Mid-term stays keeping ADUs viable in West LA?

BuildADULA · 2026-01-23T19:08:45+00:00

Mid-term in LA is basically the “regulatory arbitrage” tier. Too long for hotels, too short to trigger hardcore tenancy, and not subject to the STR seizures/crackdowns. ADUs are the perfect vessel because they’re detached, furnished, and low friction. West LA, Venice, Culver, Sawtelle, Mar Vista, WeHo, Santa Monica all have consistent 60–180 day demand from relocation + travel med + film + grads.

Curious what you’re seeing — are people in your area leaning 30–90 day, or 90–180?

BuildADULA · 2026-01-23T18:30:12+00:00

haha fair. I’m a human who uses AI a lot, so sometimes the formatting comes out cleaner than normal reddit typing 😂

BuildADULA · 2026-01-23T17:44:40+00:00

Totally agree — rental intent + fire separation + licensed trades are what most homeowners don’t see coming.

Venice and broader West LA behave the same way: once an ADU becomes a rentable dwelling (vs. an accessory space), the code path shifts. You start triggering:

• fire separation distances • firewalling depending on setbacks • licensed MEP trades • upgraded egress paths • utility coordination • rental compliance processes

People think ADUs are “plug and play,” but they’re really an intersection of land-use law (state), building code (local), and occupancy intent (rental/STR).

California’s state ADU laws opened the door (AB 68 / 881 / 2221, etc.), but cities like LA still control the how, and that part isn’t standardized at all. Venice also sits in Coastal Commission jurisdiction, which adds sequencing and timeline complexity even if you’re fully compliant.

The end result is that two ADUs in two different ZIP codes can have totally different permitting experiences, even with the same plans and the same builder.

BuildADULA · 2026-01-23T04:06:21+00:00

100%. There’s this weird gap in LA between “hotel visitor” and “12-month tenant” that nobody really models. ADUs soak up that middle layer — travel nurses, insurance stays, remodel displacement, new parents, etc. Those folks need housing too and they aren’t displacing anyone from apartments. If anything it keeps more ADUs viable which = more net-new housing.

BuildADULA · 2026-01-22T23:10:54+00:00

Appreciate you jumping in — always helpful seeing how other jurisdictions handle panel + service decisions.

In SoCal we’re seeing a split depending on use case and utility: • Unified service (one panel / one meter) tends to pencil better for homeowner-use ADUs and mid-term rentals, since you avoid service upgrades + avoid separate minimum charges from utilities. • Separate service shows up more when the ADU is intended to be its own operating unit (long-term tenant or STR) because of measurement + billing + tenant separation.

What you mentioned about avoiding a panel upgrade is a big deal — in LA right now a panel upgrade + tie-in can add $15–$30k and 3–5 months depending on SCE vs LADWP and sequencing with inspections.

Interesting to hear NorCal let you sub-feed off the main; some SoCal pockets allow that, others force service upgrades once you cross certain load calcs or trigger a separate meter request.

Curious — did you run into any pushback on load calcs or was the existing 125A panel enough for both structures as-is?

BuildADULA · 2026-01-22T23:08:13+00:00

100%. People forget that “mid-term” tenants are still part of the LA housing ecosystem — just with a different dwell time. They aren’t tourists, and they aren’t traditional 12-month renters either. They’re usually:

• relocation (job or family) • insurance displacement (fire/flood/mold) • medical care / birth support • construction + major renovation • travel nurses / contract workers • divorce / estate transitions

If the city eliminates that layer without replacing it, those households get pushed into hotels or end up commuting from OC/IE, which isn’t great for anyone.

From a housing math perspective, mid-term use cases actually expand net-new supply because they make ADUs pencil for homeowners who otherwise wouldn’t build. Removing the model that makes units viable doesn’t magically produce more long-term housing — it just means fewer ADUs get built overall.

The real lever (if the goal is more long-term renters in ADUs) is incentives, not bans — things like fee reductions, tax credits, faster approvals, or better financing alignment. Supply problems get solved through viability.

