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What are Long Beach's ADU rules?

Long Beach does not have its own ADU ordinance. As of October 2026 the city reviews every ADU and JADU directly under state law, using a planning bulletin that summarizes the state rules 13. That means a new detached backyard house of up to 800 sq ft with 4-foot side and rear setbacks, a 500 sq ft JADU, no parking on most lots, and no owner-occupancy rule for an ADU 45713. A local ordinance, draft Chapter 21.16, is waiting for adoption hearings and would change the size limits 1922.

Edited by Ryan Rambo, construction managerFacts checked 2026-10-13

Does Long Beach have its own ADU ordinance?

No, not as of October 2026. The city's ADU page says it administers ADU and JADU regulations directly under state law, and its planning bulletin IB-PZ-001 says there is no adopted local ADU ordinance, so every project is reviewed strictly under State ADU law 13. The old code section, 21.51.276, no longer applies 2.

A replacement is in the pipeline. The city published a public review draft of Chapter 21.16, the Inland ADU Ordinance, in September 2025, and the comment period closed on November 23, 2025 191. In the summer of 2026 the city said the ADU and SB 9 ordinances would go to Planning Commission and City Council adoption hearings later in the year 22. Until then the bulletin is the rulebook, and it says it becomes ineffective the day a local ordinance is adopted 3. The rules below can change with one council vote, so confirm the status on the city's ADU page before you pay for plans.

Long Beach is not a slow ADU city: it says ADU construction went from zero ten years ago to more than 400 units a year 2.

How big can an ADU be in Long Beach?

On a single-family lot the bulletin allows up to three units beyond the house: one conversion ADU, one new detached ADU, and one JADU 10. The size limits in its Table 1 are 4:

The 800 sq ft detached figure deserves a second look. HCD's handbook says that for a local agency without a compliant ADU ordinance, the maximum for a new detached ADU is 1,200 sq ft of interior livable space 11. If you want a detached unit over 800 sq ft, get the Planning Bureau's answer in writing before anyone draws it.

The draft ordinance would settle it by bedroom count: 850 sq ft for a studio or one-bedroom, 1,000 sq ft for two bedrooms, 1,200 sq ft for three or four, and a detached garage conversion up to 1,200 sq ft 19. Those numbers are a draft, not law. For the two unit types, see our JADU vs ADU guide.

What are the setbacks, height limits and lot coverage rules?

New construction needs 4 feet at the side and rear, or less at the side if the zoning district asks for less, plus the district's front setback; a conversion keeps the setbacks it already has 5. Two local details matter on a narrow lot: the rear setback is measured to the centerline of an alley where there is one, and if there is no other way to fit an 800 sq ft ADU, the unit may encroach into the front yard setback, subject to building and fire code limits 5.

Height limits from the bulletin's Table 2 5:

No lot coverage, open space or floor-area-ratio standards apply to any ADU type in the bulletin, and the exemption extends to the open space, landscaping, street tree and permeability standards that would otherwise apply to the house 6. For the City of Los Angeles versions, see our setbacks and height limits guides.

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Do I need parking, and do I have to live on the property?

Usually no parking. The bulletin lists the cases where no ADU parking is required: within a half-mile walk of a transit stop, in a historic district, any conversion of part of the house or an accessory building, within a half-mile of a car-share vehicle, inside the city's Parking Exempt Area, and every JADU 7.

State law bars any owner-occupancy requirement for an ADU 13. A JADU is different: the owner must live in the house or the JADU, but only if the JADU shares a bathroom with the house 8. A JADU also cannot be a short-term rental; if rented, it must be rented for more than 30 days 23. The draft ordinance would prohibit short-term rental of any ADU or JADU and require rental terms of at least 31 consecutive days 19. See our owner-occupancy guide and parking guide.

What fees does Long Beach charge for an ADU?

Three layers: plan check and permit fees, city impact fees, and school fees.

