Building an ADU in Woodland Hills. Rules, costs, timeline.
What LAMC § 12.22.A.33 allows on a Woodland Hills lot, how fire-zone and hillside rules shape the canyons south of Ventura Boulevard, and what an all-in build costs in 2026.
What you can build — at a glance
Reviewed by CALI ADU’s ADU specialists · June 2026
- Max ADU size
- 1,200 sqft detached · 50% of primary (attached, 800 sqft state floor)
- Detached height
- Per zoning district (typ. 28–45 ft on residential lots) · 2 stories permitted (LAMC 12.22.A.33(d)(2))
- Attached height
- Up to 25 ft or primary dwelling’s zoning height (Gov. Code § 66321(b)(4)(D))
- Side & rear setbacks
- 4 ft (Gov. Code § 66314(d)(7))
- Units per SFR lot
- Up to 3: conversion ADU + JADU + new detached ≤800 sqft (Gov. Code § 66323; HCD Handbook). LAMC defaults to 1 ADU + 1 JADU — state law preempts.
- Parking required
- None on many Woodland Hills lots (half-mile transit exemption, Gov. Code § 66322) — confirmed per lot in ZIMAS
- Permit timeline
- 60 days · ministerial review, no hearing (Gov. Code § 66317)
- Hillside & fire-zone lots
- A lot in both a Hillside Area and a VHFHSZ needs sprinklers, 1 off-street space, and 20-ft roadway frontage (LAMC § 12.22.A.33)
- Detached Up to 1,200 sqft · 2 stories permitted (28–45 ft by zone)
- Attached Up to 25 ft or zoning height
- Junior ADU Up to 500 sqft inside primary dwelling
- Conversion Existing accessory structure to ADU
- Exemption ADU 800 sqft / 16 ft state floor (Gov. Code § 66323)
Per LAMC § 12.22.A.33 and Gov. Code §§ 66310–66342. Woodland Hills is in the City of Los Angeles — permits run through LADBS. Cross-checked against the HCD ADU Handbook (March 2026). Citywide rules in full on our Los Angeles ADU guide.
On this page
Who permits ADUs in Woodland Hills
Woodland Hills is a neighborhood of the City of Los Angeles — not its own city. Every ADU here is permitted by the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety under LAMC § 12.22.A.33, the city’s ADU ordinance, sitting on top of California state law (Gov. Code §§ 66310–66342). The same ordinance covers Tarzana, West Hills, and Canoga Park — what changes from neighborhood to neighborhood is the overlay map and the lots themselves.
The citywide rules — sizes, setbacks, height, parking, and the places state law overrides LA’s ordinance — are covered in depth in our Los Angeles ADU guide. The snapshot above is the Woodland Hills summary. The rest of this page covers what’s specific to these lots.
What’s different here: fire zones south of the Boulevard
Ventura Boulevard splits Woodland Hills the way it splits the rest of the south Valley. Everything in this section is grounded in LAMC § 12.22.A.33 and state law where it preempts — we cite the state sections inline. Your parcel’s exact overlays are on its ZIMAS report; we pull that report for every lot we review.
The canyons: hillside and fire-zone rules
South of the Boulevard, the streets climb toward Mulholland through some of the Valley’s most fire-mapped terrain. Large portions sit in LA’s Hillside Area, and many lots are also in a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone — both layers show on a parcel’s ZIMAS report. Under LAMC § 12.22.A.33, a lot in both zones can host an ADU only if the property has a fire sprinkler system, one off-street parking space, and at least 20 feet of roadway width along the frontage. One zone alone doesn’t trigger the restriction. Hillside lots also bring grading and structural engineering into the design. That’s why we check the overlay status of a lot before anything else.
North of the Boulevard, the map is mostly clean
On most flat lots north of the Boulevard, the overlays that complicate ADU math elsewhere in the Valley don’t apply — your parcel’s ZIMAS report confirms it. There’s no neighborhood floor-area district — the Studio City RFA District (Ordinance No. 182,048) is miles east — and no historic district: none of LA’s Historic Preservation Overlay Zones covers Woodland Hills (LA City Planning, adopted HPOZ list). State law also guarantees an 800 sqft, 16-ft ADU with 4-ft setbacks on any single-family lot, regardless of floor-area, coverage, or open-space limits (Gov. Code § 66321(b)(3)). On lots this size, that floor is rarely the constraint — the full 1,200 sqft envelope usually fits.
