La Habra, CA Accessory Structures: Shed & Carport Rules (2026)

La Habra Municipal Code § 18.12.030 sets the location and size standards for accessory buildings, which cover detached garages, workshops and storage sheds, in every residential zone. Subsection A limits any accessory building to two stories or thirty-five feet in height, matching the height cap shown in the Title 18 zone development standards table for accessory buildings. Subsection B requires an accessory building to sit back at least sixty percent of the lot's depth from the front property line, or ninety feet, whichever is less.

On corner lots, subsection C adds a ten-foot setback from the side street line for any detached accessory building, rising to twenty feet for a detached garage whose door faces the street. Subsection D requires a two-story accessory building to stay at least five feet from any interior property line, while subsection E adds a special key-lot offset for accessory buildings on the rear twenty-five feet of a reversed corner lot. Subsection F lets a private garage of up to six hundred square feet in the R-1 and R-2 zones attach to the main house through a common wall or connecting roof of at least five feet, and such an attached garage may then project up to fifteen feet into the required rear yard.

Subsection G allows a garage joined to a single-unit home by an open breezeway to be treated separately from the main building for rear-yard purposes, as long as it stays at least ten feet from the main building. The Community Development Department reviews plans for compliance with these dimensional limits before issuing a permit for any new shed, garage or accessory structure.