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

Highland Municipal Code § 16.44.180 regulates how an ADU can be used once it is built in the City of Highland, and it does so in two places that reach the same result.

Under the planning review standards in subsection D(4), titled Transfer, an ADU shall not be sold, transferred, or assigned separately from the primary dwelling. The one exception is an ADU constructed by a qualified nonprofit corporation pursuant to California Government Code Section 66341. In that case the ADU can be separately sold to an eligible low-income buyer as defined by state law. Otherwise the ADU can be rented, but it shall not be used for short-term rentals for less than 31 consecutive days.

Under the building permit route in subsection E(3), an ADU or JADU approved by a building permit only process shall be rented only for terms of 31 days or longer. The building permit route is the streamlined path under Government Code Section 66323 for units such as one ADU and one JADU within a single-family dwelling or accessory structure, or a detached new construction ADU that does not exceed four-foot side and rear yard setbacks and 800 square feet.

The practical result is the same for every ADU and JADU in the City of Highland: long-term tenancy of 31 days or more is permitted, and nightly or weekend vacation rentals are not. Because the ADU is treated as an accessory use to the primary dwelling on the lot and does not count against allowable density, the unit stays tied to the main house's ownership, so a lot owner cannot split it off and sell it as a condominium-style separate property, apart from the nonprofit exception.

The city's transient occupancy tax and business license chapters are separate parts of the code and are not part of this section.