The lots: the Valley’s biggest backyards
Woodland Hills was laid out in the 1920s as Girard, and it kept the generous parcel sizes. Ranch homes from the 1950s and 60s sit on wide lots — many a quarter acre or larger south of the Boulevard, with deep yards and mature oaks. That scale changes the ADU conversation: where a Studio City owner is doing floor-area math, a Woodland Hills owner is choosing between a full-size detached unit, a pool-adjacent guest house, or the whole § 66323 stack — conversion ADU, JADU, and a new detached unit on one lot.
The layout still gives you three paths. The most valuable on most lots: keep the garage for parking and storage and add a new detached ADU in the open yard, with the driveway already handling access. If you’d rather not give up yard, the garage converts — or comes down for a new detached unit in its footprint. Parking rarely decides the project. Many Woodland Hills lots qualify for the half-mile transit parking exemption (Gov. Code § 66322) along the Ventura and Warner Center corridors, and we confirm your lot’s status in ZIMAS during the Backyard Review.
Permitting your ADU through LADBS
ADU review in Los Angeles is ministerial: LADBS checks your plans against the code, with no hearing and no neighbor sign-off. Once your application is complete, the city has 60 days to approve or deny it — miss the deadline and the application is deemed approved (Gov. Code § 66317). The city must also confirm completeness in writing within 15 business days (SB 543, effective January 1, 2026).
For a Signature Home, the permit step runs in weeks, not months. Our plans are pre-engineered, so plan check is a conformance review, not a from-scratch evaluation. Plan preparation takes about two weeks; construction runs four to six months depending on model size, and the construction schedule is guaranteed in writing with a daily penalty if we miss the contracted finish date. Start to finish — design through move-in — plan on roughly six to nine months. Custom designs are slower: bespoke architecture adds design time up front, and the city reviews those drawings for the first time. Design, permitting, and construction management run under one contract.
One Woodland Hills-specific note: canyon lots south of the Boulevard add soils and structural engineering to the design phase. We scope that work during the lot review so it’s in the plan — and the price — before you commit.
Signature Homes that fit Woodland Hills lots
Three picks for this neighborhood. The Laurel Canyon's gable roofline matches the ranch-era streets at the value 2BR price. The Lincoln puts three bedrooms on one story — the lots here fit it easily. The Fairfax adds two bedrooms on a two-story footprint when you'd rather keep the yard.
The Laurel Canyon
2 BR / 1 BA · 660 sqft
$289,000 all-inclusive iFixed contract price for the Signature Home on a standard lot. Site-specific work — soil reports, utility routing, driveway, retaining walls — is identified and priced upfront, before you sign.
See model →The Lincoln
3 BR / 2 BA · 1000 sqft
$389,000 all-inclusive iFixed contract price for the Signature Home on a standard lot. Site-specific work — soil reports, utility routing, driveway, retaining walls — is identified and priced upfront, before you sign.
See model →
The Fairfax
2 BR / 1.5 BA · 840 sqft · 2-story
$339,000 all-inclusive iFixed contract price for the Signature Home on a standard lot. Site-specific work — soil reports, utility routing, driveway, retaining walls — is identified and priced upfront, before you sign.
See model →Recent CALI ADU work, starting in Woodland Hills
The first project below is in Woodland Hills itself — a modern ranch-style ADU with a pool lounge. The others are nearby Valley builds.
What an ADU costs in Woodland Hills (2026)
Woodland Hills construction pricing is City of LA pricing — there’s no neighborhood premium on permits, only on the dirt. Industry-wide, detached ADUs in Los Angeles run roughly $350 to $550 per square foot, and canyon lots push toward the top of that range once engineering and access are priced in.
CALI ADU works differently: nine Signature Homes, each at a fixed, all-inclusive price — design, permits, construction, and finishes — from $219,000 to $459,000. The number we give you for your lot is the number you pay. Fees are part of that number, not an add-on: LADBS permit and plan-check fees are valuation-based, and state law exempts ADUs of 750 sqft or less (interior livable space) from development impact fees entirely, with larger units charged only proportionally (Gov. Code § 66311.5(c)).
Renting your ADU: long-term by design
Set short-term rental aside first: LA’s Home-Sharing Ordinance (No. 185,931) limits registration to a host’s primary residence, and ADUs permitted after January 1, 2017 aren’t eligible. A new Woodland Hills ADU is a long-term rental product — which is where the durable income is anyway.
The conservative floor: HUD’s FY2026 Fair Market Rents for the Los Angeles–Long Beach–Glendale metro are $2,085 for a one-bedroom and $2,601 for a two-bedroom ($1,863 studio, $3,298 three-bedroom). Those are metro-wide figures that include decades-old apartment stock — you won’t find a new detached ADU in Woodland Hills at those prices. New construction rents at a premium to the HUD benchmarks, and the local demand base is deep: Warner Center’s offices and hospitals, Pierce College, and The Village keep renters close, and the 101 connects the rest of the Valley. Most clients see the project pay for itself within 7 to 12 years; the two-bedroom plans get there fastest.
