Building an ADU in Beverly Hills. Rules, permits, design, and real 2026 costs — written from primary sources.
Beverly Hills ADUs follow two sets of rules. The city has its
own ADU ordinance (BHMC Article 50, §§ 10-3-5000 and
10-3-5001, last amended December 2024). On top of that,
California state law applies (Gov. Code §§ 66310–66342).
Beverly Hills is more generous than the state floor on size
— 1,400 sqft caps in the Central Area north of Santa Monica
Boulevard and the Hillside Area, vs. the 1,200 sqft state minimum.
And on lots 13,000 sqft and bigger, the city allows a third unit:
the Incentive ADU.
This page explains what you can actually build: setbacks, height
(which varies by zone), size caps (also by zone), parking, and
what permits cost in 2026. Plus the IADU — Beverly Hills’s
third-unit option that doesn’t exist anywhere else in LA County.
Written from primary sources and our own work on 126 ADU projects
across LA County. Use the sections below.
Three documents govern an ADU project in Beverly Hills. We read all
three before we draw a line.
State law. California Government Code
§§ 66310–66342. The statewide ADU statute, last
substantively amended by SB 543 and AB 1154 (both effective
January 1, 2026). Sets the floor every California city must meet.
Local ordinance. Beverly Hills Municipal Code
Article 50, §§ 10-3-5000 (single-family lots) and
10-3-5001 (multi-family lots). Last amended by Ord. 24-O-2892
(effective April 18, 2024) and Ord. 24-O-2903 (effective
December 20, 2024). The city’s rules layered on top of
state law — including the Incentive ADU program, the
three geographic zones, and the estate-lot two-story exception.
HCD commentary. California Department of
Housing and Community Development ADU Handbook plus enforcement
letters. HCD has authority under § 66316 to challenge
ordinances that don’t comply with state law.
The City of Beverly Hills Community Development Department also
publishes neighborhood-specific ADU guides and an
official ADU resource page.
Those are useful summaries, but the controlling text is the
ordinance itself.
What you can build in Beverly Hills
The headline: Beverly Hills permits a detached, attached, or
conversion ADU plus a JADU on every single-family lot. On lots
13,000 sqft and bigger, you can add a third unit — the
Incentive ADU. Most rules are by-right under a building permit
only (BHMC § 10-3-5000.A). Discretionary review is required
only when a project requests an exception to the objective
standards.
Number of units permitted
Per BMC § 10-3-5000.A.1: one ADU plus one JADU on any
residential or mixed-use lot with an existing or proposed
single-family dwelling. On lots zoned single-family with at least
13,000 sqft of lot area, one Incentive ADU (IADU) is also
permitted under § 10-3-5000.A.1.a — bringing the
maximum to three units of accessory housing on a single lot.
The IADU section below covers the trade-offs.
Size limits
Beverly Hills sets size caps by geographic zone (BHMC
§ 10-3-5000.A.4.a). The full breakdown is in the
three zones, three rule sets section
below. The headline numbers:
Central Area south of Santa Monica Blvd: 1,200 sqft maximum (matches state minimum).
Central Area north of Santa Monica Blvd + Hillside Area: 1,400 sqft maximum (more generous than state).
Trousdale Estates: 850 sqft for studio or 1BR; 1,000 sqft for 2BR or larger.
JADU: 500 sqft maximum (BHMC § 10-3-5000.A.4.d, matches state floor).
IADU: 800 sqft maximum (BHMC § 10-3-5000.A.1.a.2).
State law (Gov. Code § 66321(b)(3)) protects an 800-sqft
floor regardless of local FAR, lot coverage, or open-space rules
— so even on a Trousdale lot where the studio cap is 850
sqft, the city cannot apply other standards to push an ADU below
800 sqft.
The Wilshire
— 400 sqft Studio/1BA. Fits Trousdale Estates’ 850
sqft studio cap (BHMC § 10-3-5000.A.4.a.3) with room to
spare, and stays under the 750 sqft impact-fee threshold
(Gov. Code § 66318) to avoid impact fees entirely.
Setbacks
Per BHMC § 10-3-5000.A.9: in the Central Area, ADUs require
4-foot side and rear setbacks — with no setback required
for the portion that abuts an alley. In the Hillside Area and
Trousdale Estates, ADUs follow the primary dwelling’s
setback requirements, capped at 4 feet maximum. Conversion ADUs
and replacement structures within the existing footprint require
no additional setback beyond what already exists
(§ 10-3-5000.A.9.c).
