Alameda, CA Accessory Structures: ADU Owner Occupancy (2026)

18(c)(6) allows one junior accessory dwelling unit per single-family lot, built inside the existing or proposed primary dwelling with up to a 150-square-foot addition and capped at 500 square feet of floor area. Before the city issues a building permit for a JADU, subsection (h) requires the property owner to record a declaration or agreement of restrictions with the county recorder, in a form the City Attorney approves, referencing the deed under which the owner acquired the property. That recorded declaration must state three things: the JADU cannot be sold or conveyed separately from the primary dwelling and its rental must run longer than 30 days, the applicant must be an owner-occupant of either the remaining primary dwelling or the newly created JADU, and the JADU's size and attributes stay bound by the standards in subsection (c)(6).

The owner-occupancy requirement has one carve-out: it does not apply if the property owner is itself a governmental agency, land trust, or housing organization rather than an individual. This deed-restriction mechanism is distinct from the standard accessory dwelling unit rules in the same section, which do not require owner-occupancy at all; it applies specifically to junior ADUs created within the footprint of the primary house, reflecting the more limited, family-style use the state and city intend for that smaller unit type. The recorded restriction runs with the land, so it binds successive owners of the property, not just the applicant who obtained the original permit.