ADU rules in Sacramento

Detached ADUs are allowed on lots with a single-unit, duplex or multi-unit dwelling. Under the city's local development option (subsection B), a lot may have one detached ADU of up to 1,200 sq ft or two detached ADUs sharing a combined 1,200 sq ft cap, each at least 4 ft from the main house and from each other. Under the state option (subsection C, Gov. Code 66323), a single-unit lot may have one detached new-construction ADU of up to 800 sq ft with 4-ft side and rear setbacks and an 18-ft height limit (20 ft to match the main roof pitch), and a multi-unit lot may have up to eight detached ADUs (never more than its existing units), or two where the multi-unit building is only proposed. From January 1, 2027, AB 956 (Chapter 791, Statutes of 2026) raises the state count to two detached new-construction ADUs on a single-family lot.

Attached ADUs are allowed under the local option up to the greater of 50% of the existing primary dwelling's floor area or 850 sq ft (one bedroom or less) / 1,000 sq ft (more than one bedroom). Under the state option, an ADU or JADU may be carved out of the existing or proposed house or an existing accessory structure (including an attached garage) with up to 150 sq ft of expansion for ingress and egress, no other local standards applying. A junior ADU of up to 500 sq ft must sit within the walls of a single-unit dwelling, which may include an attached garage, with its own entrance and an efficiency kitchen. Converting existing living area or an accessory structure needs no setback.

Under the local option a lot with a single-unit dwelling may have two ADUs, one ADU plus one JADU, or two JADUs, and a duplex or multi-unit lot two ADUs; the state option adds conversions of non-livable space in multi-unit buildings (at least one, up to 25% of the existing units) and up to eight detached units on lots with existing multi-unit buildings. Local-option floor area counts everything inside the ADU's building envelope except garages and accessory structures, whereas Gov. Code 66323 measures livable space. ADUs covering less than 800 sq ft of lot coverage are exempt from the zone's lot coverage and open-space limits, and one ADU of up to 800 sq ft may go in the front-yard setback when the side and rear yards cannot fit an 800 sq ft unit. The pending 2026 Title 17 omnibus would switch the local measure to livable area.

No owner-occupancy requirement applies to any ADU, consistent with Gov. Code 66315. For junior ADUs the city code still says that, unless the lot is owned by a government agency, land trust, or housing organization, 'the property owner must reside onsite', but since January 1, 2026 Gov. Code 66333(b) (AB 1154) allows owner occupancy to be required only when the JADU shares sanitation facilities with the main house. HCD's January 20, 2026 findings letter flagged the city clause, and the pending 2026 Title 17 omnibus would add the separate-sanitation exception, so a JADU with its own bathroom does not need an owner on site.

Section 17.608.030.B states: 'There are no minimum off-street vehicle parking requirements for any land use'; Table 17.608.030B sets only maximums, and Table 17.608.030C lists 'No minimum requirements' for accessory and junior accessory dwelling units. This goes beyond the state ADU parking exemptions. A separate ordinance on off-street bicycle and vehicle parking requirements (M26-005) was continued by the Planning and Design Commission in April 2026 and has not reached the City Council.

ADUs and JADUs get ministerial review: the city must approve or deny within 60 days of a complete application where a residential use already exists, and an application not acted on within 60 days is deemed approved. State-option units (Gov. Code 66323) get a ministerially approved building permit in any residential or mixed-use zone with no other local development or design standards. Only an applicant who asks to deviate from the local development standards goes through site plan and design review under chapter 17.808.

City Code 17.228.105.B.1.c lets an ADU or JADU approved under the local option be 'rented for a term less than 30 days in accordance with section 17.228.104.C', which makes a short-term rental a permitted use but requires a permit under chapter 5.114: no more than six lodgers, no more than 90 days of paid lodging per permit term when the unit is not the permit holder's primary residence (lived in 184 days a year), and no one may run short-term rentals in more than one unit on a lot unless their primary residence is in the city. Units approved under the state option 'may not be rented for a term less than 30 days', and Gov. Code 66323(e) requires terms longer than 30 days. For JADUs, Gov. Code 66333(g) (AB 1154, effective January 1, 2026) requires rentals longer than 30 days, which conflicts with the codified local-option clause; the pending 2026 omnibus would keep short-term rental only for local-option ADUs, so treat JADUs as long-term only. ADUs cannot be sold apart from the main house except through a qualified nonprofit under Gov. Code 66341, and a JADU needs a recorded deed restriction against separate sale.