ADU Permits in Los Angeles, Handled From Plans to Approval

What ADU Permitting in Los Angeles Actually Covers

ADU permitting is the full official process of getting your unit legally approved to build and occupy.

In between, there's a lot of ground to cover. Site plans, structural drawings, Title 24 Energy Compliance calculations, zoning clearances, and formal responses to plan check comments. Each piece must be accurate before the city moves your application forward.

At Remodeling & More LA, ADU permitting is a named service we carry from start to finish - not something we hand off to the homeowner partway through.

How Permit Rules Differ Across Los Angeles, Burbank, Pasadena, and Long Beach

Each city in greater Los Angeles runs its own permit system - with its own forms, timelines, and setback rules.

The Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety (LADBS) - the agency that reviews and approves ADU permit applications within city limits - handles applications differently than Burbank's Building Division or Pasadena's Permit Center. Long Beach and Anaheim operate their own separate queues.

A plan that moves through LADBS in four weeks might sit in a Pasadena plan check for ten. Setback requirements - the minimum distances your ADU must sit from property lines - also vary by jurisdiction.

We dispatch from Studio City. That keeps us inside the City of LA permit system daily and within regular working range of every surrounding jurisdiction. We know which office wants what, and in what format.

A Typical Permitting Timeline - and Where Delays Usually Happen

The biggest source of permit delay isn't the city - it's incomplete or inconsistent plan sets.

A call we often get goes something like this. A property owner in Burbank has already hired a designer. They submit plans. Three weeks later, plan check comments come back - incomplete Title 24 calculations, a missing site survey dimension, a note about setback requirements that doesn't match the lot's recorded parcel data. The designer revises. The contractor waits. The calendar moves another six to eight weeks.

This plays out regularly across the greater Los Angeles area. State law under AB 68 and related California ADU legislation significantly streamlined the approval process statewide - but it didn't eliminate the plan check. Local agencies still review every submission for code compliance. A resubmittal that doesn't fully address every comment gets reviewed again from the back of the queue.

The fix isn't rushing the city. It's submitting a complete, coordinated plan set the first time.

When we prepare the documents, the designer working on your plans is talking directly to the crew building your unit. Structural details match site conditions. Title 24 Energy Compliance - California's mandatory energy code that every ADU plan must satisfy before permit approval - is calculated against your actual unit layout, not a generic template. Plan check comments get answered specifically and in writing, the same week they arrive.

That coordination is what keeps projects moving on schedule.

Every Document, Every Response, Managed in One Place

You don't have to track down a designer, a permit runner, and a contractor separately.

One team owns the full scope. Plans, permit application, LADBS submission, plan check responses, and construction are coordinated inside the same company. If the city sends a comment, we respond to it. If a plan needs a revision, the designer and the build team work it out internally before resubmitting.

You get one point of contact. One timeline. No gaps between who drew it and who built it.

How We Move an ADU Permit From Submission to Approval

Our permitting standards keep every document accurate, complete, and jurisdiction-specific.

• Plans are drawn to the specifications of the receiving jurisdiction - not a generic template
• Title 24 Energy Compliance calculations are prepared for each unit individually
• Setback requirements are confirmed against recorded parcel data before submission
• Structural details are coordinated with the build crew before the plan set is finalized
• Applications include all supporting documents required by that jurisdiction's checklist
• Plan check comments receive written responses within the same review cycle

We do not submit and wait passively. Active follow-up with the reviewing department is part of our standard process.

From Plan Check Comments to Final Inspection Sign-Off

The permit process has clear stages - we manage every one of them.

1. Stage 1: Pre-Application Review

   We pull your parcel data and confirm zoning eligibility. We identify setback requirements, unit size limits, and any deed restrictions that could affect the application. This happens before we draft a single page of plans.

2. Stage 2: Plan Preparation and Submission

   Architectural drawings, structural details, site plan, and Title 24 Energy Compliance documentation are prepared as a complete package. We confirm the format and checklist requirements for your specific jurisdiction - LADBS, Burbank, Pasadena, Long Beach, or Anaheim - before submitting.

3. Stage 3: Plan Check Response

   When the reviewing agency issues plan check comments - the formal written feedback from building officials on code compliance - we review every note, prepare written responses, and revise drawings as needed. Resubmittal goes back with a full response letter.

4. Stage 4: Permit Issuance and Construction Start

   Once the plan check clears, the permit is issued and construction can begin. Your permitted plans stay on-site for every inspection.

5. Stage 5: Inspections and Certificate of Occupancy

   City inspectors visit at framing, rough-in, and final stages. We coordinate the inspection schedule and make sure each stage passes before proceeding. The Certificate of Occupancy - the final document that makes your ADU legal to rent or occupy - is the finish line. We stay until it's in hand.

ADU Permitting Services Across Greater Los Angeles

We handle ADU permit filings across a wide range of cities and neighborhoods.

Remodeling & More LA serves property owners throughout Los Angeles, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Culver City, Burbank, Glendale, Santa Monica, Pasadena, Long Beach, Anaheim, and the broader San Fernando Valley - including Van Nuys, Chatsworth, Woodland Hills, and Calabasas. We also work in Torrance, Inglewood, Hawthorne, Manhattan Beach, and many surrounding communities.