Arcadia, CA Accessory Structures: ADU Rental Restrictions (2026)

Subsection E of § 9102.01.080 lists requirements that apply to every ADU and JADU approved under either permit track, and two of them govern renting. Paragraph 4, Rental Term, states that no ADU or JADU may be rented for a term that is shorter than 28 days. The sentence that follows closes the loophole for older units: the prohibition applies regardless of when the ADU or JADU was created. A unit built before the current ordinance is still bound by the 28-day minimum, so nightly and weekend short-term rentals of an ADU are off the table.

Paragraph 5, No Separate Conveyance, confirms that an ADU or JADU may be rented. The limit is on sale: except as otherwise provided in Government Code section 66341, no ADU or JADU may be sold or otherwise conveyed separately from the lot and the primary dwelling on a single-family lot. On a multifamily lot the unit cannot be conveyed separately from the lot and all of the dwellings. In practice the owner of the lot rents out the ADU as a long-term unit and keeps title to the whole property together.

The JADU deed restriction repeats the sale limit. Before a certificate of occupancy for a JADU is issued, a restriction must be recorded with the County Recorder stating that the JADU may not be sold separately from the primary dwelling. Owner occupancy is a separate issue: JADUs require an owner living in the primary dwelling or the JADU, while ADUs created on or after January 1, 2020 do not.

A separate rule covers accessory structures that are not ADUs. Under § 9102.01.060(A)(6), a covenant approved as to form by the City must be recorded before a building permit issues for such a structure, stating that it will not be used for overnight stay, rented, or used as a dwelling unit.