Yorba Linda, CA Accessory Structures: ADU Rental Restrictions (2026)

Yorba Linda Municipal Code § 18.20.850.G, titled Same Ownership Required, sets a 30-day minimum on any ADU tenancy and forbids splitting title between the primary home and the accessory unit. That pairs with subsection O, which bars using an ADU or junior ADU as a community care facility, boarding house, or any other use not expressly allowed by the ADU article, and with the sale restriction that runs alongside the owner-occupancy covenant discussed in subsection H. Because the 30-day floor sits directly in the zoning code rather than in the City's separate short-term rental chapter (Chapter 5.50), it operates as a standalone bar on vacation-rental use of an ADU regardless of whether the property otherwise qualifies for a short-term rental permit.

The same subsection folds in the sale restriction: an ADU cannot be conveyed, subdivided, or condominium-mapped away from the lot's primary residence, which keeps the unit tied to single ownership even after the property changes hands. For junior accessory dwelling units, § 18.20.860.G.1 layers on a parallel deed restriction barring sale of the JADU separate from the single-family residence, recorded as a covenant with the Community Development Director before final building permit issuance. Applicants pursuing either unit type should expect the City to verify these restrictions at permit stage rather than only at complaint stage, since the covenant for owner-occupied units must be recorded and proof of recordation presented to the Director before the final permit issues.