Can I sell my ADU separately in Los Angeles? Not yet, and here is where the rule stands

Can I sell my backyard house separately from my home in LA right now?

No, not as an ordinary homeowner, as of October 2026. The City's ADU ordinance, adopted in 2019, says ADUs and JADUs may be rented but shall not be sold separate from the existing or proposed dwelling unit on the same lot ¹. That rule is still the one LADBS and City Planning apply today.

There is one narrow exception that comes from state law, not from the City. A backyard unit can be sold separately to a qualified buyer if the property was built or developed by a qualified nonprofit corporation, among other conditions ². That path is built for affordable homeownership programs. It is not a way for a homeowner in Reseda or Granada Hills to sell the back unit on the open market.

What is AB 1033, and why doesn't it already let me sell?

AB 1033 is a 2023 state law that lets each city choose whether to allow ADU condo sales. It does not allow them by itself. In the words of the state housing department, a local agency may adopt a local ordinance to allow separate conveyance of the primary unit and the ADU as condominiums if the ordinance meets requirements laid out in Government Code section 66342 ³. Until Los Angeles adopts that ordinance, the 2019 rule above stays in force.

The state law also sets the floor for any city's version. It requires the condos to be created under the Davis-Stirling Act and the Subdivision Map Act, a safety inspection of the ADU, the consent of every lender with a lien on the property, notice to utilities, and written approval from an existing homeowners association where there is one ⁴.

Some cities have already opted in. In San José, a backyard unit on an existing residential property sold as a separately owned condominium in 2026, which city officials described as the first such sale in California ²⁵.

What did the LA City Council vote on in 2025?

The Council voted to start writing the ordinance, not to allow sales. Councilmember Nithya Raman, seconded by Councilmember Bob Blumenfield, filed a motion on July 1, 2025 asking the Council to instruct City Planning, with the City Attorney, to prepare and present an ordinance to implement AB 1033 ⁶. The Planning and Land Use Management Committee approved that instruction on August 26, 2025 ⁹.

The full Council adopted it on September 10, 2025 ⁷, with 13 votes in favor, none against and two members absent ⁸. That is Council File 25-0753. Neighborhood councils in the Valley were not all on board: the committee report lists the Sunland-Tujunga Neighborhood Council as against ²⁶, and the Studio City Neighborhood Council later filed a statement opposing the file ¹⁰.

The vote did not change what you can do with your property. It told City Planning to come back with an ordinance, and that ordinance then needs its own approvals.

Where does the LA ordinance stand as of October 2026?

It is a draft in public review, folded into a larger package called Missing Middle LA. Mayor Bass announced the first drafts in June 2026 ¹¹, and City Planning released a second draft in September 2026 ¹². City Planning says the ADU update would bring the City's 2019 ADU rules into line with current state law and allow ADUs to be sold separately as condominiums under AB 1033 ¹³.

Here is the path from here, as of October 10, 2026:

1. City Planning set a staff-level public hearing for October 1, 2026, and accepts written comments through October 16, 2026 ¹⁴.
2. City Planning then writes a recommendation report for the City Planning Commission ¹⁵.
3. The ordinance requires final approval by the City Council ¹⁵. The Mayor's office said the drafts would go to the Council later this year ²⁸.

No Council vote date has been posted. To check the status yourself, search the City Clerk's site for Council File 25-0753, and look for the planning case number CPC-2025-4421-CA on a City Planning Commission agenda ²⁷. Until the Council adopts the ordinance and it takes effect, the 2019 rule still applies.

If LA passes it, what would I need before I could sell the ADU as a condo?

The September 3, 2026 draft lets an existing or proposed ADU and the main house be subdivided and approved for separate conveyance as condominiums, if the owner meets a list of conditions ¹⁶. The draft can still change before adoption, but as written the main ones are these:

• A safety inspection first. Before the condo plan is recorded, the ADU must pass a safety inspection, shown either by a certificate of occupancy from the City or by a housing quality standards report from a HUD-certified inspector ¹⁷.
• Your lender's consent. The map or condo plan cannot be recorded without consent from each lienholder, and a lienholder may refuse or attach its own conditions ¹⁸. If you have a mortgage or a HELOC, the bank has a say.
• HOA approval where there is one. An owner inside an existing association needs its express written authorization at a noticed board meeting ¹⁹.
• Utilities. The owner must notify the water, sewer, gas and electric providers of the condo creation ²⁰, and the draft lets the City require a separate utility connection when the ADU is conveyed separately ²¹.
• Tenant protections. An eligible tenant living there must get notice of intent to convert and notice of an exclusive right to purchase ²², and may qualify for relocation assistance ²³.

The draft also says the City cannot use an ADU condo map to require street dedications, new improvements, or the correction of existing nonconforming conditions ²⁴.

What should I do now if I'm building an ADU and might want to sell it later?