Maximum height
Beverly Hills caps detached ADU height by zone
(BHMC § 10-3-5000.A.6.a):
Central Area south of Santa Monica Boulevard: 22 feet (§ A.6.a.1).
Central Area north of Santa Monica Boulevard: 25 feet (§ A.6.a.2).
Hillside Area + Trousdale Estates: per Gov. Code § 66321(b)(4) — 16 feet baseline, 18 feet plus 2-foot roof-pitch bonus within ½ mile of a major transit stop (§ A.6.a.3).
Estate lots ≥ 24,000 sqft in Central Area: may build up to two stories matching the primary dwelling’s height limit (§ A.6.a.4).
Attached ADUs and JADUs follow the height limit applicable to
the primary dwelling (§ A.6.b). All three CALI ADU
two-story Signature Homes — the Fairfax, Venice, and
Culver — are engineered to fit the Central Area
detached-ADU caps with the right roof variation: the
flat-roof option fits the 22 ft south-of-Santa-Monica cap,
and the gable-roof option fits the 25 ft north-of-Santa-Monica
cap. On estate lots of 24,000 sqft or larger in the Central
Area, the primary-dwelling height limit governs instead
(§ A.6.a.4), opening additional two-story design
flexibility.
Parking
One on-site parking space is required per ADU (BHMC
§ 10-3-5000.A.8.a) — but five exemption triggers
waive the requirement, and most Beverly Hills lots qualify for
at least one:
Within ½ mile walking distance of public transit (§ A.8.a.1).
On a property in a historic district or listed in any Register of Historic Resources (§ A.8.a.2).
The ADU is part of the proposed primary dwelling or converted from existing space (§ A.8.a.3).
On-street parking permits are required but not offered to the ADU occupant (§ A.8.a.4).
A city-approved car-share parking space is within one block (§ A.8.a.5).
When parking is required, tandem on an existing driveway is
permitted, including within setback areas (§ A.8.b). If a
garage is demolished to build the ADU, replacement parking for
the primary dwelling is not required (§ A.8.c). No parking
is required for a JADU at all (§ A.8.d).
Floor-area ratio (FAR) calculations
Beverly Hills uses FAR to limit overall building intensity, and
FAR is one of the practical constraints on ADU size in the
city. Three carve-outs protect ADU floor area from the FAR cap:
State-law 800 sqft floor (Gov. Code § 66321(b)(3)).
The city cannot use FAR, lot coverage, or open-space
requirements to prevent an ADU of at least 800 sqft (with
4-foot side and rear setbacks) on any single-family lot.
Even if your primary dwelling has fully consumed the
lot’s FAR allowance, state law still entitles you to
800 sqft of new ADU floor area.
Basement exclusion (BHMC § 10-3-5000.A.5).
Basement floor area is excluded from FAR calculations for
ADUs and JADUs.
IADU FAR exemption (BHMC § 10-3-5000.A.1.a.3).
On lots 13,000 sqft and bigger, the IADU’s floor area
does not count toward the site’s maximum floor area
at all — adding up to 800 sqft of new building
intensity beyond the FAR cap.
Stacked together, a FAR-maxed Beverly Hills lot can still
support 800 sqft of standard ADU plus 800 sqft of IADU plus a
500 sqft JADU within existing primary-dwelling space —
over 2,000 sqft of accessory housing on a lot that the FAR
cap would seem to have closed off entirely.
The Westwood
— 1 BR, 550 sqft. Sits comfortably under every Beverly
Hills size cap, including Trousdale’s 850 sqft 1BR limit
and the 22 ft Central Area south height cap.
Owner-occupancy
A standard ADU has no owner-occupancy requirement
(BHMC § 10-3-5000.A.7.a, consistent with state preemption
under Gov. Code § 66315). A JADU does require the property
owner to reside in either the primary dwelling or the JADU
itself (§ A.7.c) — the only carve-out is for JADUs
owned by a governmental agency, land trust, or housing
organization. The IADU has its own twist: one ADU on the site
shall not be owner-occupied and must be rented under a
1-year deed restriction (§ A.1.a.6).
