Newport Beach, CA Accessory Structures: ADU Owner Occupancy (2026)

200 of the Zoning Code, tracks state law's repeal of owner-occupancy for standard accessory dwelling units: nothing in subsections (D) or (H) requires the property owner to live on a lot that has only a full-size ADU, whether it is internal, attached, or detached. Junior accessory dwelling units are different. Subsection (H)(3) requires that a natural person with legal or equitable title to the lot reside in either the principal single-unit dwelling unit or the junior accessory dwelling unit as that person's legal domicile and permanent residence before the City will allow a JADU, and only one JADU is allowed per lot with an existing or proposed single-unit dwelling.

The owner-occupancy duty lifts only for a JADU owned by a governmental agency, land trust, or housing organization. Subsection (I) backs the rule with a recorded instrument: before the City issues a building or grading permit for a JADU, the owner must record a deed restriction with the County Recorder's Office, in a form the City Attorney approves, that puts future buyers on notice of the owner-occupancy requirement, the ban on selling the JADU separately from the lot, the unit's approved size and attributes, and the 30-day minimum rental term.

That deed restriction stays in effect for as long as the JADU exists on the property, so the occupancy duty runs with the land through every resale, not just against the owner who built it.