Building an ADU in Anaheim

What you can build in Anaheim

Anaheim's ADU rules are in Municipal Code Section 18.38.015, last amended by Ordinance 6620 in January 2026. ADUs and junior ADUs (JADUs) are allowed in all areas zoned for single-family or multifamily homes.

Single-family lots. You can have:

• one ADU inside existing or proposed space of the house or an accessory structure, which can grow by up to 150 sq ft only for getting in and out;
• one new-construction ADU; and
• one JADU, either inside the walls of the house or attached to a newly built detached ADU.

The total on the lot, including the house, can't exceed four homes.

Multifamily lots. Anaheim follows state law: at least one ADU, and up to 25% of the existing units, in non-living space of an existing apartment building, plus up to eight detached ADUs on a lot with an existing multifamily building (no more than the number of existing units), or two with a proposed one. Detached multifamily ADUs can be 18 feet tall plus 2 feet for roof pitch, with 4-foot side and rear setbacks.

Where ADUs aren't allowed. The code bars ADUs and JADUs in any area the City Council identifies by resolution as having insufficient sewer infrastructure where ADUs would affect public health and safety, and on a parcel that has obtained permits for both an SB 9 two-unit development and an urban lot split. Before you submit plans you need written confirmation from Public Works that sewer capacity is available. Statewide rules are on our California page. [1][3]

Size, height and setbacks

Size. Every ADU and JADU must be at least 150 sq ft of habitable area.

• JADU: up to 500 sq ft.
• ADU of 800 sq ft or less: no lot coverage limit applies.
• Attached ADU over 800 sq ft: up to 50% of the main home or 1,200 sq ft, whichever is less, but studios and one-bedroom units can be up to 850 sq ft and units with two or more bedrooms up to 1,000 sq ft.
• Detached ADU over 800 sq ft: up to 1,200 sq ft, and the zone's lot coverage rules apply.

Height. A detached ADU can be 18 feet plus 2 more feet for a roof pitch, or as tall as the main home, whichever is greater. Attached ADUs follow the zone's height limit.

Setbacks. Side and rear setbacks are 4 feet; the front setback is the zone's. A detached ADU can't be closer to the street than the front wall of the house, except a garage, carport or covered parking conversion. The code lets the Planning and Building Director allow a smaller front setback if the normal rules would prevent an 800 sq ft unit. In 2025, HCD told the city that this can't be left to the director's discretion and that front setbacks can't keep an ADU of 800 sq ft or less out of the front yard, so confirm with Planning if your ADU would need to sit in front. Eaves must stay at least 12 inches from the property line. A detached ADU over 800 sq ft needs 10 feet of separation from the house.

Design. An attached ADU or JADU must use the same materials, colors, roof form and architectural details as the house. Exterior stairs and doors should be placed to limit visibility from the street where feasible, and windows on ADUs above the house or garage, or within the zone's setbacks, must be designed to limit privacy impacts. Lots with a building on the National or California Register, or under a Mills Act contract, have extra design rules (for example, a street-facing garage door must stay on a garage conversion). [1][5]

Parking

Under Section 18.42.030, a studio ADU needs no parking and an ADU with one or more bedrooms needs one space. JADUs need none. No parking is required if the ADU is:

• within a half-mile walk of a transit stop;
• in an architecturally and historically significant historic district;
• part of the house or an existing accessory structure;
• where on-street parking permits are required but not offered to the ADU occupant;
• within one block of a car-share station; or
• built with a new single-family or multifamily home on the lot (if one of the other exemptions also applies).

You don't have to replace parking when a garage, carport or covered parking structure is demolished or converted for an ADU or JADU. If the ADU's space is in a garage shared with the house, it must be for the ADU's exclusive use, and the ADU generally uses the same driveway as the house (a driveway to required parking must be at least 10 feet wide). [1][6]

ADU Express and pre-approved plans

ADU Express is Anaheim's fast track for new detached ADUs on qualified single-family lots. You pick a plan from the city's Pre-Approved Plan Catalogue, and staff help you create the site plan. The city's planning checklist describes it as "one day permitting and zero design costs."

The catalogue lists four free plans: a 224 sq ft studio, a 499 sq ft one-bedroom, a 990 sq ft two-bedroom and a 1,199 sq ft three-bedroom. They include building code requirements in effect July 1, 2024.

Limits: only the catalogue plans, unmodified, can use ADU Express. Attached ADUs, conversions or expansions of existing structures, and custom or prefab designs go through standard review. Check your address with the ADU Express Eligibility Tool. The catalogue page says the screening that follows "can take a few weeks." The catalogue plans can also be used in the standard review process. For other ways to get plans see our prefab ADU guide. [2][3][4][7][8]

Fees

The city's ADU FAQ says permit fees, "including any development impact fees, are typically based on square footage and fixture counts," and that school fees "are required for all new units," paid to the school district before the building permit is issued. Anaheim is served by six school districts. For a fee estimate, call the Building Division at (714) 765-5153 or see the city's fees page. A new address is also needed before a standard submittal, and Planning lists an address processing fee of $114 each (effective August 2025).

State law limits some of these. An ADU or JADU under 500 sq ft of interior livable space isn't subject to school impact fees. An ADU with 750 sq ft of interior livable space or less pays no impact fees to the city, special districts or water companies, and a larger ADU pays only a share in proportion to the size of the house. If a fee quote seems to conflict with this, ask the city to explain it. Our ADU cost guide covers typical budgets.

Utilities: an ADU or JADU may be metered separately, and a new building may need its own utility connection. Before an ADU Express project, Anaheim Public Utilities does a free "meter spot" visit, and the FAQ notes you may need a panel upgrade. [1][7][8][9][10][11]

How long it takes

Anaheim's code says the city decides within 15 business days whether an application is complete, and each resubmittal gets the same 15-business-day review. Once complete, the permit must be approved or denied within 60 days. If you submit an ADU together with a new house, the city can wait to decide the ADU until it decides the house. Appeals of staff decisions must be decided within 60 days.