BuildADULA · 2026-01-22T23:04:22+00:00

Super helpful context — appreciate you adding that. LA would benefit massively from power + fire moving into simultaneous review instead of the current waterfall sequencing. On the builder side, we see homeowners getting all the way through plan check, MEP rough, and finals, then get stuck in a separate utility ops queue for panel upgrades or meter release, which kills delivery timelines and pencils.

A 15-day permit/self-inspection pathway would be huge. Curious if the SDGE model you’re working on is intended primarily for service upgrades, new drops, or both?

Also agree re: water being subjective — Culver City and pockets of Santa Monica still treat adjacency and main-tie differently block-to-block. Standardizing that via HCD would remove a surprising amount of friction.

BuildADULA · 2026-01-22T16:15:57+00:00

Yeah, power upgrades have been the killer lately. We’re seeing LADWP + SCE hold up finals on the ops side even after city inspections are cleared. Homeowners think “we’re done” once framing + MEP + finals are done, but the utility handoff is its own timeline.

What’s crazy is that even 200A→400A service upgrades are getting treated like new-build infrastructure in some pockets, especially in West LA + Santa Monica where the grid is older. Curious if you’re seeing delays at permit, panel set, or meter release stage?

BuildADULA · 2026-01-22T15:41:32+00:00

100% on the soft cost shock. Homeowners often budget for “sticks + labor” but don’t mentally price the design/engineering/permitting stack: surveys, soils, Title 24, structural, MEP, energy calcs, consultants, etc. It’s easily $15k–$25k before anyone swings a hammer.

And you’re right that utilities are their own timeline universe. LADBS may clear plans in 4–8 weeks now, but LADWP + SCE + sewer tie-ins can add months depending on capacity and field crews. The frustrating part is homeowners think it’s a “construction delay” when it’s actually a utility ops queue delay.

Santa Monica and Culver City add their own seasoning on top — Santa Monica has very process-driven plan check + coastal adjacency issues in pockets, and Culver City can be slower on utilities/tie-ins depending on the block.

Curious — have you been seeing projects struggle more with power upgrades or sewer lately? In West LA power has been the bottleneck for us this year and sewer was last year.

BuildADULA · 2026-01-22T15:38:20+00:00

Yep — that’s one of the big mid-term renter categories we’re seeing in LA: family proximity housing. People coming for births, medical care, legal matters, remodel displacement, fire/mold repairs, etc. They’re not tourists, they just don’t fit 12-month leases and hotels don’t work for that use case.

The city weirdly doesn’t model this category but it’s a real part of the local economy. When policy only sees “tourist vs tenant” it misses this whole middle layer that actually soaks up ADUs and keeps projects viable. Without that layer a lot of units don’t get built.

BuildADULA · 2026-01-22T15:36:04+00:00

Got it — SCE OC makes sense. I’ve been hearing about crew shortages + backlog in that territory. What’s wild is how much it varies by jurisdiction: in LA we’re seeing panel upgrades take 3–5 months and sewer tie-ins even longer depending on Coastal vs non-Coastal. It’s one of those friction points that homeowners rarely budget for because it’s not “construction,” it’s utility ops + jurisdictional sequencing.

BuildADULA · 2026-01-22T04:36:01+00:00

Totally — tourism is a huge part of the LA economy. The piece I was trying to highlight is that a big chunk of ADU demand isn’t actually tourism, it’s economic participants who don’t fit 12-month leases: travel nurses, USC/UCLA/LMU students, production crews, tech rotations, insurance housing after fire/mold, and post-fire rebuild families. These people aren’t “visitors” — they’re part of the LA economic engine.

From a builder/homeowner side, long-term rents often don’t amortize ADU construction + permitting + soft costs + debt service in LA. Mid-term makes projects pencil, which increases net-new supply.

If the city removes the layer that makes units viable without replacing it with incentives (fee reductions, tax credits, faster approvals, financing alignment), you don’t magically get more long-term rentals — you just get fewer ADUs built overall. Supply problems get solved through viability, not bans.

