Trusted Home — ADUs & Additions
Detached units, attached additions, junior ADUs, and SB-9 lot splits — California's legal paths to more home, on the lot you already own.
An ADU is the cheapest square footage you'll ever build, and the most regulated. The first job is reading the lot.
Every ADU project starts with a feasibility pass: zoning, setbacks, fire-separation, height, parking exemptions, utility upgrades. Then we model what's actually buildable against your goals — rental income, multigenerational living, a home office, a guest house. Only after that do we draw a single wall.
Start your project
State law (AB-68, AB-2221, SB-9) preempts most local barriers. We start every ADU project by mapping which of these your lot, zoning, and goals support.
A standalone unit in the backyard. The most common path. Allowed on virtually any single-family lot in California by state law.
Connected to the primary home, typically off the side or rear. Faster framing path when the geometry works.
A Junior ADU carved out of the existing home — owner-occupied, with its own entrance and an efficiency kitchen.
California's two-unit / urban lot split path. Best when the parcel can support a duplex or two homes — the hardest path, the highest upside.
General guidance only — every city layers its own objective standards on top of state law. We confirm what's actually buildable on your parcel during the first feasibility meeting.
Detached ADUs in our region typically run $400–$650 per square foot built, depending on finish level and site conditions (utility runs, slope, soil).
California's ADU statute caps plan-check at 60 days for ministerial approval. In practice, expect 6–16 weeks from submittal to permit, faster on standardized plans.
Most ADUs are exempt from added parking under state law — within ½ mile of transit, in historic districts, or when an existing garage is converted.
Yes — long-term rentals are allowed by state law on every ADU. Short-term rental rules vary by city and HOA.
Sometimes the right answer is more home, not a separate one. We compare ADU vs addition in feasibility — cost, permit path, and what each does for the way you live.