Long Beach has become a hotspot for ADU development in Southern California. The city has actively promoted ADU construction with streamlined permitting and educational resources for homeowners.
Outside city limits? If your property is in unincorporated Los Angeles County (not within Long Beach's boundaries), different rules apply — see our Los Angeles County (unincorporated) ADU rules.
Zoning & Size Requirements [1]
Yes — Long Beach allows ADUs. A detached ADU can typically be up to 800 sq ft under current California and Long Beach zoning rules.
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| Allowed Zones | Rewrite — the city does not administer ADUs by zone at all. Because there is no local ordinance, eligibility turns on LOT TYPE, not zoning district: a 'single-family dwelling lot' has one or more detached single-family dwellings and no multi-family dwelling; a 'multi-family' lot has two or more principal dwelling units in one building or attached buildings. Both existing and proposed principal units count. Mixed lots get the SFD menu for the SFD and the MFD menu for the MFD, and the two cannot be cross-applied. Our R-1/R-2/R-3/R-4 list is not sourced to anything the city publishes and should not be presented as a Long Beach fact. |
| Max Size (Detached) | 800 sq ft (detached new construction, single-family lot). STRICTER than the 850/1,000 sq ft floor in Gov. Code 66321(b)(2) — flag as arguably preempted, but this is the city's published operative limit. City's stated basis is Gov. Code 66323(a)(2)(A), the by-right pathway, which Long Beach administers because it has no local ADU ordinance. On multi-family lots the city imposes NO size limit on detached ADUs. |
| Max Size (Attached) | 50% of the size of the primary dwelling or 800 sq ft, whichever is MORE. MORE GENEROUS than our page: there is no 1,200 sq ft ceiling, so on a 3,000 sq ft house an attached ADU may reach 1,500 sq ft. The limit applies only to the added floor area, not to any converted area of the existing house. An attached ADU built in conjunction with a proposed new single-family dwelling has NO size limit. |
| Max Size (JADU) | 500 sq ft. ADOPTS the state figure. Conversion only, of a portion of the existing primary dwelling or attached garage; no addition is permitted for a JADU. No JADU is allowed on any lot containing a multi-family dwelling, regardless of whether a single-family dwelling is also present — that exclusion is worth stating on the page. |
| Max Height | ADOPTS the state tiers, with two city-specific refinements our page misses. Detached: 16 ft default; 18 ft within one-half mile walking distance of a major transit stop or high-quality transit corridor; 18 ft where an existing multi-story multi-family dwelling is on site; 18 ft plus up to 2 ft to match an existing sloped roof on the primary dwelling. Attached new construction (single-family lots only): '25 feet/2 stories, or zoning height limit, whichever is less' — the zoning-limit cap is a real constraint our page omits. Conversions simply maintain existing building height. Height is measured per LBMC 21.15.1330 and 21.15.1335 (midpoint of sloped roof), which are Long Beach definitions, not state ones. |
| Max Units | MORE GENEROUS than our page, materially. Single-family lot: one conversion ADU AND one detached new-construction ADU, plus one JADU — up to three additional units, not two. Multi-family lot with an existing building: up to 8 detached ADUs, or the number of existing permitted units, whichever is less; plus attached conversion ADUs at 1 unit or 25% of existing permitted units, whichever is MORE. Proposed (not yet built) multi-family: 2 detached ADUs. No JADU on any lot with a multi-family dwelling. Our single '1 ADU + 1 JADU' string is wrong for every lot type in the city. |
Setback Requirements [1]
Long Beach requires a rear setback of about 4 ft for a detached ADU, and no additional parking is required. Owner-occupancy is set by local rules (confirm with the city).
