Building an ADU in Los Angeles? Here are three big obstacles to overcome

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Good morning, and welcome to the Essential California newsletter. It’s Saturday, March 9. Here’s what you need to know to start your weekend:
- Three things holding back the ADU revolution
- Schiff and Garvey are headed to a November showdown
- 21 of the best bagel shops in Los Angeles
- And here’s today’s e-newspaper
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Building an ADU in Los Angeles? Here are three obstacles you’ll face
Thousands of California homeowners are adding accessory dwelling units to their properties. Some want to earn extra income by renting out ADUs. Others want to provide a place for their elderly relatives or adult children to live. Plus, the state and some local governments have encouraged ADU construction as part of the effort to expand the supply of housing.
ADUs can be built for a fraction of the cost of a new house, mainly because they’re small and can be installed inside an existing house or garage.
But they are not equivalent to building a tree house in the backyard. ADUs can be expensive and take over a year to build. Constructing an ADU is “the same as building a new house, mostly sharing the same costs, timeline and complexity,” architect John Bertram told my colleague Lisa Boone.
Whether you’re converting a tiny carport in the back of your home that will accommodate your extended family, or turning your small garage into an ADU for steady income, there are three things you shouldn’t forget.
Most ADUs cost more than $150,000 to build
On the low end, ADU project costs could start at $150,000 for a garage conversion and go up quickly from there.
If a construction loan or refinancing your current mortgage isn’t enough, a state program could help lower-income California homeowners build ADUs by covering some of the upfront costs.
The California Housing Finance Agency’s ADU Grant Program offers up to $40,000 to qualified homeowners to cover pre-construction costs of an ADU, including planning and permit fees.
To qualify, applicants’ income must be less than 80% of the area median income, which translates in L.A. County to $84,160.
Lowering the price of ADUs is really difficult, but not impossible. At least it wasn’t for Alexis Navarro — a professor of architecture and design at East Los Angeles College.
He beat the city at its own game by building a 536-square-foot ADU with a simplified design, while also providing a living room, bedroom, kitchen and bedroom for less than $100,000.
Good design does not have to be expensive. The photo below shows what Alexis came up with:
Your neighbors may not like it
In addition to costs and issues that might arise on your property once construction begins (site and utility work alone added an extra $50,000 onto one couple’s $300,000 ADU), another major hurdle is winning over your nervous neighbors.
As Times contributor Keith Wagstaff writes, there are plenty of good reasons to build an ADU, but don’t assume everyone will be cool with it.
Legally in California, neighbors can’t stop you from building an ADU — provided it meets state requirements. But they can make your life hell with complaints to the city that could derail your project.
To help you avoid awkward encounters, follow these tips.
Local design and building codes will dictate how you build your ADU
Los Angeles and many other cities offer preapproved ADU designs on their websites, but few people use them because they are costly to build and every project requires some degree of customizing.
Still, the preapproved designs are a good place to start to give you an idea of what you can do with available space and what you want in your unit.
You also have to decide whether you want a prefabricated unit that’s built to mobile standards (good for generating rental income in the short term), or a custom-designed structure (good for adding value to your home over the long term).
Here’s more about ADUs and how to figure out if one is right for you. Sign up for our six-part email series to learn all the ins and outs of building an ADU.
The week’s biggest stories

Elections and politics
- Schiff and Garvey are headed to a November showdown for coveted California Senate seat.
- Biden’s big audition at the State of the Union.
- Forget election night results. Answers might take days or weeks in some L.A. races.
- George Gascón survived the primary. Can Nathan Hochman unseat him as D.A.?
Climate and environment
- The Arctic Ocean could be ‘ice-free’ within the decade, researchers warn.
- After years of rapid growth, California’s almond industry struggles amid low prices.
- After winter storms, California can expect a late start to the wildfire season.
- ‘We can do better’: Western states are divided over long-term plans for Colorado River water.
Crime and courts
- SoCal father of a Marine killed in 2021 was arrested for protesting during State of the Union address.
- ‘Rust’ shooting: Hannah Gutierrez found guilty of involuntary manslaughter.
- LAPD warns homeowners about a simple trick burglars use to disable home security systems.
- An ex-undersheriff admits to having alleged deputy gang tattoo — then getting rid of it
- Four Chileans stole from homes across L.A. in a case of ‘burglary tourism,’ police say.
- LAPD’s ‘less-lethal’ projectile launchers are leading to deadly encounters, report finds.
Oscars
- How to watch the 2024 Oscars ceremony and red carpet.
- Oscars 2024: Final predictions for all 23 categories.
- Who gets mentioned most in Oscars acceptance speeches? We counted.
- The 2024 Oscar nominations: Full list.
- What should win at the Oscars? A critic submits a purely personal ballot.
More big stories
- Kate Middleton has been spotted after rampant speculation about her post-op whereabouts.
- A heated custody battle over a transgender child in California stokes a viral debate.
- Madonna’s Celebration tour is a messy victory lap that needs more razzle-dazzle.
- Low-income workers can get huge tax refunds. This event helps them get the money.
- A United plane drops a tire, smashing cars, as it departs SFO. Jet lands safely at LAX.
- ‘Dragon Ball’ creator Akira Toriyama, whose work popularized manga and anime worldwide, dies at 68.
- What does the future of driverless taxi service in Los Angeles look like? It’s already here.
- A $2-billion downtown L.A. megaproject gets boost from the governor’s office, and hopes for approval in 2024.
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Column One
Column One is The Times’ home for narrative and longform journalism. Here’s a great piece from this week:

84 years after Hattie McDaniel, the Oscars still put Black women in a box. Academy members still have a troubling tendency to reward Black women for playing supporting, even subservient roles in other people’s stories — and little else.
More great reads
- Quiet quitting. RTO. Coffee badging. What this new vocabulary says about your workplace.
- A Jewish family, a famous European museum and the battle for a Nazi-looted masterpiece.
- Native Americans and the movies: A long-forgotten history of Hollywood and my family.
- Riding this train through California’s snowy mountains rules right now.
- California Sikhs are driving a separatist movement. India calls them terrorists.
How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to essentialcalifornia@latimes.com.
For your weekend
Going out
- 🥯 21 of the best bagel shops in Los Angeles.
- 🍓🥒 The Topanga Farmers Market is back. To find it, head for the hills.
Staying in
- 📽️ ‘Love Lies Bleeding’ is the year’s horniest movie, plus the best films to see in L.A.
- 📺 Stormy Daniels alleges in a new documentary — premiering March 18 on Peacock — that Donald Trump cornered her the night they met.
- 🦞 Here’s a recipe for grilled pacific spiny lobster.
- ✏️ Get our free daily crossword puzzle, sudoku, word search and arcade games.
How well did you follow the news this week? Take our quiz.
Who, exactly, inspired Dolly Parton’s 50-year-old hit song ‘Jolene’? Plus nine other questions from our weekly news quiz.
Have a great weekend, from the Essential California team
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
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