ADU Builder in Inglewood, CA: City Rules, Permits and Costs

What did HCD say about Inglewood's ADU ordinance?

The state housing department read the city's ADU ordinance and found it does not comply with state law. In a letter dated May 12, 2025 the Department of Housing and Community Development reviewed Inglewood's Accessory Dwelling Unit Ordinance No. 24-02, adopted December 13, 2023, and wrote that the ordinance does not comply with State ADU and JADU Laws. Under Gov. Code Section 66326 the city had up to 30 days to respond, and the city had to provide a written response to the findings no later than June 11, 2025. HCD listed where the ordinance falls short. The city ordinance still cites code sections that were deleted by SB 477 effective March 25, 2024, and the content moved to Government Code sections 66310 through 66342. It requires a covenant before the building permit issues, limits detached units to 1,000 square feet or 100 percent of the primary dwelling, caps attached units at 850 square feet or 50 percent of the primary dwelling, holds a detached ADU to one story or 16 feet to the top of the roof pitch, and sets a 500 square foot minimum size. HCD asked the city to amend the ordinance or adopt it unchanged with written findings explaining why it still complies. Until the city acts, confirm the current status with the city planning counter before you rely on any city handout.

How long does Inglewood take to approve an ADU permit?

State law sets the clock. A permitting agency must decide whether an application is complete and give written notice no later than 15 business days after receiving it, and it must approve or deny a complete application within 60 days of receiving it. If the city has not acted within 60 days the application is deemed approved, and if you request a delay the 60-day period is tolled for that delay. Approval is ministerial, with no hearing and no discretionary design review, and a denial has to come back in writing with the items that need fixing and how to fix them. That ministerial rule is also why the city's plan review language drew a state finding: Gov. Code Section 66316 requires an approval process built only on ministerial provisions, so a discretionary site plan review does not belong in the ADU path. The city's own ordinance says the Economic and Community Development Director acts on a Planning application to create an ADU or JADU within 60 days, and HCD pointed out that Section 66315 requires the agency to approve or deny, not merely act, within that window.

How many ADU applications does Inglewood actually get?

The state's own file on the city gives the only production numbers a homeowner can read. In a review letter dated April 29, 2022 on the City of Inglewood's 2021 to 2029 Draft Housing Element, the Department of Housing and Community Development wrote that the element notes 160 ADU applications from January 2017 to August 2021 and, based on that trend, assumed 34 ADUs per year. HCD told the city the element should use permitted units instead of applications to establish an annual trend and adjust assumptions as appropriate. The same letter asked the city to revise Program 8, the city's ADU program, so it monitors production and affordability of ADUs with discrete timing, such as every other year, and takes action, such as additional incentives or rezoning, within a specified time such as six months. The city was also late on the housing element itself. The 6th cycle update was due October 15, 2021, and a state letter dated November 23, 2021 told the city the state housing department had not received any draft housing element submittal from Inglewood, so the city no longer complied with State Housing Element Law. An application is not a permit. Read the number as a measure of homeowner interest, not of how many units the city approved.

What do ADU fees look like for an Inglewood project?

Two state rules matter most. First, impact fees: state law bars a local agency from imposing an impact fee on an ADU of 750 square feet of interior livable space or less, or on a junior accessory dwelling unit of 500 square feet or less, and any impact fee above 750 square feet must be charged proportionately to the square footage of the primary dwelling (Gov. Code Section 66311.5). Second, utilities: an ADU is not treated as a new residential use for water and sewer connection fees or capacity charges unless it was built with a new single-family dwelling. The city's own permit and plan check fee schedule is set by the city council, so ask the city for the current schedule before you budget the permit. State law does allow the city to charge a fee to cover the cost of running the review it is required to do.

How much does an ADU cost in Inglewood?

L Square publishes configured prefab model prices the same way for every project: $180,000 for Model 600, $240,000 for Models 800A and 800B, $295,000 for Models 1000A and 1000B, and $354,000 for Model 1200. Those are configured unit prices, not a final project total for a specific house. An Inglewood quote also carries the site work the lot needs, such as utility connections and trenching, grading on a sloped pad, drainage work and structural engineering. Write those line items into the proposal so you can see what the site adds.

What should I check on my Inglewood lot before building an ADU?

Four things decide whether the plan you want fits the lot. Water and sewer: an ADU is not a new residential use for water and sewer connection fees unless it was built with a new single-family dwelling, so find out where the sewer line runs and whether it has capacity. Lot and setbacks: state law caps what a city can require at no more than four feet from the side and rear lot lines and bars minimum lot size standards, so an older Inglewood rule does not control. Size: a detached ADU may not exceed 1,200 square feet, and a city may not set a maximum below eight hundred fifty square feet of interior livable space, or one thousand square feet for a unit with more than one bedroom. Height: the city must allow at least 16 feet, or 18 feet within one-half of one mile walking distance of a major transit stop. Fire sprinklers: building an ADU cannot trigger a sprinkler retrofit in the existing house, and parking is capped at one space per unit or per bedroom.

