADUs are limited to single-family homes. In a home with side yards a converted garage must keep its garage door and a trash and recycling area 36 inches deep across the door's width under DCMC 17.35.040 as amended by Ord. No. 1494, which states that the rule cannot preclude a state-mandated ADU or JADU, and the Engineering Division decides whether the driveway curb cut must be removed or reduced.

Daly City applies the state caps, measured in interior livable space since SB 543 (1-1-2026): its ADU checklist limits a detached ADU to 1,200 sq ft and an attached ADU to 50 percent of the main home's floor area or 850 sq ft (studio or one bedroom) or 1,000 sq ft (more than one bedroom), whichever is greater (Gov. Code 66314(d)(4)-(5), 66321(b)(2)). Conversions of existing space have no size cap, an 800 sq ft unit with 4-ft side and rear setbacks cannot be blocked by lot coverage, floor area ratio, open space or minimum lot size rules (66321(b)(3), 66323(a)(2)), and JADUs are capped at 500 sq ft; detached units beside an existing multifamily building under 66323(a)(4) carry height and 4-ft setback limits rather than a floor-area cap. The city lets detached ADUs reach 18 ft, or 20 ft with a roof pitch matching the main house, citywide (above the state's 16 ft floor away from major transit), and attached ADUs 25 ft and two stories, and Ord. No. 1489 (adopted 4-13-2026, not yet codified) says ADU height 'shall be taken at the lowest measurable point for gable, hip, or gamble roofs'. The codified DCMC 17.40.100(B)(5) (attached 50 percent up to 1,200 sq ft, detached 1,200 sq ft) is superseded, with its repeal pending in Ord. No. 1494.

No owner occupancy is required for an ADU, at application or afterward: Gov. Code 66315 bars owner-occupant requirements, and the city's ADU Guide says owner occupancy 'is not required for ADUs as of January 1, 2024 (CA AB 976)'. The codified rule that the owner of record live in one of the two units, backed by a recorded certificate of registration (DCMC 17.40.100(B)(3) and 17.40.110), is superseded under the city's state-law practice, and Ord. No. 1494 repeals both sections because 'owner occupancy is no longer required'. For a JADU the owner must live in the main home or the JADU only when they share sanitation facilities (66333(b) as amended by AB 1154), which the guide's FAQ states correctly; its JADU checklist still prints a universal owner-occupancy item with a recorded deed restriction under DCMC 17.40.110, a leftover the FAQ contradicts.

No parking is required for an ADU anywhere in Daly City: the Planning Division determined in 2020 that 'all residential lots were transit proximate', so the state exemption for ADUs within one-half mile walking distance of public transit (Gov. Code 66322(a)(1)) applies citywide, and the city's ADU checklist lists no parking item. The codified rule of one space per unit or per bedroom with a list of exemptions (DCMC 17.40.100(B)(6)) is superseded, with its repeal pending in Ord. No. 1494. State law also bars replacement parking when a garage, carport or parking space is converted or demolished for an ADU (66314(d)(11)) and any parking requirement for a JADU (66334(a)). A garage conversion still has to meet the garage-door and trash-area rule of DCMC 17.35.040 as amended by Ord. No. 1494, and the Engineering Division decides whether the curb cut must be removed or reduced.

ADUs and JADUs are approved ministerially on a building permit with Planning Division review against the state standards and the city's ADU and JADU checklists; no use permit or hearing applies, and a secondary dwelling is a permitted use with no use permit in the R-1, R-1/A and R-2/A districts (DCMC 17.08.010, 17.09.020(E), 17.11.020(C)) while state law reaches every lot zoned for residential use. Gov. Code 66317 requires a completeness decision within 15 business days and approval or denial within 60 days of a complete application without discretionary review or a hearing, and 66320 imposes the same ministerial duty on a city with no compliant ADU ordinance, which is Daly City's position (its 2017 text is void under 66316 and Ord. No. 1494 repeals it). In the coastal zone a coastal development permit, where one is required, must be decided within the same 60 days without a public hearing (66329). The codified -RP Resource Protection combining district on bluff-adjacent lots still requires a use permit with Planning Commission and City Council hearings for new structures (DCMC 17.27.030, 17.27.060), a path state law bars for ADUs (see caveats).

An ADU may be rented separately from the main home but not sold separately (Gov. Code 66314(d)(1)); the municipal code contains no ADU-condominium provision under the opt-in Gov. Code 66342, so separate conveyance is limited to the qualified-nonprofit route of 66341. The short-term rental chapter (DCMC Chapter 5.92, Ord. No. 1440, effective 1-1-2021) allows stays of 30 consecutive days or less only in the host's primary residence with a city permit and business license (un-hosted stays capped at 100 days a year), bans vacation rentals of non-primary homes, and provides that short-term rentals 'shall not be permitted ... on properties with accessory dwelling units or junior accessory dwelling units' (5.92.040(B)), so neither the ADU nor the main house on such a lot may be rented short term. Ord. No. 1440 § 4 keeps the chapter from taking effect in the coastal zone until the Coastal Commission certifies a Local Coastal Program amendment, and the city's short-term rental page still says so; there only the state rules bind (terms longer than 30 days for JADUs under 66333(g) and for state-exempt units under 66323(e)), although the city's ADU Guide says without exception that ADUs and JADUs may not be rented as short-term rentals.