Before you submit, allow time for the prerequisite steps: Public Works says to allow up to four days for its sewer capacity reply, and Anaheim Public Utilities contacts you within two to three business days for a meter spot. For ADU Express, the city says that once you return from paying school fees, staff "should be able to issue your approved building permit, all within one day." See our ADU permit process guide. [1][3][7]

Garage conversions and junior ADUs

Conversions. Anaheim permits converting legally established structures, and space not previously legal for living (attics, basements, garages), into an ADU or JADU. Conversions of legally permitted structures are exempt from lot coverage, setback, height and building separation rules, and a legal accessory structure can be torn down and rebuilt as an ADU in the same spot and size without new setbacks. No replacement parking is required. Conversions aren't eligible for ADU Express. See our garage conversion guide.

Junior ADUs. A JADU is 150 to 500 sq ft and needs its own exterior entrance and an efficiency kitchen. It can share a bathroom with the house, but then it needs interior access to the house. Under the current code, the owner must live on the property if the JADU shares sanitation facilities with the house. Before the permit, you record a covenant (drafted by the City Attorney) barring separate sale of the JADU and stating the occupancy rules.

Other city text says more. The code's covenant section still says the JADU is a legal unit only while the owner lives in the house or the JADU, and the city's ADU landing page and November 2025 planning checklist describe an owner-occupancy covenant for every JADU. Under 2025 changes to state law (in effect by January 1, 2026), HCD says owner occupancy is required only when the JADU shares a bathroom. Confirm the covenant wording with your planner. More in our junior ADU guide. [1][2][3][8][11]

What HCD found and older unpermitted units

The state housing agency (HCD) reviewed Anaheim's 2024 ADU ordinance and its SB 9 ordinance in a March 24, 2025 letter. It found, among other things, that the ordinance limited single-family lots to one ADU plus one JADU, gave the director discretion over front-yard placement, used subjective design wording, and barred ADUs on any lot with an SB 9 project.

Anaheim amended Section 18.38.015 in January 2025 and January 2026. The current text now allows a converted ADU, a new ADU and a JADU on one lot, adds the fire sprinkler protection for the main house, and bars ADUs only where a parcel has both an SB 9 two-unit development and an urban lot split. The front setback wording that lets the director allow a modified setback is still in the code, although HCD said the director's discretion may not apply to where an ADU goes.

Unpermitted ADUs. The code says the city won't deny a permit for an unpermitted ADU built before January 1, 2020 just because it violates building standards or the ADU rules, unless correcting a violation is needed for health and safety under state housing law. [1][5]

Renting it out or selling it

An ADU may be rented separately from the house, but it can't be sold or conveyed separately except as allowed by state law for qualified nonprofit projects (Government Code Section 66341). A JADU can never be sold separately. When a JADU shares a bathroom and the owner lives on site, the unit the owner doesn't live in may be rented for no less than 30 consecutive days.

State law requires ADUs approved under its mandatory categories, and all JADUs, to be rented for terms longer than 30 days, so they can't be vacation rentals. Ask the Planning Division at (714) 765-5139 about short-term rental rules for your property. [1][3][11]

Permit steps in Anaheim

1. Check your property and route

   Read AMC 18.38.015 and check whether your lot qualifies for ADU Express with the eligibility tool. Questions go to ADUAnaheim@anaheim.net. [2][7]

2. Confirm sewer capacity

   Email Public Works at PWPermits@anaheim.net for written verification that there is sewer capacity for an ADU. Allow up to four days for a reply. [3]

3. Get a meter spot report

   If you're adding, upgrading or moving an electric meter (and for every ADU Express project), call Anaheim Public Utilities at (714) 765-6847. An inspector contacts you within two to three business days. [3][7]

4. Request a new address

   For a standard submittal, send a New Address Request Application and site plan to BusinessAssistance@anaheim.net before you submit plans. For ADU Express, staff create the address during your meetings. [3][8]

5. Submit plans

   Standard route: submit your design to the Building Division; planning staff review zoning during plan check. ADU Express: email your chosen plan number and meter spot to ADUAnaheim@anaheim.net, then meet staff at City Hall to create the site plan. [3][4][7][9]

6. Record the JADU covenant if needed

   For a JADU, send a title report (less than 6 months old) and grant deed to your planner. The City Attorney drafts the covenant, which must be recorded with the Orange County Clerk-Recorder before the permit is issued. [1][3]

7. Pay fees and get the permit

   Pay city fees and the school district's fees; all fees must be paid before the building permit is issued. [7][8]

8. Build and pass inspections

   Schedule inspections through the city's online permit system, AnaheimNext. [7]

Pre-approved and sample plans

• ADU Pre-Approved Plan Catalogue

  Four free detached ADU plans (224 sq ft studio, 499 sq ft one-bedroom, 990 sq ft two-bedroom, 1,199 sq ft three-bedroom) for ADU Express or standard review. [2][4]

Who to call

• Anaheim Planning Services Division (ADU Anaheim)

  ADU questions, ADU Express and pre-approved plans (ADUAnaheim@anaheim.net)

  (714) 765-5139

  200 S. Anaheim Blvd., Suite 162, Anaheim, CA 92805

  [2][3]

• Anaheim Building Division

  Plan check, permits, fees and inspections

  714-765-5153

  200 S. Anaheim Blvd., 1st Floor, Suite 145, Anaheim, CA 92805

  [9]

• Anaheim Public Utilities

  Meter spot reports and electric service for ADUs

  (714) 765-6847

  [7][8]

Questions people ask