Impact fees
Per BHMC § 10-3-5000.A.16: ADUs under 750 sqft and all
JADUs are exempt from impact and park fees (matches Gov. Code
§ 66318). ADUs of 750 sqft or more are charged
proportionally to the primary dwelling’s square footage
— not at the full new-construction rate. Designing just
under the 750 sqft threshold (e.g., 740 sqft) instead of at 760
sqft can save thousands in impact fees alone, with no
meaningful product compromise on a 1-bedroom rental.
Permitting timeline
Standard ADU and JADU applications in Beverly Hills are
ministerial — building permit only, no public hearing,
no design review (BHMC § 10-3-5000.A and Gov. Code
§ 66317). The city must determine application
completeness within 15 business days under SB 543, then approve
or deny within 60 days of the complete application
(Gov. Code § 66317(a)(3)). If the city misses the 60-day
deadline, the application is deemed approved by operation of
law. In practice, plan check for a Signature Home in Beverly
Hills runs 3 to 5 months from submission to permit issuance,
driven by Building & Safety review queue depth.
Three zones, three rule sets
Beverly Hills is the only city in our service area that splits
its ADU rules across distinct geographic zones. The line you
fall on the map decides your size cap, your height cap, and your
setback rule. Here’s what changes (BHMC
§ 10-3-5000.A.4.a, A.6.a, and A.9):
Zone
Max size (detached)
Max height (detached)
Setbacks
Central Area, south of Santa Monica Blvd
1,200 sqft
22 ft
4 ft side/rear; 0 ft if abutting alley
Central Area, north of Santa Monica Blvd
1,400 sqft
25 ft
4 ft side/rear; 0 ft if abutting alley
Hillside Area
1,400 sqft
16 ft (state floor); 18 ft + 2 ft roof bonus near transit
Per primary dwelling, max 4 ft
Trousdale Estates
850 sqft (studio/1BR); 1,000 sqft (2BR+)
16 ft (state floor); 18 ft + 2 ft roof bonus near transit
Per primary dwelling, max 4 ft
Estate lots ≥ 24,000 sqft, Central Area
Per zone
Up to 2 stories at primary dwelling’s height limit
Per zone
The line at Santa Monica Boulevard is the most consequential
one in the Central Area: a lot one block north of Santa Monica
gets a 200 sqft and 3-foot bonus over a lot one block south.
For an estate lot in the Central Area, the two-story exception
unlocks the city’s most generous height envelope. And
Trousdale’s tighter caps mean even the largest CALI ADU
Signature Home (the Culver, 1,200 sqft) doesn’t fit there
— the 2BR Melrose at 800 sqft is the largest model
buildable in Trousdale.
We confirm your zone during the Backyard Review, line up the
right Signature Home for it, and route the permit accordingly.
The Incentive ADU — a third unit on bigger lots
The Incentive ADU (IADU) is unique to Beverly Hills. No other
LA-area city offers an equivalent by-right pathway to a third
accessory unit. The mechanic, per BHMC § 10-3-5000.A.1.a:
on any single-family-zoned lot of 13,000 sqft or greater, the
city allows one IADU in addition to the standard one ADU plus
one JADU. That brings the maximum to three units of accessory
housing on a single lot — under building permit only.
The trade-offs:
Type: attached or detached new construction only. Conversion ADUs and JADUs cannot be IADUs (§ A.1.a.1).
Size: 800 sqft maximum (§ A.1.a.2).
Height: per Gov. Code § 66321(b)(4) state floor (§ A.1.a.4).
Setbacks: 4 ft side and rear (§ A.1.a.5).
Rental requirement: deed-restricted to a 1-year minimum lease, no subletting, no short-term rentals (§ A.1.a.6).
Owner-occupancy: one ADU on the site cannot be owner-occupied — the owner must rent at least one unit (§ A.14.c).
FAR bonus: the IADU’s floor area does not count toward the maximum allowable floor area for the site (§ A.1.a.3). This is the substantive incentive.
When the IADU pencils: a Beverly Hills lot at or near its FAR
cap with an existing large primary dwelling. Adding an IADU
gives you 800 sqft of new floor area outside the FAR
calculation — that’s the math the city is offering
to encourage rental supply. Combined with the standard ADU plus
a JADU, you can bring three rental units online on a single
lot, all permitted by building permit only.