| Rear Setback | 4 ft for new construction — ADOPTS the state minimum on its face, but with a Long Beach measurement rule that is effectively MORE GENEROUS: 'The rear setback shall be measured to centerline of adjacent alley where such exists.' On Long Beach's many alley-served lots this lets the structure sit substantially closer to the rear property line than a naive 4 ft reading suggests. Conversions maintain the existing setback, subject to fire and life safety. |
| Side Setback | '4 feet or per zoning district, whichever is less.' MORE GENEROUS than our flat 4 ft — where the underlying zone requires a narrower side yard, the smaller number governs, so a homeowner in a zone with a 3 ft side yard builds to 3 ft. Our current value tells them to give up buildable width they do not have to give up. |
| Front Setback | Per zoning district, BUT with an express encroachment allowance that is MORE GENEROUS than our page: if there is no other way to fit an ADU of up to 800 sq ft on the lot, the ADU may encroach into the required front yard setback, subject to Building and Fire code restrictions. This is the escape hatch for narrow or shallow Long Beach lots and is worth calling out. |
| Parking Required | MORE GENEROUS than our page — the city publishes eight exemptions, including one that is purely local. No parking is required for an ADU: within one-half mile walking distance of any transit stop; in a historic district; converted from part of the primary dwelling or an accessory building; where on-street permits are required on the adjacent street but not offered to the ADU occupant; within one-half mile of a car share vehicle; submitted with an application for a new SFD or MFD where any of the above apply; for any JADU; or located within the Parking Exempt Area established by LBMC 21.41.175. The Parking Exempt Area is a Long Beach-specific mapped geography with its own published map and is not a state exemption — our page should link it alongside the ADU Parking Exemption Map. |
| Owner Occupancy | ADOPTS state law. Not required for an ADU. For a JADU, owner occupancy of either the single-family dwelling or the JADU is required ONLY if the JADU shares a bathroom with the primary dwelling — matching Gov. Code 66333(b) and AB 1154. Our 'Not required' is right for ADUs but silently wrong for the shared-bathroom JADU case; the value should be split. |
| Min Lot Size | No minimum. Correct, and stronger than our page states: because Long Beach has no ADU ordinance, no local lot standards attach at all. The bulletin expressly disapplies lot coverage, open space and floor area ratio, and also open space standards for the primary dwelling, landscaping, street trees and permeability standards. Note the bulletin does not use the words 'minimum lot size' — this follows from the city applying state law only. |
Permit Process & Fees
An ADU permit in Long Beach goes through a ministerial, by-right review. Typical timeline: 60 days; often 30-45 in practice. Permit fees: Replace the guessed range with the city's published figures. Long Beach's own guidance: 'For most construction projects, you could expect to spend about 2% of your building costs on plan checks, permits, inspections and other agency fees.' Published components (Building Permit & Plan Check Fees, effective 5/20/2026): Building Permit fee by valuation — $1,264 for the first $100,000 plus $6 per additional $1,000 in the $100,001-$1,000,000 band; Combination Building Permit (Group R-3, includes electrical, plumbing, mechanical) = 150% of the Building Permit fee, minimum $164; Combination Plan Check = 85% of the Building Permit fee, minimum $154; Zoning Plan Check = 0.5% of project valuation for valuations up to $750,000, minimum $310, capped at 95% of the building standard plan check fee; NPDES permit = $2 per $1,000 of valuation with plan check at 75% of that; Expedited plan check = 2x standard. Add a $115.00 processing fee to EACH plan check and permit application, plus a 6% Technology Surcharge and a 6% General Plan Surcharge on all applicable fees. Worked from those published formulas, a $150,000-valuation ADU lands near $5,800 in permit and plan-check fees before impact fees — I am labelling that figure as DERIVED from the published schedule, not published by the city.
| Approval Process | Ministerial, no public hearing, but the city's actual sequence is richer than our one-liner. The applicant submits all plans and information required for a building permit; the application is not complete until every requested plan, item and correction is supplied. Review runs through the Permit Center at 411 W. Ocean Blvd (Planning 3rd floor, Building & Safety 2nd floor). Two concurrent overlays: an Administrative Local Coastal Development Permit if in the Coastal Zone, and a Certificate of Appropriateness if in a historic district or at a designated landmark — both must be FILED CONCURRENTLY with the building permit application, and neither requires a public hearing. Refuse provision under LBMC Ch. 8.60 applies, with trash enclosures per LBMC 21.45.167 at four or more units. Floor area is measured to interior walls for the ADU size limit only; all other standards use Gross Floor Area per LBMC 21.15.1070. |
| Review Timeline | 60 days; often 30-45 in practice |
