How do ADU permits work in the City of San Diego?
Inside City of San Diego limits, the Development Services Department issues ADU and junior ADU permits, and its Information Bulletin 400 sets out how. As of October 2026, a qualifying ADU is approved ministerially, with no hearing, under state law and the city's municipal code section 141.0302.
What makes San Diego lots different?
Three things come up again and again. Canyon and hillside lots need more foundation and drainage work. Coastal lots can need coastal review. And many neighborhoods sit inside Transit Priority Areas, which affect parking and the Bonus ADU program. We check all three for every address.
What is special about San Diego's Bonus ADU program?
As of October 2026, the city lets owners add bonus ADUs in exchange for deed-restricted affordable units, a program it narrowed in 2025 with lot-size-based caps, parking outside Transit Priority Areas and fire-zone conditions. Most owners building one or two units never need it, but it matters for larger lots. See San Diego ADU rules for 2026.
Can a San Diego ADU be sold or used as a vacation rental?
As of October 2026, the city's August 2025 update to IB 400 says most ADUs may be sold separately as condominiums. Short-term rentals are a different story: ADUs permitted after September 2017 cannot be rented short-term, as KPBS reported in 2025.
Do you work outside these five cities?
Send the address anyway. Unincorporated communities are permitted by the County of San Diego, and we will tell you whether your project is one we can take on.