When it doesn’t: smaller lots (under 13,000 sqft are not
eligible), or when owner-occupancy of the entire compound is a
must. The 1-year rental floor and the no-owner-occupancy
requirement on one ADU rule out short-term rental and family
arrangements that need the owner on every unit.
We model both scenarios — standard ADU + JADU, or the
full ADU + JADU + IADU compound — during your Backyard
Review, with the rental projections and FAR math for both.
How California state law preempts local
State law sets a floor every California city must meet under
Gov. Code § 66316. Beverly Hills’s ordinance is
mostly more generous than the floor — but on three
issues, state law guarantees you more than the city ordinance
alone says.
Owner-occupancy on standard ADUs. Gov. Code
§ 66315 prohibits cities from requiring owner-occupancy
on any ADU. Beverly Hills’s ordinance complies, but the
JADU owner-occupancy requirement (BHMC § 10-3-5000.A.7.c)
was narrowed by AB 1154 (effective January 1, 2026) to JADUs
that share sanitation facilities with the primary dwelling.
A JADU with its own bathroom is no longer subject to the
owner-occupancy mandate under state law — even if the
local ordinance hasn’t been updated to reflect AB 1154.
Statewide Exemption ADU (Gov. Code § 66323).
On every eligible single-family lot in Beverly Hills, state
law guarantees one ADU of up to 800 sqft, 16 ft in height,
with 4-ft side and rear setbacks — regardless of local
development standards, as long as the unit complies with
building code and health/safety. Beverly Hills cannot deny
that entitlement on FAR, coverage, or similar grounds.
Permit timeline (SB 543). Under SB 543
(effective January 1, 2026, codified at Gov. Code
§ 66317), Beverly Hills must determine completeness
within 15 business days and act within 60 days of a complete
application. Missed deadlines result in deemed approval by
operation of law. The local ordinance doesn’t restate
this; the state-law clock applies regardless.
Two recent state law changes are also worth flagging in
Beverly Hills:
AB 2533 (effective September 28, 2024).
Pre-2020 unpermitted ADUs and JADUs in Beverly Hills can be
legalized through a streamlined process, even where they
don’t fully comply with current building code or the
ADU statute — subject to baseline health and safety
review under HSC § 17920.3. The City’s ADU page
confirms this pathway is available locally.
AB 1033 / Gov. Code § 66341. Allows a
city to opt in to permitting ADU sale separate from the
primary residence as condominiums. Beverly Hills has
not opted in as of April 2026. ADUs and JADUs in
Beverly Hills cannot be sold separately except through the
narrow nonprofit affordable-housing pathway in
§ 66341.
Permitting your ADU in Beverly Hills
Standard ADU, JADU, and IADU applications are by-right under a
building permit only (BHMC § 10-3-5000.A and
§ 10-3-5001.A). No public hearing, no design review, no
discretionary approval — provided the project meets the
objective standards in the ordinance.
The standard pathway
Submission goes through the Beverly Hills Community Development
Department (455 N. Rexford Drive, (310) 285-1000,
cdplanning@beverlyhills.org). The city applies a state-law
completeness check within 15 business days (Gov. Code
§ 66317(a)(2)(A)). Once deemed complete, the city has 60
days to approve or deny (§ 66317(a)(3)). In practice,
plan check on a Signature Home runs 3 to 5 months from
submission to permit issuance, driven by review queue depth
rather than by discretionary review.
The Minor Accommodation Permit (when standards don’t fit)
If a proposed ADU doesn’t conform to the objective
standards in § 10-3-5000, the city offers a discretionary
Minor Accommodation Permit pathway (BHMC § 10-3-5000.B,
implemented through § 10-3-3600.U). The Director of
Community Development may approve or conditionally approve
minor accommodations unrelated to height; the Planning
Commission reviews any height-increase request. Four hard
limits apply: no rooftop decks, no height in excess of the
underlying zoning district, no floor area in excess of the
zone, and no deviation from building or life safety codes
(§ 10-3-5000.B.1). The Minor Accommodation pathway is
NOT available for JADUs or IADUs.
The city's Preapproved Plans Program
Beverly Hills publishes a small library of pre-designed
detached ADU plans the city has already cleared through
Building & Safety review. The plans are listed on the
city’s ADU resource page
and are described as roughly 70% complete — meaning a
homeowner adopting a preapproved plan still needs site-specific
civil, structural, and Title 24 work plus their own contractor
to complete and build the project.
