ADUs, or Accessory Dwelling Units, are a way to add space to your home without buying an expensive piece of property. They can also be rented out for extra income. However, many cities have restrictions on ADUs and will require that they meet certain standards before you can move forward with building one. But what if you already built an ADU but it wasn’t legal? Luckily for you, San Jose has a process for legalizing unpermitted San Jose ADUÂ so that you don’t have to tear down your ADU or pay fines!
What is an ADU?
So, what is an ADU? It’s a second unit on a property that is smaller than the main house. An ADU can be attached to the main house or detached from it, and it can be used for any number of purposes, including:
- A guest house
- A mother-in-law suite (for when mom visits)
- A small office or work space
What is an unpermitted ADU and which one would need to legalize?
An Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) is a second dwelling unit, such as a garage or basement apartment, located on the same lot as the primary residence. An ADU can be either permitted or unpermitted.
An unpermitted ADU would be one that was constructed without building plans, permits from your city and/or county, and may not meet current codes.
How to legalize Unpermitted ADU in San Jose?
The first step to legalizing your unpermitted ADU is to contact a contractor. The process of legalizing an unpermitted ADU is as follows:
- You or your contractor will submit the application to the city and pay the associated fees.
- The city will determine if your proposed plans are consistent with zoning requirements, set rules for size limitations and other factors, and grant permits for construction.
- You’ll then need to perform construction according to your permit specifications. If you have any questions about whether something needs a permit, ask before doing it!
Hire a contractor to legalize your unpermitted ADU
The easiest way to legalize your unpermitted ADU is to hire a contractor who has experience with doing that. Asking friends for recommendations is always the best way to go. If you don’t have any recommendations, start by asking your Realtor for their favorite contractor in the area and see if they can recommend one for you.
The first thing you want to do is pick a contractor who has experience with obtaining permits from the City of San Jose for ADUs, which can be tricky because each city has different rules about what makes an addition legal or not, so it’s important that you find someone who specializes in this type of work.
The best contractors will know how long it takes and how much it costs at each step along the way, so they can give you an accurate estimate of what it will cost once they have all their paperwork together!
Conclusion
If you have an unpermitted ADU in San Jose and want to legalize it, make sure you hire a contractor who has experience with doing that. They know the ins and outs of the process and will be able to get your property through the legalization process quickly. A good contractor will also give you advice on how best to deal with this type of situation so that it doesn’t happen again.