City dossier

Los Angeles County

Building an ADU in Long Beach.

⊕ 33°46′ N · 118°11′ W

Long Beach is the faster-moving cousin to Los Angeles: similar rules, lighter queue, and a planning department that publishes checklists. The city has actively encouraged garage conversions as a way to add housing without changing neighborhood character.

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The numbers

At a glance.

Four data points to anchor every conversation you'll have with a contractor, architect, or permit expediter in Long Beach.

Typical permit fee $4,200

City permit + plan-check fee for a mid-size ADU. Excludes school & impact fees.

$-2300 vs LA-area median
Permit timeline 8–14 wks

From a complete application to permit issuance. Plan-check rounds can extend this.

Long Beach portal · 2026-05
Rent (1-bed ADU) $1600–$2800

Long-term rental range, market rate, 2026 estimates.

2026 rent surveys
Median lot 5200 sf

Typical single-family parcel — your lot determines what's physically possible.

LA County Assessor
The local rule

The rule that matters.

Rule · Long Beach

Long Beach allows ADUs in any single- or multi-family zone and does not require a covered parking replacement when a garage is converted — a meaningful cost-saver versus older interpretations.

Every California city must comply with the statewide ADU framework, but each one has a local quirk — a program, an overlay, or an interpretation — that changes the math. This is the one to read first for Long Beach.

Permits & fees

Fees, decoded.

Your city's permit fee is the visible cost. Impact fees and utility connection fees are where projects get expensive without warning — read this carefully.

Permit + plan-check fee
$4,200
Processing window
8–14 weeks (application to issuance)
City planning portal
Open in new tab →

Impact fees

Long Beach charges park and library impact fees on ADUs over 750 sqft. School fees go to LBUSD at the state-mandated rate. Most garage conversions skip impact fees entirely because they don't add floor area beyond the existing footprint.

Cost ranges

What it costs in Long Beach.

Standard-finish, default-size totals for each ADU type — including Long Beach's permit fee, soft costs, utility hookups, and a 10% contingency.

Detached new construction 800 sqft · Standard finish
$346k—$457k
  • Build & finishes$288k–$368k
  • City permit$4k
  • Soft costs$14k–$29k
  • Utilities$8k–$14k
  • Contingency (10%)$31k–$41k
Property value uplift+$250k–$350k
Attached new construction 600 sqft · Standard finish
$228k—$312k
  • Build & finishes$186k–$246k
  • City permit$4k
  • Soft costs$9k–$19k
  • Utilities$8k–$14k
  • Contingency (10%)$20k–$28k
Property value uplift+$250k–$350k
Garage conversion 400 sqft · Standard finish
$110k—$157k
  • Build & finishes$84k–$116k
  • City permit$4k
  • Soft costs$4k–$9k
  • Utilities$8k–$14k
  • Contingency (10%)$10k–$14k
Property value uplift+$250k–$350k

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Adjacent dossiers

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