Close, but not in the spare room

Size, and where it comes from.

An ADU is a full independent unit with its own kitchen, bathroom, and entrance. It can be detached, attached to the house, or converted from an existing structure like a garage. Up to 850–1,200 square feet depending on the rule that applies.

A JADU is up to 500 square feet and must be created inside the walls of the existing single-family home. It may share sanitation facilities with the house or have its own — and since January 2026 that choice determines whether an owner has to live on the property. A JADU is usually the cheaper and simpler permit, but it takes space from the house rather than adding it.

Plenty of properties do both.

Most likely yes. Under current state law most single-family lots in California can add at least one ADU, and many can add a detached ADU plus a JADU carved out of the existing house. Multifamily lots have their own, more generous allowances.

What the ordinance permits and what your lot can actually take are two different questions, though. Setbacks, existing structures, easements, where the sewer lateral and the panel are, and how a crew would physically get equipment into the back yard all narrow it. That is exactly what the free site walk settles, and it is the only honest way to answer for a specific address.

Almost always, yes, and we plan the work around it. A detached unit goes up in the back yard and barely touches the house.

A carve-out is the one that gets closer to you — a JADU or an interior conversion means that part of the house is a work area for a while, and there is usually some shifting around inside. Even so, we very rarely need anyone to move out.

Usually, yes — the structure, the foundation, and often the utilities are already there, so a conversion skips the most expensive and slowest parts of a ground-up build.

State law helps more than people expect. You cannot be required to replace the parking spaces you lose. No setback is required for a unit created inside an existing structure. Unit size limits, open space, and landscaping requirements do not apply to a conversion of existing space. And if a detached garage is being demolished and replaced with an ADU, the city has to handle the demolition permit at the same time as the build permit rather than making it a separate queue.

The trade is that you give up the garage, and an older slab or framing sometimes needs work the drawings did not anticipate. We look at both on the site walk.