La Habra, CA Accessory Structures: ADU Rules (2026)

Municipal Code § 18.12.150 lays out La Habra's local standards for accessory dwelling units (ADUs) and junior accessory dwelling units (JADUs), adopted to track California Government Code Section 66314 et seq. for ADUs and Section 66333 et seq. for JADUs while preserving neighborhood character. Subsection B.1 requires the city to ministerially approve or deny a complete ADU or JADU application within sixty days, and if the city denies it, subsection B.1.b requires written comments listing every defect and how to fix it, within that same sixty-day window.

If an applicant uses a plan already preapproved by the city, or identical to a plan approved for another detached ADU within the current triennial California Building Standards Code cycle, subsection B.1.f shortens that review to thirty days. Subsection B.1.c lets a detached garage being replaced by an ADU have its demolition permit reviewed and issued together with the ADU application, and B.1.e deems the application approved automatically if the city misses its deadline. Subsection G caps the number of units at one ADU and one JADU on a single-unit residentially zoned lot, except for the multi-unit provisions of subsection N, and states that ADUs are allowed with multi-unit dwellings only under that same subsection N.

Subsection K.1 confirms an ADU is permitted anywhere a single-unit or multi-unit dwelling is a permitted, or even conditionally permitted, use, whether the ADU sits within, attached to, or detached from the primary unit. Subsections I.2 through I.4 require ADUs to meet Title 15 building standards and the state efficiency-unit floor-area minimum, while generally exempting them from fire-sprinkler retrofits and Group R occupancy reclassification.