Do I have to legalize my ‘illegal’ guest house or garage conversion in Los Angeles?

Here in Los Angeles, with its rising living costs and lack of apartments many homeowners have begun to make use of their open property spaces. They have converted garages to studios or built small guest houses in the backyard. Seemingly innocent to help homeowners with their income and bills, if these AUD’s or conversions were done without proper permits and registering with local governments it can lead to much headache and fines if the homeowners are cited. Citing is becoming frequent with these ‘illegal’ rentals as housing and rental prices have increased tenfold in the last few years.

Though it might sound easy and cheaper to just build or do the conversion yourself you need to make sure you have the permits. Down the line it will save you. If you are cited, you risk paying huge fines or worse having to demolish the guest house or reconvert the garage. Some homeowners do not even realize that their rental units aren’t legal. There are many small companies that will just take the money and complete the garage conversions and ADU’s without getting permits for the home or explain to the homeowners that they need to obtain permits. Others do not understand why converting their garage is considered unpermitted construction.

For those of you thinking that if you are fined you can just pay the fine and everything will be fine, I hate to tell you but it is far more complicated than that. The actually process that you will be made to go through is expensive and time consuming. Save yourself the trouble and always get permits and if you do not know if you have one find out. If you are renting out the space and are cited, you will be forced to pay the tenant to move out, then fines and penalties to the local government. From there you will either have to pay to obtain the legal permits or if denied have to pay for a reconversion or demolition job. Rough estimates put this over $10,000!

How Can I Find Out If I Have An Unpermitted Garage or ADU

This is pretty easy to handle. If you did the work yourself and did not obtain a permit before hand then you have an unpermitted garage or ADU. In this instance you should begin the process to legalize before you are cited and fined and risk spending more money. On the other hand if you used a company you could call the company to ask. If they cannot tell you, go with the assumption of no and if they say no then go to the permits office in your area to begin the paperwork.

I Found Myself Unpermitted, What Next?

You need to get the permits, plain and simple. You will need to contact or go to your local office to figure out what information will actually need to be given in order to get a permit. Most likely you will need blueprints, square footage, information on plumbing, electric and so on. Once you have talked with a government official your best bet in expediting the process and making sure that you will be able to complete everything you need is to call a professional. A professional renovation and ADU company can help to make your blueprints, inspect your current building to make sure it is up to code. Because being up to code is the most important part. You can go through the process of making sure everything is legal paper side but if your garage or ADU lacks the proper code you will be denied your permit and may find yourself facing fines.

What Is This Going To Cost Me For The Floor Plans?

The cost depends on if you are able to get it permitted before you get cited and do not have to recovert or demolish. If you can get the permits easy then it will cost you under $3,000. If you cannot get the permits easy, such as bring it up to code or even demolish you are looking at upwards of $10,000.

How Can I Prevent This?

The easiest way to prevent this and ending up saving time, money and a headache is to call, consult or use a professional. Using a well-known and reputable company will make this process so much easier in the long run.

If you need help with the entire permit process you can call or visit this website here. 1-818-532-0482 or www.ADUArchitecturalDesigns.com