Redwood City, CA Accessory Structures: ADU Rental Restrictions (2026)

Section 37.5 of the Zoning Code applies to both accessory dwelling units and junior accessory dwelling units (JADUs) built anywhere in Redwood City. It bars an ADU or JADU from being offered for sale or sold apart from the primary residence, and it bars any rental term shorter than 30 consecutive days, meaning the citywide short-term rental option available to primary residences under Section 31.3 does not extend to ADUs. That exclusion is written directly into the short-term rental chapter's definitions, which state that accessory dwelling units shall not be considered a primary residence for purposes of Section 31.3.

The sale restriction is reinforced for JADUs specifically by Section 37.3(I)(8), which requires a recorded deed restriction prohibiting the sale of a JADU separate from the single-family residence, enforceable against future purchasers. The only carve-out in Section 37.5 is a narrow grandfather clause: an ADU already registered with the City as a short-term rental before January 1, 2020 may keep operating as one, but any ADU that was not registered by that date, including ones built afterward, is confined to rentals of 30 days or longer.

Because JADUs must be owner-occupied under Section 37.3(I)(7), with the owner living in either the primary residence or the JADU, an owner cannot sidestep the rental-term rule by treating a JADU as a separate short-term unit while living elsewhere. The restriction runs with the property rather than the owner, so a buyer of a home with an existing ADU inherits the same 30-day rental floor and sale prohibition going forward.