Owning and renting

Can you sell an ADU separately from the house?

Checked against state laws and official agency sources · Last reviewed October 10, 2026

The general rule: the ADU stays with the house

California's law says an ADU "shall be sold or otherwise conveyed separate from the primary residence only under the conditions outlined" in its ADU sales article. Seattle says ADUs "may not be subdivided from the main house," though Washington law bars cities from blocking the sale of a condominium unit just because it was built as an ADU (see below). In North Carolina, a new state law effective January 15, 2027, which covers cities of 50,000 or more outside the coastal area, says that after an ADU is permitted, the parcel "may not be further subdivided" to put the ADU on a different parcel from the house.

The exceptions are condominiums, in places that allow them, and a few special programs described below. [1][6][7][8]

California's ADU condo option (AB 1033)

AB 1033 (2023), now Government Code 66342, says a city or county "may also adopt a local ordinance to allow the separate conveyance of the primary dwelling unit and accessory dwelling unit or units as condominiums." It is optional: if your city hasn't adopted an ordinance, the condo route isn't available.

Any such ordinance must include these requirements from the statute:

• Condo law. The condominiums are created under the Davis-Stirling Common Interest Development Act.
• Subdivision rules. They must conform to all applicable objective requirements of the Subdivision Map Act and of the local subdivision ordinance.
• Safety inspection. Before the condominium plan is recorded, the ADU gets a safety inspection, shown either by a certificate of occupancy from the city or county or by a housing quality standards report from a building inspector certified by HUD.
• Lender consent. Neither a subdivision map nor a condominium plan can be recorded "without each lienholder's consent." A lienholder "may refuse to give consent," or may consent if its terms and conditions are met. Each lienholder signs a set consent statement that goes to the county recorder.
• Notice to consumers. The city must put a set notice on its ADU checklists and public information, and as a standard condition of ADU permits and condominium plan approvals.
• Utilities. If an ADU becomes a condominium, the homeowner must notify the water, sewer, gas and electricity providers.
• Existing associations. If the property is in an existing planned development with an association, you can't record a condominium plan without the association's express written authorization: board approval at a duly noticed board meeting, plus membership approval if its governing documents require it.

[1][2]

What the required notice says about your mortgage

The state's required notice tells homeowners to "please ensure that your building permitting agency allows this practice." It warns that to get lender consent you may have to do one or more of the following:

• Pay off your current lender, for example through a refinance or a new loan. The notice says this "may result in changes to your interest rate or tax basis."
• Get your lender's approval of a change to its loan collateral, because your property's legal description changes into one or more condominium parcels.
• Get your lender's consent to the details of any construction loan or ground lease.

The notice also says any later change to the subdivision map or condominium plan needs your lender's consent too, "which consent may be denied." [1]

California places that have adopted ADU condo rules

• San José. In June 2024 the City Council approved Ordinance No. 31095, allowing permitted ADUs that meet all conditions to be conveyed through a Parcel Map issued by Public Works. You start with the city's ADU Condominium Checklist, then apply for an AB 1033 Parcel Map. After recording, the ADU gets its own new address. See the city's ADU condominium conversions page.
• City of San Diego. The Municipal Code lets new or existing ADUs be converted into condominiums and sold separately. The condo project must be on a single lot that was previously mapped and monumented. For at least 30 days after the ADU is first listed, it must be offered on at least two public real estate websites or databases with a disclosure that it is offered to buyers who will live in it as their primary residence. ADUs financed or assisted by the San Diego Housing Commission, and rentals restricted to very low, low or moderate income tenants, can't be converted while the restriction lasts. If any ADU in the project was occupied, the city's condominium conversion rules also apply.
• San Diego County (unincorporated areas). On March 4, 2026, the Board of Supervisors "voted unanimously to adopt a program that allows the separate sale of ADUs in unincorporated communities through a condominium conversion process." The County's ADU Condo Guidance & Checklist supplements an application for a Tentative Parcel Map or Tentative Map. See the County's ADU page.

If your city isn't listed, ask its planning department whether it has adopted one under Government Code 66342. [3][4][5]

California's nonprofit exception (Gov. Code 66341)

A separate rule, Government Code 66341, says a city or county "shall allow" an ADU to be sold separately to a qualified buyer, but only when all its conditions are met. Among them:

• The ADU or the main home was built or developed by a qualified nonprofit corporation.
• The property is held under a recorded tenancy in common agreement. It gives the nonprofit a repurchase option, requires the buyer to live in the unit as a principal residence, and keeps the ADU and house as low-income housing for 45 years.
• A qualified buyer is a person or family of low or moderate income as state law defines it.

This exception is for nonprofit affordable homeownership programs, not for an owner who builds an ADU and wants to sell it. [2][9][10]

Junior ADUs can't be sold separately

In California, a city's junior ADU ordinance must require a recorded deed restriction that prohibits selling the junior ADU separately from the single-family home. HCD notes that local ordinances "must continue to prohibit JADUs from being sold separately from the primary residence." See our junior ADU guide. [2]

Washington

State law says a city or county "may not prohibit the sale or other conveyance of a condominium unit independently of a principal unit solely on the grounds that the condominium unit was originally built as an accessory dwelling unit." Some cities spell out how separate ownership works:

• Bellingham says an ADU "may be sold as a condominium unit independent of the principal unit." ADUs may also be subdivided onto separate lots "if the lots the ADUs are on are deed restricted to provide affordable owner-occupied units."
• Kirkland says an ADU "may be segregated in ownership from the primary dwelling unit," except on properties in the Residential-L Shoreline Environment. A detached ADU may also be placed on its own "unit lot" through a unit lot subdivision.

[6][11][12]

Other states

• New Hampshire: a condominium conveyance of an ADU separate from the main house "shall be prohibited ... unless allowed by the municipality."
• North Carolina: under the 2026 law, once an ADU is permitted on a parcel, the parcel can't be split to put the ADU on a separate parcel.

In other states, check your city's ADU rules and ask its planning department before you plan a sale. [8][13]

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