CALI ADU Signature Homes are an alternative to that pathway.
Our nine plans are 100% complete, fixed-price, all-inclusive
(design, engineering, permits, construction, finishes), and
come with a guaranteed completion timeline. Both pathways
shorten plan check; the Signature Home pathway also removes
the contractor-selection and build-execution risk that the
preapproved plans leave to the homeowner.
Required covenants
Within 30 days of building permit issuance, the property owner
must record a covenant against the property reflecting: the
maximum approved ADU size, parking provisions (if any), the
no-separate-sale restriction, and the 30-day minimum rental
requirement. The covenant runs with the land and binds future
owners (BHMC § 10-3-5000.A.14.a). Separate covenant
requirements apply to JADUs (§ A.14.b) and IADUs
(§ A.14.c — including the city’s right to
inspect and audit rental records on the IADU).
Signature Homes that fit Beverly Hills lots
Three picks from our nine Signature Home plans that respect Beverly Hills's zone-by-zone size and height rules — including the tighter Trousdale Estates caps and the Hillside Area's state-floor heights.
Four projects from our 126-build LA portfolio — Westside, Valley, and adjacent premium markets that share Beverly Hills's lot conditions and design standards.
The honest answer: it depends on what you build and where on
the lot it goes. After 126 ADU projects across LA County, we
can tell you exactly where the money goes — and where
most people lose it.
A custom-designed, detached new-construction ADU in a premium
market like Beverly Hills typically costs $400 to $650+ per
square foot when you add up architecture, engineering,
permitting, construction, finishes, and utility connections.
The wide range exists because custom projects are prototypes
— every set of plans is unique, every permit cycle is
unpredictable, and every change order hits the budget. On
hillside lots and in Trousdale, the per-square-foot number
climbs further on foundation work and access logistics.
CALI ADU Signature Homes are fixed-price from
$219,000 to $459,000,
all-inclusive — design, engineering, permits,
construction, interior finishes, appliances, and utility
connections. The number in your contract is the number you pay.
No change orders. No "unforeseen conditions" surcharges.
Pricing is the same whether the lot is in Beverly Hills, Bel Air,
or the Valley — the model isn’t marked up for
ZIP code.
The Fairfax
— 2 BR / 1.5 BA, 840 sqft, $339,000 all-inclusive. The
entry-level two-story Signature Home — fits Beverly
Hills’s 22 ft south and 25 ft north Central Area
detached-ADU height caps (BHMC § 10-3-5000.A.6.a) with
the flat-roof and gable-roof variations respectively.
Beverly Hills city fees
On top of construction costs, every ADU project in Beverly
Hills carries city fees. The state and city have exempted ADUs
from most of the largest ones. ADUs under 750 sqft are exempt
from impact and park fees entirely (BHMC § 10-3-5000.A.16
and Gov. Code § 66318). ADUs of 750 sqft and above pay
impact fees proportional to the primary dwelling’s square
footage — not at the full new-construction rate. JADUs
and conversion ADUs avoid most utility connection fees under
§ 10-3-5000.A.17. New detached units above 750 sqft may
require new utility connections with proportional connection
fees under Gov. Code § 66013.
For most CALI ADU Signature Home projects in Beverly Hills,
total city plan check, permit, and connection fees run between
$8,000 and $25,000 depending on model size and the primary
dwelling’s square footage. Your Backyard Review includes
a line-item estimate of those pass-through costs for your
specific lot.
Renting your ADU
A Beverly Hills ADU is a long-term rental asset. Per BHMC
§ 10-3-5000.A.7.b, ADUs and JADUs require a 30-day
minimum rental term — matching the California state
floor in Gov. Code § 66314(e). The Incentive ADU is
stricter: 1-year minimum lease, no subletting, no short-term
use (§ 10-3-5000.A.1.a.6). Short-term and vacation
rentals are not permitted on any Beverly Hills ADU.
A well-built ADU in Beverly Hills rents for $3,500 to $7,500+
per month depending on size, finish, and proximity to
shopping, restaurants, and the Westside business corridor.
A 1-bedroom Westwood (550 sqft) at the lower end of that
range; a 2-bedroom Melrose (800 sqft) or a 2-bedroom Fairfax
(840 sqft two-story) at the upper end. Most CALI ADU clients
in premium Westside markets see their project pay for itself
within 5 to 9 years while collecting monthly income from day
one.