Why Woodland Hills is a strong ADU market
Woodland Hills has the Valley’s best ratio of land to regulation. The lots are big enough that an ADU doesn’t compete with the pool or the yard, most flats lots carry no special overlay districts, and Warner Center’s job base supplies the renters. Multigenerational use is the other half of the story here: a 660 or 1,000 sqft unit gives parents or adult kids real independence without leaving the property.
We’ve already built here — the modern ranch-style ADU and pool lounge in the portfolio above is a Woodland Hills project — so the lot patterns, the LADBS process, and the fire-zone checks south of the Boulevard are familiar ground. The one real constraint is canyon engineering, and a fixed-price, pre-engineered product is built to absorb exactly that.
Your ADU questions, answered
The questions Woodland Hills homeowners actually ask before they start — with citations to LAMC § 12.22.A.33 and Gov. Code §§ 66310–66342.
Does Woodland Hills have its own ADU rules?
No. Woodland Hills is a neighborhood of the City of Los Angeles, so every ADU is permitted by the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety under LAMC § 12.22.A.33 plus California state law (Gov. Code §§ 66310–66342). ADU review is ministerial — no hearing, no discretionary review, and a 60-day decision clock under Gov. Code § 66317.
Can I build an ADU on a hillside lot south of Ventura Boulevard?
In most cases, yes. The restriction under LAMC § 12.22.A.33 applies to lots that sit in both a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone and a Hillside Area: those lots need a fire sprinkler system, one off-street parking space, and at least 20 feet of roadway width along the frontage. If your lot is in one zone but not both, the restriction doesn’t apply. Check your parcel in ZIMAS or send us the address — we check it during the Backyard Review.
How many units can I add to a Woodland Hills lot?
More than most owners think. On a single-family lot, state law requires LA to allow up to three additional units in combination: a conversion ADU carved from existing space, a junior ADU up to 500 sqft inside the house, and a new detached ADU up to 800 sqft (Gov. Code § 66323; HCD ADU Handbook). LAMC’s default of one ADU plus one JADU is preempted by state law. On Woodland Hills’ larger lots, the full stack often fits with yard to spare.
Can I build a two-story ADU in Woodland Hills?
Yes. In the City of Los Angeles, detached ADU height follows the zoning district’s height limit — typically 28 to 45 feet on residential lots — and two stories are permitted (LAMC 12.22.A.33(d)(2)). State law separately guarantees minimum height floors (Gov. Code § 66321(b)(4)). On a Woodland Hills lot, a two-story plan like our 840 sqft Fairfax adds two bedrooms while preserving the backyard.
Can I rent my Woodland Hills ADU on Airbnb?
No. LA’s Home-Sharing Ordinance (No. 185,931) limits short-term rental registration to a host’s primary residence, and ADUs permitted after January 1, 2017 aren’t eligible. A new Woodland Hills ADU is a long-term rental product — which is where the durable income is anyway.
How much rent can a Woodland Hills ADU earn?
Use HUD’s FY2026 Fair Market Rents as the conservative floor: $1,863 for a studio, $2,085 for a one-bedroom, $2,601 for a two-bedroom, and $3,298 for a three-bedroom in the Los Angeles–Long Beach–Glendale metro. Those are metro-wide figures that include decades-old apartment stock. A new detached ADU in Woodland Hills — with Warner Center’s job base and Pierce College nearby — rents at a premium to those benchmarks.
Does a JADU require owner-occupancy?
Only sometimes, as of 2026. AB 1154 (effective January 1, 2026) amended Gov. Code § 66333(b) so JADU owner-occupancy is required only when the JADU shares a bathroom with the primary dwelling. A JADU with its own bathroom no longer triggers the owner-occupancy requirement under state law, even where older local summaries still describe the broader pre-2026 rule. Regular ADUs never require owner-occupancy (Gov. Code § 66315).
Is Woodland Hills in a historic district (HPOZ)?
No. The City of Los Angeles maintains roughly three dozen Historic Preservation Overlay Zones, and none covers Woodland Hills — the only Valley HPOZs are Balboa Highlands, Stonehurst, and Van Nuys (LA City Planning, adopted HPOZ list). There’s no neighborhood floor-area district either. Your ADU gets standard ministerial review.
ADU building nearby
CALI ADU builds across the City of Los Angeles and neighboring cities. Citywide rules: Los Angeles ADU guide. Next door: Tarzana — same ordinance, deeper lots. East along the Boulevard: Sherman Oaks and Studio City. North over the pass: Santa Clarita, an independent city with its own rules.
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