ADU rules in San Francisco

State program: detached new-construction ADUs allowed on single-family and multifamily lots (streamlined under Gov. Code 66323/66333 or under Sec. 207.2(d)(4)). Local program: one detached ADU permitted in the required rear yard (min 4 ft side/rear setbacks, max 16 ft height), plus conversions of detached garages and auxiliary structures.

State program allows ADUs attached to or entirely within the proposed or existing primary dwelling, including attached garages and storage areas. Local program allows ADUs within the buildable area of the lot or within the built envelope of the existing building (no vertical additions except seismic-retrofit height increases and corner-lot garage expansions).

State program height limits: 18 ft detached (plus 2 ft to match the primary roof pitch), 25 ft attached; the city cannot block an 800 sq ft, 16 ft ADU with 4 ft side/rear setbacks. Local-program rear-yard detached ADU is capped at 16 ft.

Neither Sec. 207.1 nor Sec. 207.2 imposes any owner-occupancy requirement for ADUs, consistent with the state preemption (Gov. Code 66314-66333, referenced throughout Sec. 207.2). Exception: a junior ADU sharing sanitation facilities with the main home requires owner occupancy per the JADU statute; JADU restrictions are recorded per Gov. Code 66333(c) under Sec. 207.2(h).

The garage-replacement rule is explicit in the state-program section; the blanket no-additional-parking statement is from the city's official ADU design-standards page.

No conditional use authorization in either program; ADUs go through a building permit. State-program ADUs are ministerial: no discretionary review requests accepted, no Planning Commission hearing, and no Sec. 311 neighborhood notification (Sec. 207.2(e)). Local-program ADUs require a Rent Board declaration before application, are exempt from Sec. 311 notification when built entirely within the existing built envelope, and may use Zoning Administrator waivers of density, bicycle parking, rear yard, exposure, and open space standards under Sec. 307(l).

STR ban is recorded as a Notice of Special Restriction for local-program ADUs (Sec. 207.1(d)) and stated in Sec. 207.2(f) for state-program ADUs and JADUs. Separate-sale prohibitions carry exceptions for ADUs meeting Gov. Code 66341 or Sec. 207.4 plus Subdivision Code Sec. 1316, and for certain pre-2013 all-condominium buildings. The local-program Regulatory Agreement invokes the Costa-Hawkins exception in Civil Code 1954.52(b) but preserves the owner's right to set the initial rent (Sec. 207.1(h)).