What are the Bellflower ADU requirements?
Ike Mbelu, Principal Partner · Last checked
On this page: The short answer · What Bellflower's code sets · What state law guarantees
The short answer
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Ch. 17.17
1,200 square feet, attached or detached
Bellflower, in LA County, caps an ADU at 1,200 square feet of gross area whether it is attached or detached. Rentals must run 30 days or longer, and the owner lives on site only when there is a junior ADU. Setbacks, height and parking follow state law. Bellflower Municipal Code §17.17.050, §17.17.020.
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What Bellflower's code sets
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01
One size cap
An ADU, attached or detached, may not exceed 1,200 square feet of gross area. The cap dates from Ordinances 1444 and 1446, May 2025. §17.17.050.
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02
Long-term rentals
Rent the ADU, but for 30 days or longer. No short-term stays. §17.17.020(B).
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03
Junior ADU: owner on site
With a junior ADU, the owner lives in the house or in the junior unit, and the junior unit can't be sold separately. A regular ADU carries no such rule in this chapter. §17.17.020(C).
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04
Order of sign-off
The ADU's final certificate of occupancy comes only after the main house has one, and after you record a covenant with the County Recorder. Each ADU gets its own utility connection, except where state law says otherwise. §17.17.020(A), §17.17.040(B).
What state law guarantees
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01
The size window
No city can cap an ADU below 850 square feet, or 1,000 with more than one bedroom. State law tops detached ADUs at 1,200 and attached ADUs at half the existing house. Gov. Code §66321(b)(2), §66314(d)(4)-(5).
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02
Height
A detached ADU gets at least 16 feet, or 18 feet within half a mile's walk of a major transit stop or high-quality transit corridor. §66321(b)(4). More in two-story ADUs in LA County.
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03
Setbacks, parking, sale
A new ADU needs no more than four feet at the side and rear, and no more than one parking space per ADU or per bedroom. It can be rented but not sold apart from the house. §66314(d)(7), (d)(10), (d)(1). See the LA County ADU rules, garage conversions, and building in Bellflower.
This is a summary of the Bellflower Municipal Code and state law, not legal advice. Confirm the current code for your site.
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