| Permit Fees | Replace the guessed range with the city's published figures. Long Beach's own guidance: 'For most construction projects, you could expect to spend about 2% of your building costs on plan checks, permits, inspections and other agency fees.' Published components (Building Permit & Plan Check Fees, effective 5/20/2026): Building Permit fee by valuation — $1,264 for the first $100,000 plus $6 per additional $1,000 in the $100,001-$1,000,000 band; Combination Building Permit (Group R-3, includes electrical, plumbing, mechanical) = 150% of the Building Permit fee, minimum $164; Combination Plan Check = 85% of the Building Permit fee, minimum $154; Zoning Plan Check = 0.5% of project valuation for valuations up to $750,000, minimum $310, capped at 95% of the building standard plan check fee; NPDES permit = $2 per $1,000 of valuation with plan check at 75% of that; Expedited plan check = 2x standard. Add a $115.00 processing fee to EACH plan check and permit application, plus a 6% Technology Surcharge and a 6% General Plan Surcharge on all applicable fees. Worked from those published formulas, a $150,000-valuation ADU lands near $5,800 in permit and plan-check fees before impact fees — I am labelling that figure as DERIVED from the published schedule, not published by the city. |
| Impact Fees | Keep the state exemption sentence, but add the city's actual published ADU line items — Long Beach breaks out ADUs separately in its Development Impact Fees schedule (effective 10/1/2025): Fire Facilities Impact Fee, ADU $241.74 per dwelling unit (vs $496 single-family); Parks & Recreation Facilities Impact Fee, Accessory Unit incl. ADU $1,781.39 per dwelling unit (vs $4,613.04 single-family); Police Facilities Impact Fee, ADU $342.86 per dwelling unit (vs $703 single-family). That is $2,366.00 in city impact fees for an ADU over the 750 sq ft state threshold. Transportation Improvement Fee has its own tiers: Accessory up to 220 sq ft $236.25, Secondary up to 640 sq ft $663.75. Separately, a Sewer Capacity Fee of $144.34 applies (raised from $139.52 on 10/1/2025) — a capacity charge, which is generally treated as outside the ADU impact-fee exemption, but I did not verify that treatment for Long Beach. School fees are levied by LBUSD, not the city, at lbschools.net/developerfees. |
| Plan Check | Efficient review process |
| Pre-Approved Plans | Yes, but add the caveat the city itself publishes: the Pre-Approved Accessory Dwelling Unit Program (PAADU) 'is currently undergoing changes, and updates will be provided over the coming months on this webpage.' What is verified: PAADU plans and permit applications may be approved Over-The-Counter at the Permit Center with Planning and Building & Safety assistance, and a building permit can be issued the same day. PAADUs must still comply with city ADU regulations, and the city directs owners in a coastal zone or historic district to submit a Planning and Zoning Inquiry Form first. Contact PlanCheck.Counter@longbeach.gov. Our unqualified 'Yes' risks sending a homeowner to a program that is mid-overhaul. |
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Construction Costs [2][3]
Building an ADU in Long Beach typically costs $120,000-$280,000 ($180-$330 per sq ft); a garage conversion runs $70,000-$150,000.
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| Average Build Cost | $120,000-$280,000 |
| Cost per Sq Ft | $180-$330 |
| Garage Conversion | $70,000-$150,000 |
| Prefab ADU (Installed) | $90,000-$220,000 |
Finance Your ADU Project
Most ADU projects are funded through HELOCs, construction loans, or cash-out refinancing. Compare rates from top lenders.
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Rental Income Potential [4][5]
A 2-bedroom ADU in Long Beach rents for around $1,900-$2,700/mo, an estimated 7-11% annual return.
| Avg Rent (1 Bedroom) | $1,500-$2,100/mo |
| Avg Rent (2 Bedroom) | $1,900-$2,700/mo |
| Short-Term Rental | Allowed with business license; STR regulations apply |
| Est. Annual ROI | 7-11% annual return |
Explore Prefab ADU Options
Prefab ADUs can save 20-40% vs. traditional construction and cut build time in half.
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Recent Law Changes
What's Changed Recently
- Data accuracy correction (2026-06-28): updated per official city/state sources following a regulatory audit.
- SB 543 (Jan 2026): ADU applications deemed approved if city fails to act within 60 days
- AB 1154 (effective Jan 1, 2026): A locality may require owner-occupancy for a JADU only if it shares a bathroom with the primary dwelling; JADUs with their own bathroom are exempt (matching detached ADU rules)
- SB 1211 in effect (2025-2026): Up to 8 detached ADUs allowed on multifamily lots statewide
- AB 1033 opt-in expanding (2026): More cities allowing separate sale of ADUs as condos
Tips for Building an ADU in Long Beach
- Long Beach has faster-than-average permit processing
- Pre-approved plans are a great way to fast-track your project
- Coastal zones may have additional requirements — check with the city
- Garage conversions are very popular and cost-effective in Long Beach
ADU Builders in Long Beach
Looking for an ADU builder in Long Beach? ADU projects need a contractor experienced with local zoning, the permit process, and utility connections — not every general contractor has built one. We match Long Beach homeowners with experienced local ADU contractors who provide free, no-obligation quotes. Getting at least three bids typically saves 20-40% on the same scope.
Sources & References
All data on this page is sourced from official government records and verified market data. View our full methodology.