Plan check and permit fees follow the value of the work. The city posts a sample permit for a 579 sq ft garage conversion valued at $20,000, dated June 2025: $700.95 at plan check and $836.95 at permit issuance, including a $208.98 sewer capacity charge 18. It is a sample, not a quote.

City impact fees. The Building and Safety Bureau's development impact fee schedule, with changes effective October 1, 2026, has ADU lines: fire facilities $241.74, parks and recreation $1,781.39, and police facilities $342.86 per unit, together about $2,366, plus a $144.34 sewer capacity fee where new capacity is needed 16. State law caps all of it: no impact fees on an ADU of 750 sq ft of interior livable space or less, and a fee on a bigger ADU must be proportional, by square footage, to the fee on the main house 12. So a unit of 750 sq ft or less should see none of those lines; ask the counter how they apply above that. A conversion or a JADU also cannot be treated as a new residential use for utility connection fees or capacity charges, unless it is built with a new house 15.

School fees. Long Beach Unified charges $5.38 per sq ft on residential construction, at rates effective June 15, 2025, and applies it to ADUs over 500 sq ft 17. For an 800 sq ft unit that is $4,304; for a 500 sq ft unit it is nothing. Compare our LAUSD school fees guide and soft costs guide.

What if my house is in the Coastal Zone or a historic district?

You add one permit, but not a hearing. Any ADU or JADU in the Coastal Zone needs an Administrative Local Coastal Development Permit, with no public hearing, filed with the building permit application 9. Any ADU or JADU in a historic district or on a designated landmark property needs a Certificate of Appropriateness, again with no hearing and filed with the building permit 9. Neither project is eligible for over-the-counter review, nor is one involving major structural engineering 20.

Both areas are getting their own rules. The draft ordinance is titled the Inland ADU Ordinance and sends Coastal Zone projects to a separate division of the chapter 19. For historic properties, the city has drafted objective design standards based on the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties and proposes to fold them into the future ordinance 22.

How do I apply, and is there a pre-approved plan?

The city lays out four steps 20:

  1. Planning Bureau. Read the bulletin, and sort out a Local Coastal Development Permit or Certificate of Appropriateness if your lot needs one.
  2. Permit Center. Submit in person, with the permit application and a complete set of plans as a PDF on a USB drive. Plan check fees are due the same day; there is no online submission.
  3. Plan review. A planner and an engineer review the plans at the same time, and corrections come in writing.
  4. Permits and construction. Permits are issued in person; inspections are scheduled online, not by phone.

The clock is a state one: once the application is complete, the city has 60 days to approve or deny it, or it is deemed approved 14.

For new construction there is a shortcut. The Pre-Approved ADU program (PAADU) offers two designs by a Long Beach firm, Olfati Design Group: PAADU-01, the Sevila, a one-story 800 sq ft two-bedroom, two-bath unit, and PAADU-02, the Casita, a one-story 415 sq ft one-bedroom unit 21. PAADU plans and permit applications may be approved over the counter, with the building permit issued the same day 21. The program is for new construction only, not conversions 20. The Los Angeles equivalent is in our standard plans guide.

Quick answers

Has Long Beach adopted its new ADU ordinance?

Not as of October 2026. The city still administers ADUs directly under state law, and in mid-2026 it said the ADU and SB 9 ordinances would go to adoption hearings later in the year 122.

Do I have to live on the property to build an ADU in Long Beach?

No. State law bars any owner-occupancy requirement for an ADU; a JADU requires it only if the JADU shares a bathroom with the house 138.

Are impact fees charged on a small ADU in Long Beach?

No. An ADU with 750 sq ft of interior livable space or less is exempt under state law; above that, the city's schedule lists fire, parks and police fees totalling about $2,366 per unit 1216.

