Van Nuys / Valley Glen ADUs: what the permit data says

Van Nuys / Valley Glen has seen 558 ADU building permits issued since 2020, No. 18 in the City of Los Angeles. The count covers zip 91401.

Great Wall of Los Angeles from Burbank Blv, Los Angeles
Great Wall of Los Angeles from Burbank Blv. Photo: Kriddl, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Van Nuys / Valley Glen rarely goes small: only 27% of its ADU permits issued since 2020 are for units under 500 sf, versus 33% citywide.

ADU permits issued by year

ADU building permits issued in Van Nuys / Valley Glen (91401), by year

47
2020
72
2021
102
2022
112
2023
101
2024
79
2025
45
2026
so far

How Van Nuys / Valley Glen builds

ADU types on permits issued in Van Nuys / Valley Glen since 2020

Garage conversion41.2% citywide 40.5%
Detached24.0% citywide 25.4%
Attached4.3% citywide 4.2%
Above garage0.2% citywide 0.5%

ADU types are classified from the free-text work description on each permit, and 30.3% of permits here could not be classified.

How big they build

743 sfmedian size on ADU permits issued since 2020 (citywide 684 sf)

Van Nuys / Valley Glen

Citywide

Under 500 sf27.0% citywide 33.1%
500 to 749 sf23.7% citywide 22.8%
750 to 999 sf18.2% citywide 16.9%
1,000 sf or larger31.1% citywide 27.2%

Permit records do not include bedroom counts, so we report sizes, not bedrooms.

$61,000

median declared valuation on permits (not market cost)

46.1%

have a Certificate of Occupancy so far (recent permits are still in progress)

2023

busiest full year, with 112 ADU permits issued

What this means

Counts are permits issued, not completed homes; some of these projects are still under construction and some will never break ground. The counts cover the City of LA portion of zip 91401, so anything outside city limits is not included. The busiest full year so far was 2023, with 112 ADU permits issued; the 2026 count runs through July only.

Count your backyard in.

Free test fit: could one fit behind your house? Test fits are quick estimates; humans verify before anything moves forward.

The Census Bulletin tracks these numbers on the A-du blog.

Source: LADBS permits, LA City Open Data. Issued Jan 2020 to Jul 2026. Pulled Jul 30, 2026.

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