- ADU and SB 9 Development | Long Beach Planning Department — Accessed 2026-02-24
- Angi — ADU Construction Cost Data Market Data — Accessed 2026-02-24
- Angi — Local ADU Contractor Costs Market Data — Accessed 2026-02-24
- Zillow Rental Manager — Market Rent Data Market Data — Accessed 2026-02-24
- HUD Fair Market Rents Government Data — Accessed 2026-02-24
- ADU Zoning Summary — City of Long Beach Planning Department — Accessed 2026-02-24
- California ADU Handbook — HCD Government Data — Accessed 2026-02-24
- California HCD — Accessory Dwelling Unit Handbook (updated March 2026) Government Data — Accessed 2026-06-28
- CA SB 543 (2025-2026) — Accessory dwelling units and junior accessory dwelling units (full bill text) Government Data — Accessed 2026-06-28
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I build an ADU in Long Beach?
Yes. ADUs are allowed in Rewrite — the city does not administer ADUs by zone at all. Because there is no local ordinance, eligibility turns on LOT TYPE, not zoning district: a 'single-family dwelling lot' has one or more detached single-family dwellings and no multi-family dwelling; a 'multi-family' lot has two or more principal dwelling units in one building or attached buildings. Both existing and proposed principal units count. Mixed lots get the SFD menu for the SFD and the MFD menu for the MFD, and the two cannot be cross-applied. Our R-1/R-2/R-3/R-4 list is not sourced to anything the city publishes and should not be presented as a Long Beach fact. in Long Beach. The maximum size for a detached ADU is 800 sq ft (detached new construction, single-family lot). STRICTER than the 850/1,000 sq ft floor in Gov. Code 66321(b)(2) — flag as arguably preempted, but this is the city's published operative limit. City's stated basis is Gov. Code 66323(a)(2)(A), the by-right pathway, which Long Beach administers because it has no local ADU ordinance. On multi-family lots the city imposes NO size limit on detached ADUs.. Owner-occupancy: ADOPTS state law. Not required for an ADU. For a JADU, owner occupancy of either the single-family dwelling or the JADU is required ONLY if the JADU shares a bathroom with the primary dwelling — matching Gov. Code 66333(b) and AB 1154. Our 'Not required' is right for ADUs but silently wrong for the shared-bathroom JADU case; the value should be split.
How much does an ADU cost in Long Beach?
ADU construction in Long Beach typically costs $120,000-$280,000. Garage conversions run $70,000-$150,000, and prefab ADUs cost $90,000-$220,000.
How much can I rent an ADU for in Long Beach?
Average ADU rents in Long Beach are $1,500-$2,100/mo for a 1-bedroom and $1,900-$2,700/mo for a 2-bedroom unit.
Do I need parking for an ADU in Long Beach?
MORE GENEROUS than our page — the city publishes eight exemptions, including one that is purely local. No parking is required for an ADU: within one-half mile walking distance of any transit stop; in a historic district; converted from part of the primary dwelling or an accessory building; where on-street permits are required on the adjacent street but not offered to the ADU occupant; within one-half mile of a car share vehicle; submitted with an application for a new SFD or MFD where any of the above apply; for any JADU; or located within the Parking Exempt Area established by LBMC 21.41.175. The Parking Exempt Area is a Long Beach-specific mapped geography with its own published map and is not a state exemption — our page should link it alongside the ADU Parking Exemption Map.. Check with Long Beach planning department for the latest California ADU parking rules, as many states have relaxed requirements in recent years.
How long does it take to get an ADU permit in Long Beach?
The permit review timeline in Long Beach is 60 days; often 30-45 in practice. Permit fees: Replace the guessed range with the city's published figures. Long Beach's own guidance: 'For most construction projects, you could expect to spend about 2% of your building costs on plan checks, permits, inspections and other agency fees.' Published components (Building Permit & Plan Check Fees, effective 5/20/2026): Building Permit fee by valuation — $1,264 for the first $100,000 plus $6 per additional $1,000 in the $100,001-$1,000,000 band; Combination Building Permit (Group R-3, includes electrical, plumbing, mechanical) = 150% of the Building Permit fee, minimum $164; Combination Plan Check = 85% of the Building Permit fee, minimum $154; Zoning Plan Check = 0.5% of project valuation for valuations up to $750,000, minimum $310, capped at 95% of the building standard plan check fee; NPDES permit = $2 per $1,000 of valuation with plan check at 75% of that; Expedited plan check = 2x standard. Add a $115.00 processing fee to EACH plan check and permit application, plus a 6% Technology Surcharge and a 6% General Plan Surcharge on all applicable fees. Worked from those published formulas, a $150,000-valuation ADU lands near $5,800 in permit and plan-check fees before impact fees — I am labelling that figure as DERIVED from the published schedule, not published by the city.
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