Sources

  1. Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) and SB 9: ordinance status, City of Long Beach Community Development, Planning Bureau. Facts checked 2026-10-13
  2. Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) and SB 9: production and LBMC 21.51.276, City of Long Beach Community Development, Planning Bureau. Facts checked 2026-10-13
  3. IB-PZ-001 Planning Accessory Dwelling Unit Bulletin: Accessory Dwelling Units Review and Approval per State ADU Law, City of Long Beach Community Development, Planning Bureau. Facts checked 2026-10-13
  4. IB-PZ-001 Planning ADU Bulletin, Table 1: Number, Type and Size of ADUs permitted, and Minimum Unit Size, City of Long Beach Community Development, Planning Bureau. Facts checked 2026-10-13
  5. IB-PZ-001 Planning ADU Bulletin, Table 2: Building Height Limits, and Table 3: Building Setbacks, City of Long Beach Community Development, Planning Bureau. Facts checked 2026-10-13
  6. IB-PZ-001 Planning ADU Bulletin: Lot Coverage, Open Space, Floor Area Ratio, and Other Standards, City of Long Beach Community Development, Planning Bureau. Facts checked 2026-10-13
  7. IB-PZ-001 Planning ADU Bulletin: Parking, City of Long Beach Community Development, Planning Bureau. Facts checked 2026-10-13
  8. IB-PZ-001 Planning ADU Bulletin: JADU Access and Owner Occupancy Requirements, City of Long Beach Community Development, Planning Bureau. Facts checked 2026-10-13
  9. IB-PZ-001 Planning ADU Bulletin: Coastal Zone Procedures and Historic Procedures, City of Long Beach Community Development, Planning Bureau. Facts checked 2026-10-13
  10. IB-PZ-001 Planning ADU Bulletin: Unit Type Combinations and Table 1 (Multi-Family Lots), City of Long Beach Community Development, Planning Bureau. Facts checked 2026-10-13
  11. Accessory Dwelling Unit Handbook (March 2026): Unit Size, local agencies without a compliant ordinance, California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD). Facts checked 2026-10-13
  12. Accessory Dwelling Unit Handbook (March 2026): Fees, impact fees on ADUs of 750 square feet or less, California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD). Facts checked 2026-10-13
  13. Accessory Dwelling Unit Handbook (March 2026): Owner-Occupancy, California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD). Facts checked 2026-10-13
  14. Accessory Dwelling Unit Handbook (March 2026): Summary of Recent Changes, 60-day deemed approval, California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD). Facts checked 2026-10-13
  15. Accessory Dwelling Unit Handbook (March 2026): Fees, water and sewer connection fees, California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD). Facts checked 2026-10-13
  16. Development Impact Fees, Fee Changes Effective 10/1/2026, City of Long Beach Community Development, Building and Safety Bureau. Facts checked 2026-10-13
  17. Developer Fees, Effective Rates as of 6/15/2025, Long Beach Unified School District. Facts checked 2026-10-13
  18. Sample ADU permit (AB 2234 posting): garage conversion, $20,000 valuation, 6/11/2025, City of Long Beach Community Development, Building and Safety Bureau. Facts checked 2026-10-13
  19. Chapter 21.16, Accessory Dwelling Units (Inland ADU Ordinance), Public Review Draft, September 2025, City of Long Beach Community Development, Planning Bureau. Facts checked 2026-10-13
  20. How to Start: ADU / JADU, SB 9 Unit, or Urban Lot Split, City of Long Beach Community Development. Facts checked 2026-10-13
  21. Pre-Approved Accessory Dwelling Unit Program (PAADU), City of Long Beach Community Development, Building and Safety Bureau. Facts checked 2026-10-13
  22. Accessory Dwelling Unit Objective Design Standards for Historic Resources (draft, 2026), City of Long Beach Community Development, Planning Bureau. Facts checked 2026-10-13
  23. Accessory Dwelling Unit Handbook (March 2026): Junior ADUs, short-term rental, California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD). Facts checked 2026-10-13

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Greenlight is not a contractor, architect or engineer, and this is not legal advice. Rules change; every fact here shows the date we last checked it.