ADU rules in Palm Springs

Detached ADUs are allowed on any lot with a proposed or existing single-family or multifamily dwelling. Section 93.23.14, restated in full by urgency Ord. 2123 (adopted 1-14-2026), offers two paths: a building-permit-only detached unit of up to 800 sq ft of livable space with 4 ft side and rear setbacks (D.1.b, the Gov. Code 66323(a)(2) unit, combinable with a converted ADU and a JADU), or a larger detached unit through a ministerial ADU permit that meets subsection F (850/1,000 sq ft caps, 25 ft front setback, 45 percent FAR, 50 percent lot coverage and open space, design and landscape rules, all yielding to an 800 sq ft floor). Multifamily lots may add up to two detached ADUs beside a proposed multifamily building or up to eight beside an existing one, never more than the existing unit count (D.1.d). The R-1, R-G-A, R-2 and P zone use lists name ADUs; the G-R-5, R-3, R-4 and R-4-VP lists do not, but subsection E.1 allows ADUs on any lot zoned for single-family or multifamily residential use.

Attached ADUs and conversions are allowed. A converted ADU inside the existing or proposed home or an existing accessory structure (plus up to 150 sq ft for ingress and egress), together with one JADU, needs only a building permit (D.1.a), and multifamily buildings may convert non-livable space into at least one ADU and up to 25 percent of the existing unit count (D.1.c). New attached additions go through the ministerial ADU permit: capped at 850/1,000 sq ft and, on a lot with an existing home, 50 percent of the home's floor area, but never below 800 sq ft (F.1), and limited to 25 ft or the zone height, whichever is lower, and two stories (E.2.d). JADUs (up to 500 sq ft inside the single-family structure, attached garage included) are limited to lots zoned for single-family residences (E.1.c), narrower than Gov. Code 66323(a)(1), which reaches single-family homes in any residential or mixed-use zone.

The caps in subsection F apply only to ADUs that need the ADU permit: 850 sq ft of interior livable space for a studio or one-bedroom unit and 1,000 sq ft for two or more bedrooms, detached or attached, and an attached ADU on a lot with an existing home is further limited to 50 percent of that home's floor area. No percentage cap, FAR (45 percent), front setback (25 ft), lot coverage (50 percent) or open-space (50 percent) rule may push a unit below 800 sq ft of interior livable space (F.1.c). The building-permit-only detached unit is capped at 800 sq ft of livable space, conversions of existing space carry no size cap, and JADUs top out at 500 sq ft. Heights: 16 ft detached, 18 ft within a half mile of a major transit stop or high-quality transit corridor (plus 2 ft to match the home's roof pitch), 18 ft beside a multistory multifamily building, and 25 ft or the zone limit for attached units; the 850/1,000 figures sit exactly at the Gov. Code 66321(b)(2) floors.

Ord. 2123 deleted the 2023 rule that ADUs permitted on or after 1-1-2025 be owner-occupied; § 93.23.14(E)(7)(a) now states that ADUs are not subject to any owner-occupancy requirement, matching Gov. Code 66315. A JADU requires an owner (a natural person with legal or equitable title) to live in the main home or the JADU only when the JADU shares sanitation facilities with the house; a JADU with its own bathroom, or property owned by a government agency, land trust or housing organization, is exempt (E.7.b, matching 66333(b) as amended by AB 1154). Every JADU still needs a recorded deed restriction barring separate sale and fixing its size and attributes before the certificate of occupancy (E.8); Ord. 2123 dropped the deed restriction for ADUs.

Subsection F.7 applies only to ADUs that need the ADU permit: one off-street space per ADU or per bedroom, whichever is less, allowed in setbacks or as tandem parking, which tracks the Gov. Code 66314(d)(10)(A) ceiling. No space is required within a half mile walking distance of public transit, in an architecturally and historically significant historic district, for a unit inside the home or an accessory structure, where on-street permits are required but not offered, within one block of a car share stop, or when the ADU is applied for with a new home on a lot meeting one of those criteria (F.7.b, mirroring 66322(a)). Building-permit-only units under D.1 and JADUs carry no parking requirement, and a garage, carport or uncovered space demolished or converted for an ADU need not be replaced (F.7.c).

Approval is ministerial. Units fitting the four state-exempt scenarios (a conversion plus a JADU, an 800 sq ft detached unit, multifamily conversions, multifamily detached units) need only a building permit; every other ADU needs a building permit plus an ADU permit, and both are 'considered and approved ministerially, without discretionary review or a hearing' (D.3.b). The city must decide completeness within 15 business days and act within 60 days of a complete application or the application is deemed approved; incompleteness findings and denials are appealable in writing to the Building Appeal Board (D.3). ADUs and JADUs are exempt from architectural review and from development permits (§§ 94.04.00(C)(4)(b), 94.04.01(B)(4)(b)); subsection I offers an optional conditional use permit only for a unit that departs from the objective standards.

Section 93.23.14(E)(4) bars renting any ADU or JADU for a term shorter than 30 days regardless of when it was created, and Ord. 2133 (adopted 7-8-2026) repeated the bar in the vacation rental chapter as PSMC 5.25.078(f), so an ADU cannot operate as a vacation rental (28 consecutive days or less, owner absent) or a homeshare. The 30-day minimum is lawful for permit-track ADUs under Gov. Code 66315, but Gov. Code 66323(e) and 66333(g) require terms longer than 30 days for state-exempt units and JADUs, so those need 31 days or more. Long-term rental is allowed, but an ADU or JADU may not be sold separately except under Gov. Code 66341 (E.5), and the city has not opted into 66342 ADU condominiums. Owners must estimate the rent on the building permit application and report the actual rent charged within 90 days after each yearly permit anniversary, with a notice of violation for late reports (E.9).