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

Tustin City Code Section 9279(F)(3) draws a sharp line between the two accessory unit types the City permits under its 2021 ADU ordinance, as amended by Ordinance No. 1535 in 2023. For a standalone ADU, whether attached, detached, or converted from existing space such as a garage, owner occupancy of either the primary dwelling or the ADU is not required at all: an owner can rent out the primary house and keep the ADU, rent out the ADU and live in the house, or rent out both units to unrelated tenants, and none of those arrangements violates the City's zoning code.

Junior ADUs work differently because a JADU sits inside the walls of the existing single-family home rather than in a separate structure. Section 9279(F)(3)(b) requires the property owner of the lot to occupy either the JADU or the primary residence as their domicile for as long as the JADU exists. Community Development enforces that requirement through the JADU deed restriction at Section 9279(E)(8): before the City issues a building permit for a JADU, the owner must record a deed restriction against the property in the Orange County Recorder's office, with a copy filed with the Community Development Director, stating that the owner will occupy either the primary residence or the JADU as a domicile and that the JADU cannot be separately rented or leased if owner occupancy ever ceases.

That deed restriction runs with the land, binds every future owner, heir, and successor, and cannot be modified or terminated without the Director's written consent, so a buyer who purchases a Tustin property with an existing JADU inherits the occupancy obligation automatically.