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

070 of the Hawthorne Municipal Code, 'Additional ADU and JADU requirements,' lists owner occupancy among the conditions the city can otherwise attach to an accessory dwelling unit or junior accessory dwelling unit. Subsection J states in full: 'Owner Occupancy. ' The exemption is narrow and tied to who holds title, not to how the unit is used: only those three categories of institutional owner qualify, so an individual property owner who wants to rent out both the primary home and the ADU without living in either does not receive the same waiver.

080, which requires a recorded deed restriction before the city will issue a building permit for a junior accessory dwelling unit. That restriction must state that the JADU cannot be sold separately from the primary dwelling and must stay within its approved size and attributes, and it runs with the land, binding every future owner. An owner can only remove the covenant by submitting written evidence to the director of planning and community development that the JADU has actually been eliminated, for example by removing the kitchen facilities, and any building permits needed for that removal work must be approved first.