ADU Services in Beverly Hills

Matching the ADU Type to a Beverly Hills Lot

The right ADU depends less on preference than on the ground. A deep, level lot in the Flats can take almost any type, including a two-story guest house. A narrow lot south of Wilshire pushes toward a side-yard unit, a garage conversion or a junior ADU. A Trousdale Estates pad, held to 14 feet and to the edge of the level ground, often has room only for a conversion or a low addition. A canyon lot in the City of Los Angeles may be limited by fire access before anything else.

We start every project by reading the parcel: its city, its development guide, its remaining floor area, its slope and fire status, and what already stands on it. From there, the list of realistic ADU types is usually short. Narrowing it early keeps design money focused on options the city will actually approve.

New Construction ADUs Versus Conversions

The ADU types split into two families. New construction covers detached units, attached additions, above-garage and two-story units, and factory-built prefab units. These add square footage, need foundations and roofs, and must fit size, height and setback standards. In Beverly Hills, the bigger of the two new-build categories maxes out at 1,400 square feet, and only on the Central Area blocks north of Santa Monica Boulevard.

Conversions cover garage conversions, junior ADUs carved from the house, and conversions of storage or garages in apartment buildings. These reuse an existing shell. Converted space is not subject to unit-size limits, needs no parking, and avoids most foundation work. On constrained lots, conversions are often the only path that does not require a discretionary permit. On a Beverly Hills single-family lot, the two families can be combined: one JADU and one converted unit alongside a pair of newly built ADUs.

Design, Permits and Site Work Behind Every ADU

Four services sit underneath every build type. Design turns the parcel analysis into floor plans, elevations and engineering. Permitting carries the set through the planner consultation and Building and Safety plan check in Beverly Hills, or through LADBS or West Hollywood for parcels outside the city. Site work covers foundations, grading, sewer and water lines, electrical service upgrades with SCE or LADWP, and fire sprinklers where they apply. Kitchens and bathrooms are where most of an ADU's plumbing, power and finish budget lands.

We provide all four under the same contract as the build. That keeps the drawings, the approvals and the construction aligned, and it means one team answers for the result. When a plan check comment touches structure, plumbing or finishes, the people answering it are the same people who will build it.

• Parcel analysis and ADU design
• Planner consultation and plan check
• Foundations, utilities and fire protection
• Kitchens and bathrooms sized for an ADU

Accessory Dwelling Unit Rules That Apply to Every Service

A few rules cut across all ADU types in Beverly Hills. Units may be rented for 31 days or longer but not short term. They cannot be sold separately from the main house. Review is ministerial when a design meets the objective standards, with a Minor Accommodation Permit available on single-family lots for designs that exceed them.

State law adds a few more. Impact fees do not apply to ADUs of 750 square feet or less or to junior ADUs of 500 square feet or less. Owner occupancy is not required, except for a junior unit that shares a bathroom with the main house. And once an application is complete, the review clock runs 60 days on lots that already have a house.