Use our ROI Calculator to
model the math for a specific Signature Home and your lot.
Why Beverly Hills is a strong ADU market
Three things make Beverly Hills a structurally strong ADU
market: lot size, rental demand, and a city ordinance that
actually wants the supply.
The lots are bigger here than almost anywhere else in LA
County. The 13,000 sqft IADU threshold sounds large until you
realize a meaningful share of single-family Beverly Hills
parcels meet it — especially in the Central Area north
of Santa Monica Boulevard, the Hillside Area, and Trousdale
Estates. That makes the third-unit IADU pathway a real
option, not a paper one.
Rental demand is durable. Beverly Hills residents include
adult children moving back, aging parents moving in,
out-of-town family stays of months at a time, and a strong
1-bedroom and 2-bedroom rental market drawing professionals
working in entertainment, finance, medicine, and the design
industries clustered between Wilshire and Sunset. A premium
ADU rents at premium-Westside pricing, and the long-term
tenancy structure (30-day minimum on the standard ADU,
1-year on the IADU) keeps turnover low.
And the ordinance — BHMC Article 50 as amended by Ord.
24-O-2892 and Ord. 24-O-2903 — is among the most
permissive in LA County on size (1,400 sqft in two zones), on
unit count (up to three with the IADU), and on permitting
(building permit only, no design review, deemed-approved
backstop). The city is actively encouraging ADU production.
That tailwind is the difference between a project that pencils
and one that doesn’t.
Beverly Hills ADU questions, answered
The questions Beverly Hills homeowners actually ask before
they start — with citations to BHMC Article 50 and Gov.
Code §§ 66310–66342.
Can I build a two-story ADU in Beverly Hills?
Yes — and CALI ADU’s two-story
Signature Homes are engineered to fit. A detached
ADU in the Central Area south of Santa Monica Boulevard is
capped at 22 feet (BHMC
§ 10-3-5000.A.6.a.1); north of Santa Monica Boulevard
the cap is 25 feet (§ A.6.a.2). All
three CALI ADU two-story models —
The Fairfax,
The Venice, and
The Culver — fit
the 22 ft cap with the flat-roof variation and the 25 ft
cap with the gable variation.
In the Hillside Area and Trousdale Estates, the state-law
floor in Gov. Code § 66321(b)(4) applies — 16
feet by default, 18 feet plus a 2-foot roof-pitch bonus
within ½ mile of a major transit stop. On
estate lots of 24,000 sqft or larger in
the Central Area, the primary-dwelling height limit governs
instead (BHMC § 10-3-5000.A.6.a.4), opening additional
two-story design flexibility.
How large an ADU can I build in Beverly Hills?
Beverly Hills caps ADU size by geographic zone (BHMC
§ 10-3-5000.A.4.a):
Central Area south of Santa Monica Boulevard: 1,200 sqft maximum
Central Area north of Santa Monica Boulevard: 1,400 sqft maximum (more generous than the 1,200 sqft state minimum)
Hillside Area: 1,400 sqft maximum
Trousdale Estates: 850 sqft for studio or 1BR; 1,000 sqft for 2BR or larger (the most restrictive)
All caps are subject to the site’s remaining maximum
allowable floor area. State law (Gov. Code § 66321(b)(3))
guarantees at least 800 sqft regardless of local FAR or
coverage limits. JADUs are capped at 500 sqft
(§ 10-3-5000.A.4.d).
Can I build a third ADU on my Beverly Hills lot? (Incentive ADU)
Yes, on lots zoned for single-family residential
development with a lot area of 13,000 sqft or greater.
Beverly Hills allows one Incentive ADU (IADU) in addition
to the standard one ADU plus one JADU under BHMC
§ 10-3-5000.A.1.a — bringing the maximum to
three units of accessory housing.
The IADU has its own rules: maximum 800 sqft (§ A.1.a.2),
height per Gov. Code § 66321(b)(4) (§ A.1.a.4),
4-foot side and rear setbacks (§ A.1.a.5), and a
deed-restricted minimum 1-year rental term — no
short-term rentals (§ A.1.a.6). Floor area of the IADU
does not count toward the maximum floor area for
the site (§ A.1.a.3), which is the substantive
incentive. This is a Beverly Hills-only program; no other
LA-area city offers an equivalent third-unit by-right
pathway.
