In September 2020, a new California Department Of Housing handbook regarding laws, rules, and regulations of newly built ADU’s was released. This article regards the laws of only the state of California, cities in California with separate ADU ordinances may be different.
According to the California Department Of Housing and Community Development ADU Handbook, California’s Accessory Dwelling Unit Law (Assembly Bill No. 68) took effect on January 1, 2020. Under this law, homeowners can add an ADU to their property, even if the HOA’s governing documents state otherwise. This law mainly applies to single-family homes in planned developments or homeowners associations. It is not applicable to community apartments or condominiums.
If you are a homeowner planning on building an ADU, you should reach out to your HOA to check if there are any restrictions on constructing one. Even if there are restrictions, the HOA cannot prohibit building an ADU. For example, HOAs can put standards on the design and development of ADUs. The association may require homeowners to follow the architectural style of the community when building ADUs. This is to help protect the property values of the community.
When homeowners submit building permits for ADUs, HOA should be able to approve or deny the project within 60 days. As long as the ADUs comply with the Accessory Dwelling Unit Law, as well as their reasonable restrictions, HOAs should approve the homeowners’ requests.
The main laws homeowners must follow is a government code. If you are planning to add an ADU to your property, it should be compliant with Government Code 65852.2. Homeowners can rent out ADUs but the main residence should still be occupied by the homeowner and homeowners cannot sell the ADU separately from the main property.
Neo Builders Inc. is an experienced construction company with a specialty in building ADU’s. Building an ADU with Neo Builders will increase your monthly cash flow in a stress free and organized process. Check out our Los Angeles rules and regulation page for more details.
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