Official Inglewood ADU sources

• In a May 12, 2025 letter HCD told the City of Inglewood that its ADU Ordinance No. 24-02, adopted December 13, 2023, does not comply with State ADU and JADU Laws, and under Gov. Code Section 66326 the city had up to 30 days to respond, by June 11, 2025. HCD said the ordinance still cites sections deleted by SB 477 effective March 25, 2024, now at 66310 through 66342, and that its 500 square foot minimum size, 1,000 square foot detached cap, 850 square foot attached cap and one story or 16 feet height limit are not in step with state law. Official source
• In its April 29, 2022 review of the City of Inglewood's 2021 to 2029 Draft Housing Element, HCD wrote that the element notes 160 ADU applications from January 2017 to August 2021 and, based on that trend, assumed 34 ADUs per year. HCD told the city the element should use permitted units instead of applications to establish an annual trend, and asked the city to revise Program 8, the city's accessory dwelling unit program, to monitor production and affordability of ADUs with discrete timing, such as every other year. Official source
• The City of Inglewood's adopted housing element for the 2013 to 2021 cycle states that in June 2004 the City Council adopted Ordinance No. 04-12 to amend the Municipal Code to prohibit second dwelling units in the R-1, R-1Z and R-1 and a half zones, after the Council considered scenarios that would have allowed a maximum of 6,493 detached second units in R-1, R-1Z and R-1 and a half zoned neighborhoods, and a maximum of 3,247 second units and 1,648 second units in the city. Official source
• A state letter to the City of Inglewood dated November 23, 2021 reminded the city that its 6th cycle housing element update was due October 15, 2021, and that as of the date of the letter HCD had not received any draft housing element submittal from the city, so the city no longer complied with State Housing Element Law. Official source
• California Government Code Section 66317 provides that a permitting agency must determine whether an ADU application is complete and give written notice no later than 15 business days after receiving it, must approve or deny a completed application within 60 days of receiving it, and if it has not acted within 60 days the application is deemed approved. If the applicant requests a delay the 60-day period is tolled for the delay, and approval is ministerial without a hearing. Official source
• California Government Code Section 66314 sets the state floor for city ADU rules: a detached ADU may not exceed 1,200 square feet, an attached ADU may not exceed 50 percent of the existing primary dwelling, no more than four feet of setback from the side and rear lot lines may be required, parking may not exceed one space per unit or per bedroom, demolished parking spaces need not be replaced, and local standards may not include a minimum lot size requirement. Official source
• California Government Code Section 66321 bars local size rules stricter than the state floor. A city may not set a maximum below eight hundred fifty square feet of interior livable space, or one thousand square feet of interior livable space for a unit that provides more than one bedroom, and it must permit an accessory dwelling unit with at least 800 square feet of interior livable space and four-foot side and rear yard setbacks. Official source
• California Government Code Section 66322 says a local agency shall not impose any parking standards for an ADU where the unit is within one-half of one mile walking distance of public transit, within an architecturally and historically significant historic district, part of the proposed or existing primary residence or an accessory structure, when on-street parking permits are required but not offered to the occupant, or when a car share vehicle is located within one block of the unit. Official source
• California Government Code Section 66311.5 says a local agency, special district or water corporation shall not impose any impact fee upon the development of an accessory dwelling unit that has 750 square feet of interior livable space or less or a junior accessory dwelling unit that has 500 square feet of interior livable space or less, and that an ADU shall not be treated as a new residential use for calculating water and sewer connection fees unless it was built with a new single-family dwelling. Official source
• California Government Code Section 66323 provides that a local agency shall ministerially approve an application for a building permit to create one accessory dwelling unit and one junior accessory dwelling unit per lot with a proposed or existing single-family dwelling, including one detached, new construction, accessory dwelling unit that does not exceed four-foot side and rear yard setbacks, and that a local agency may not preclude an application for a unit created under this section. Official source
• California Government Code Section 66315 provides that Section 66314 establishes the maximum standards that a local agency shall use to evaluate a proposed accessory dwelling unit on a lot with a proposed or existing single-family dwelling, that no additional standards may be used or imposed including an owner-occupant requirement, and that a local agency may require that the property may be used for rentals of terms 30 days or longer. Official source
• California Government Code Section 66316 provides that an existing accessory dwelling unit ordinance, or one adopted by a local agency, shall provide an approval process that includes only ministerial provisions for the approval of accessory dwelling units and shall not include any discretionary processes, provisions, or requirements, and that an existing ordinance failing to meet those requirements is null and void. Official source
• California Government Code Section 66326 provides that a local agency shall submit a copy of its adopted accessory dwelling unit ordinance to the Department of Housing and Community Development within 60 days after adoption, that the department may then submit written findings on whether the ordinance complies with state law, and that if it finds noncompliance the department shall notify the local agency and give it a reasonable time, no longer than 30 days, to respond to the findings. Official source