Are ADUs allowed in the Beverly Hills Hillside Area?
Yes. Hillside lots in Beverly Hills can
have a detached or attached ADU under BHMC § 10-3-5000.
Two things change versus the Central Area: height is capped
per Gov. Code § 66321(b)(4) — 16 feet by default,
18 feet plus a 2-foot roof-pitch bonus near transit
(§ 10-3-5000.A.6.a.3) — and setbacks must comply
with the primary dwelling’s setback requirements
unless those exceed 4 feet, in which case 4 feet is the
maximum required (§ 10-3-5000.A.9.b).
The 1,400 sqft size cap also applies to Hillside lots.
Hillside ADUs are permitted by building permit only —
no discretionary review unless the project requests an
exception via the Minor Accommodation Permit process
(§ 10-3-5000.B).
What are the ADU rules in Trousdale Estates?
Trousdale Estates has the most restrictive size caps in
Beverly Hills (BHMC § 10-3-5000.A.4.a.3). A detached
or attached ADU is capped at 850 sqft for a studio
or 1-bedroom, and 1,000 sqft for two or
more bedrooms. Height follows Gov. Code
§ 66321(b)(4) — the state minimum
(§ 10-3-5000.A.6.a.3). Setbacks follow the primary
dwelling’s requirements with a 4-foot maximum
(§ 10-3-5000.A.9.b).
Despite the tighter caps, the IADU program still applies
if the lot is 13,000 sqft or greater — which is
common in Trousdale. Most CALI ADU Signature Homes that
fit Trousdale: the Wilshire (400 sqft studio), the Sunset
(480 sqft 1BR), the Westwood (550 sqft 1BR), the Laurel
Canyon (660 sqft 2BR), and the Melrose (800 sqft 2BR/2BA
— fits the 1,000 sqft 2BR+ cap).
Can I rent my Beverly Hills ADU on Airbnb?
No. Per BHMC § 10-3-5000.A.7.b, an
ADU or JADU in Beverly Hills shall not be rented for a
rental term of less than 30 consecutive days. The Incentive
ADU is stricter: a 1-year minimum rental term with no
subletting and no short-term use (§ 10-3-5000.A.1.a.6).
For practical purposes, a Beverly Hills ADU is a long-term
tenancy asset only. The 30-day floor matches the California
state minimum (Gov. Code § 66314(e)); the IADU’s
1-year requirement is a Beverly Hills-specific tightening
tied to the third-unit incentive.
Can a Beverly Hills ADU be sold separately from the main house?
Almost never. Per BHMC § 10-3-5000.A.7.a,
an ADU or JADU in Beverly Hills may be rented but may not be
sold, transferred, or assigned separately from the primary
single-family dwelling, except as provided in California
Government Code § 66341.
AB 1033 (2023) permits cities to adopt a local ordinance
allowing ADUs to be sold separately as condominiums —
but the city must affirmatively opt in, and Beverly Hills
has not adopted an AB 1033 ordinance as of April 2026. The
narrow § 66341 exception applies only to ADUs developed
by qualified affordable-housing nonprofits for sale to
qualifying buyers. If AB 1033 separate sale is essential,
Santa Monica (SMMC § 9.31.026) and Culver City (CCMC
§ 17.400.096) are LA-area cities that have opted in.
Does Beverly Hills require owner-occupancy for ADUs?
It depends on the unit type. For a standard ADU,
no — owner-occupancy is not required (consistent with
state preemption under Gov. Code § 66315). For a
JADU, yes — the property owner must
reside in either the primary dwelling or the JADU itself
(BHMC § 10-3-5000.A.7.c). Government agencies, land
trusts, and housing organizations are exempt from the JADU
owner-occupancy requirement.
For the Incentive ADU (IADU), one ADU on
the site shall not be owner-occupied and must be rented
under the 1-year deed restriction
(§ 10-3-5000.A.1.a.6 and § 10-3-5000.A.14.c).
Fixed price in writingGuaranteed timelineBHMC Article 50 compliant
Ready to build your ADU in Beverly Hills?
We'll check your lot, walk you through the zone-by-zone rules
(including the IADU pathway), and give you a fixed number
— before you commit to anything. 15 minutes.
