A-du Insights
Guides, updates, comparisons, and opinions on building, renting, and managing accessory dwelling units across the markets we serve.
Looking for something older? Browse the full archive, or meet the yard, the cast of our Los Angeles posts.
Sacramento Has 11 Free ADU Plans. Now You Can Test Them on Your Lot.
Sacramento, Sacramento County and Citrus Heights give away 11 pre-approved ADU plans between them. Your address decides which set you can use, and A-du estimates they cost $140,000 to $457,000 to build.
November 6, 2026
Renting Your ADU to Travel Nurses: LA Says Yes, SF Says 12 Months
Travel nurses, residents and grad students need homes near work for 30 days or more. Here is what they pay near six California hospitals, and why a one-month stay works in LA but not in San Francisco.
November 4, 2026
ADU Returns: 15.1% in Santa Monica, 15.0% in SoMa, 8.9% in Van Nuys
We ran a new backyard ADU's rent against its build cost in 33 California neighborhoods. Santa Monica and SoMa lead near 15 percent. In Santa Clara County, higher build costs eat most of the rent gain.
November 4, 2026
NYC Pre-Approved 11 ADU Plans. You Still Have to Hire the Architect.
New York's ADU for You library launched with eleven DOB-reviewed backyard designs, but each belongs to its architect and the cost estimates skip utility hookups. Here is how to pick one without a budget surprise.
November 4, 2026
Washington Opens Rural Land to ADUs. Skip the Permit, Pay Triple.
Washington counties can now allow one detached ADU per rural parcel under HB 1345, up to 1,296 square feet within 150 feet of the house. Build one without a permit and the fee can triple.
November 2, 2026
Your California ADU Bathroom Will Meet a Tenant. Build for Year Five.
California landlords cannot deduct normal wear and tear from a deposit, so a tired ADU bathroom is your bill. Here is how to pick tile, fixtures and a fan that still look like a choice, not a dispute, in year five.
October 30, 2026
His ADU Permit Took 3 Years. Now the City Can Be Sued for It.
A California appeals court says a Palos Verdes Estates homeowner can sue his city over a three-year ADU permit delay. The 60-day approval clock now has a price tag, and every city in the state is on notice.
October 28, 2026
Your SF In-Law Is Getting Legalized. Your Rent Control Stays.
San Francisco lets owners legalize one unwarranted in-law per lot. If you rent it, rent control survives, and a temporary move-out for the work pays $8,245 per tenant. The notice is where it goes wrong.
October 26, 2026
Alameda County Will Help Seniors Build an ADU, Then Sell the House
Alameda County is designing a program that helps seniors build an ADU, move in, split the lot under SB 9, and sell the original house. The catch: a three-year affidavit, a buyer next door, and 2027.
October 23, 2026
Your California ADU Builder Can Ask for $1,000 Down. Not a Penny More.
Prosecutors say Anchored Tiny Homes billed ADU customers $1,046,433 for work never done. California already caps a builder's deposit at $1,000; here is how to pay by stage and never ahead of the work.
October 21, 2026
A Seattle Architect's Own ADU Cost $606,000. Half Is a Garage.
Seattle architect Ivan Kostic spent three years and $606,000 replacing a caving-in garage with an 800-square-foot, two-level ADU. Dwell calls it joyful. For your own lot, the price tag teaches more than the paint.
October 16, 2026
Ocean Beach Listing Shows 12 ADUs. San Diego's Cap Isn't Coastal Yet.
A $3 million Ocean Beach listing pictures 12 ADUs behind one house, and neighbors are lawyering up. San Diego's 2025 cap on bonus ADUs still isn't in force on the coast, and the City can't say when it will be.
October 14, 2026
NYC's $395,000 ADU Deal: Repay the Loan or Cap the Rent
New York's Plus One ADU program pairs a $175,000 state grant with a $220,000 city loan. Repay it at 5 percent, or have it forgiven and cap the rent for 15 years. Intake closed June 12.
October 12, 2026
An Empty SF Lot by BART Gets Three Homes. The Third Is an ADU.
Plans for a vacant 0.06-acre Outer Mission lot by the BART tracks stack two three-bedroom apartments over a ground-floor two-bedroom ADU. San Francisco's own state ADU menu explains why it lands there.
October 9, 2026
California Caps Prefab ADU Fees. The Inspection Fix Waits for 2029.
California's AB 2058 caps what cities may charge to permit and inspect factory-built ADUs, likely at half the site-built fee, from 2027. The option of a state-supervised inspector waits for HCD rules due in 2029.
October 7, 2026
Your Hillside LA ADU Needs a 42-Inch Railing. Furnish Around It.
On a sloped Los Angeles lot, California code sets your ADU railing at 42 inches before you pick a sofa, and a fire-zone hillside lot also needs sprinklers and a 20-foot street. Here is how to plan and furnish for both.
October 5, 2026
Meet Pip, the LA ADU That Stops at 750 Square Feet
Meet Pip, the ADU in our Los Angeles yard. It stops at 750 square feet on purpose: at 750 or less, California charges no impact fees. Here is what the line covers, what it does not, and how LA already builds.
October 5, 2026
California Puts ADU Utility Hookups on a Clock. The Big Ones Wait.
Builders say a finished ADU can wait a year for power. SB 1196 orders the CPUC to set hookup deadlines and penalties by September 2027, but ADUs that need grid upgrades are left out of the new clock.
October 2, 2026
Selling a San Diego County ADU Condo? Your Tenant Gets First Dibs
San Diego County now makes ADU condo sellers list for 30 days to owner-occupants, then give a tenant or neighboring owner 30 days to match. Here is the full path, step by step, and what it costs you in time.
September 30, 2026
LA Said No to ADU Condos. Its New Draft Says Yes.
LA's draft ADU ordinance would let owners sell a backyard unit as a condo and add up to six ADUs near transit, but only with a lender's consent. The public hearing is October 1, and none of it is law yet.
September 28, 2026
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