Making California's New ADU Laws Work for You
Searching to help combat the housing crisis, keep family close, or earn some extra income? Adding an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) to your Santa Cruz property simplified this year, thanks to a suite of new housing laws.
ADUs, also known as granny units, inlaws or secondary units, are additional homes constructed on an already existing lot, either attached or detached to the primary dwelling. Unlike many “tiny homes”, which are mobile and thus classified as recreational vehicles, ADUs are designed to stay in one place.
Prior to this year, adding an ADU to your home often required cutting through a lot of red tape, and junior ADUs (JADUs) were not permitted in Santa Cruz. But new laws enacted this year to help solve the state’s housing crisis lift many limitations to make building ADUs a more streamlined, accessible—and common—process. Timelines are also cut shorter, as ADU permits generally must be approved or denied within 60 days.
Enacted January 1, 2020, the new ADU laws—Assembly Bill (AB) 68, AB 881 and Senate Bill (SB)13—allow ADUs in all parcels zoned for single or multi-family residential, or residential/nonresidential mixed use developments on parcels in all zone districts.
The benefits of building ADUs for homeowners are vast. Along with providing an affordable way to add housing, they provide additional income for owners, offer affordable housing options for college and grad students, allow extended families to live together while keeping privacy, and provide flexibility for aging parents who require increasing care. Since ADUs require no additional purchase of land, added infrastructure, building an ADU increases housing stock with little environmental or monetary impact.
Detached, Attached, and Conversion ADUS
In general, there are two types of ADUs—those attached to the primary residence or detached. Detached ADUs are entirely separate structures sharing the same lot as a primary residence. As of January 1, 2020, detached ADUs up to 800 sq. ft. and 16' tall may be built without any local discretionary approval.
Attached ADUs are physically connected to the primary dwelling, with a private entrance. A conversion ADU is an area of a pre-existing structure newly converted into a living space, most typically a garage. Under the new laws, attached ADUs may be large as half of an existing dwelling and may be completed without local discretionary approval. Conversion ADUs must keep the same location and dimension and can be up to 1200 square feet.
Junior ADUs- An Option When Space is Limited
Due to their minimal requirements, JADUs offer major opportunities for homeowners who would be otherwise unable to build ADUs due to size and cost constraints. Unlike regular ADUs, which require full kitchen and bathroom facilities, JADU rules allow shared bathrooms and efficiency kitchens. Kitchen requirements are minimal: a 16” x 16” max sink with a small drainline, no gas, a food preparation counter and cabinets that are of “reasonable size” in relation to the size of the JADU. Appliances must require less than 120 volts of electrical services and cannot require natural or propane gas.
JADUs are ideal for homeowners who lack the space and resources for a regular ADU, but would love to add a unit to their home. They must be created out of a bedroom in an existing or proposed single family residence, max out at 500 square feet, and require owners to live on the premises. They can include an expansion of up to 150 sq. feet beyond the original structure’s footprint for ingress and egress and require separate entryways.
Changes to Owner Occupancy Requirements
Single family homeowners may now build up to one ADU and one JADU on their property. Owners of multifamily dwellings may convert areas such as closets, carports and garages areas into ADUs at up to 25% of the total unit count and add up to two detached ADUs.
One major change with the new ADU laws is that owner occupancy requirements have temporarily been lifted. While owners must live the premises for JADUs, it is no longer necessary for regular ADUs that are permitted between Jan 1, 2020 and Jan 1, 2025.
New California ADU Requirements
If you are interested in converting a portion of your home or adding an ADU to your lot, you’re in luck. In efforts to encourage building, the new laws have relaxed requirements and restrictions. (Note that some requirements vary by jurisdiction, including the Seaside Beach Estates and Pleasure Point communities.)
Concerned you lack the space for an ADU? Under the new laws, setback (space between a structure and the edge of a lot) requirements have been reduced to only 4’ for side and rear yards. If your existing garage or carport is in disrepair and costly to renovate, the new laws permit homeowners to replace and convert an existing structure, in compliance with the new setback laws. No setbacks are required for conversion of existing legal structures of the same location and dimension.
Height and square footage requirements have also become less stringent, enabling homeowners to build detached ADU’s up to 16’ tall and 800 square feet without discretionary approval. In some cases, on larger lots, detached ADUs are permitted to be up to 1200 square feet. Heights for ADUs built above garages vary by jurisdiction. While, under Santa Cruz County regulations, ADU can be up to 24 feet (20 feet at exterior wall), Santa Cruz city regulations limit height to 22 feet.
One of the greatest benefits of the new ADU laws are the relaxed parking requirements. Units built within half a mile walking distance from a transit stop need no additional parking requirements, except in certain Coastal designation areas. In addition, parking removed through garage conversion need not be replaced under the new laws. The city of Santa Cruz does not require parking for ADUs.