Build it so it can qualify, and do not count on a sale date. A few choices made now decide whether a future condo split is even possible:

• Get it permitted and finaled. The draft's safety inspection can be met with a certificate of occupancy ¹⁷. A unit with no permit history starts behind; our garage conversion permit guide shows how to check what is on record.
• Build an ADU, not a JADU. State law says local ordinances must continue to prohibit JADUs from being sold separately from the main house ⁵. Our JADU vs ADU guide explains the difference.
• Think about the meter now. If a separate utility connection can be required at sale ²¹, it may be cheaper to plan for one during construction. Our LADWP water meter guide covers what a separate meter involves.
• Talk to your lender early. Lienholder consent is a hard requirement in both the state law and the draft ⁴¹⁸.

For what building the unit does to your tax bill, see does an ADU raise your property taxes. Whether your lot has room for a detached unit that could stand on its own is the kind of thing a lot check settles.

Quick answers

Sources

1. Ordinance No. 186481, LAMC 12.22 A.33 (ADU ordinance, effective December 2019), City of Los Angeles, Office of the City Clerk. Facts checked 2026-10-10
2. ZA Memo No. 143 Revision 1, Accessory Dwelling Units, Q. 36, Los Angeles City Planning, Office of Zoning Administration. Facts checked 2026-10-10
3. Accessory Dwelling Unit Handbook, Sales and Separate Conveyance, California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD). Facts checked 2026-10-10
4. Accessory Dwelling Unit Handbook, AB 976 and AB 1033, California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD). Facts checked 2026-10-10
5. Accessory Dwelling Unit Handbook, AB 345, California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD). Facts checked 2026-10-10
6. Motion (Raman - Blumenfield), Council File 25-0753, July 1, 2025, City of Los Angeles, Office of the City Clerk. Facts checked 2026-10-10
7. Council File 25-0753: AB 1033 / Accessory Dwelling Units / Separate Sale or Conveyance / Condominiums, City of Los Angeles, Office of the City Clerk. Facts checked 2026-10-10
8. Council File 25-0753, Council vote of September 10, 2025, City of Los Angeles, Office of the City Clerk. Facts checked 2026-10-10
9. Planning and Land Use Management Committee report, Council File 25-0753, August 26, 2025, City of Los Angeles, Office of the City Clerk. Facts checked 2026-10-10
10. Community Impact Statement, Studio City Neighborhood Council, Council File 25-0753, City of Los Angeles, Office of the City Clerk. Facts checked 2026-10-10
11. Mayor Bass Unveils Slate of Proposed City Ordinances to Bring Homeownership Within Reach for More Angelenos, Office of Mayor Karen Bass. Facts checked 2026-10-10
12. Missing Middle LA fact sheet (updated September 1, 2026), Los Angeles City Planning. Facts checked 2026-10-10
13. Missing Middle LA Public Hearing, Los Angeles City Planning. Facts checked 2026-10-10
14. Missing Middle LA Public Hearing: written comments, Los Angeles City Planning. Facts checked 2026-10-10
15. Missing Middle LA Public Hearing: next steps, Los Angeles City Planning. Facts checked 2026-10-10
16. Draft ADU Amendment (September 3, 2026), LAMC 12.22 A.33, subdivision (l)(2), Los Angeles City Planning. Facts checked 2026-10-10
17. Draft ADU Amendment (September 3, 2026), LAMC 12.22 A.33, subdivision (l)(2)(iii), Los Angeles City Planning. Facts checked 2026-10-10
18. Draft ADU Amendment (September 3, 2026), LAMC 12.22 A.33, subdivision (l)(2)(iv), Los Angeles City Planning. Facts checked 2026-10-10
19. Draft ADU Amendment (September 3, 2026), LAMC 12.22 A.33, subdivision (l)(2)(vii), Los Angeles City Planning. Facts checked 2026-10-10
20. Draft ADU Amendment (September 3, 2026), LAMC 12.22 A.33, subdivision (l)(2)(vi), Los Angeles City Planning. Facts checked 2026-10-10
21. Draft ADU Amendment (September 3, 2026), LAMC 12.22 A.33, utility connections, Los Angeles City Planning. Facts checked 2026-10-10
22. Draft ADU Amendment (September 3, 2026), LAMC 12.22 A.33, subdivision (l)(3), Los Angeles City Planning. Facts checked 2026-10-10
23. Draft ADU Amendment (September 3, 2026), LAMC 12.22 A.33, subdivision (l)(3), relocation, Los Angeles City Planning. Facts checked 2026-10-10
24. Draft ADU Amendment (September 3, 2026), LAMC 12.22 A.33, subdivision (l)(5), Los Angeles City Planning. Facts checked 2026-10-10
25. 749-square-foot San Jose ADU condo sells for $530K; first-of-its-kind for CA (news report), ABC7 News (KGO). Facts checked 2026-10-10
26. Planning and Land Use Management Committee report, Council File 25-0753: neighborhood council positions, City of Los Angeles, Office of the City Clerk. Facts checked 2026-10-10
27. Missing Middle LA Public Hearing: case numbers, Los Angeles City Planning. Facts checked 2026-10-10
28. Mayor Bass Unveils Slate of Proposed City Ordinances: next steps, Office of Mayor Karen Bass. Facts checked 2026-10-10

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.