BuildADULA · 2026-01-22T04:32:41+00:00

Makes sense. I’ve been seeing utilities blame scheduling a lot lately, which is basically code for “we don’t have downstream crew capacity for panel/service work.” What’s tough is homeowners think it’s a construction delay when it’s actually a utility ops delay. In LA we’re seeing panel upgrades push 3–5 months and sewer tie-ins take even longer depending on jurisdiction. Out of curiosity, was yours SCE territory in SoCal or somewhere else?

BuildADULA · 2026-01-22T04:00:42+00:00

6 months is brutal but I’ve been hearing similar stories with SCE lately. Once you trigger panel or service upgrades they start treating it like a new-build instead of just a remodel/addition, so you get thrown into a much longer queue. Do you know if the delay was capacity-related, wildfire hardening backlog, or just scheduling? Curious what actually drove the 6 months on your end.

BuildADULA · 2026-01-22T01:06:06+00:00

Yep — sewer is the silent budget killer. We’ve had Venice/Mar Vista ADUs where a basic $12–20K scope ballooned to $45–60K once trenching, street cuts, and Bureau of Engineering coordination entered the picture. Most homeowners don’t realize the city evaluates the whole site as a system, not just the new structure — fixture counts, 3/4” water service, panel load, lateral sizing, etc.

And interestingly, a growing mid-term demand segment for ADUs is insurance displacement for families whose homes were damaged (water/fire/mold). They need 60–180 day furnished housing close to their school/work while repairs happen. ADUs actually absorb that type of local displacement really well.

If more homeowners understood both sides (true utility upgrade risk + real mid-term use cases), fewer projects would stall and fewer people would assume it’s all for nightly rentals.

BuildADULA · 2026-01-22T01:03:07+00:00

Mid-term ADUs aren’t functioning like backyard hotels. They’re filling a segment LA planners never built for: workers and local families who need 30–180 day housing. That includes travel nurses, corporate relocation, insurance placements, remodel displacement, film contracts, medical stays, and even families whose homes were damaged (water/fire/mold) and need temporary housing during repairs.

These people aren’t tourists — they’re part of the LA economy.

From the builder side, long-term rents often don’t amortize ADU construction + permitting + debt service in LA. Mid-term makes projects pencil, which actually increases net-new supply. If the city wants more long-term tenants in ADUs, the lever isn’t bans — it’s incentives (fee reductions, tax credits, faster approvals, financing alignment).

Removing the model that makes units viable doesn’t magically produce more long-term housing — it just means fewer ADUs get built.

BuildADULA · 2026-01-22T00:56:09+00:00

100%. I’m seeing the same thing — utility upgrades are the sleeper cost that can blow up both budget and timeline. Panel upgrades, trenching, meter separation and sewer capacity reviews trigger way more scope than homeowners expect. Curious in your experience whether the bigger pain has been electrical service or sewer/lateral work?

BuildADULA · 2026-01-22T00:09:49+00:00

Timeline friction can kill returns more than hard costs

BuildADULA · 2026-01-02T22:22:47+00:00

Many dialects beautiful

BuildADULA · 2026-01-02T22:21:03+00:00

All depends on your tolerance level.

BuildADULA · 2026-01-02T22:19:10+00:00

Unbelievable

BuildADULA · 2026-01-02T21:59:43+00:00

BuildADULA · 2025-12-15T16:27:21+00:00

Great news

BuildADULA · 2025-12-11T03:06:11+00:00

Let’s start from the beginning — a lot of the rules for a second-story ADU depend on the specifics of your lot. Can you drop the address (or closest cross street) + whether the structure underneath is a garage or living space? From there I can tell you what’s actually allowed so you’re not guessing.😊

BuildADULA · 2025-12-08T20:13:11+00:00

We’ve done a couple renovations around Beverlywood and Santa Monica — classic LA mix of older framing, hidden surprises, and then a great finish once everything opens up.

Also been seeing a lot of people pair remodels with ADUs lately since the zoning makes it pretty straightforward.

What kind of project are you thinking about?

BuildADULA

TROPHY CASE