Beverly Hills Unpermitted ADU Legalization and Rebuild

An accessory dwelling unit that had never been permitted, rebuilt on a new foundation and approved by the City of Beverly Hills as a legal ADU.

Neighborhood: Beverly Hills
Project type: ADU Construction
Permit authority: City of Beverly Hills

The brief

The owner had an existing accessory dwelling unit that had never been permitted. The goal was to bring it to code and get it approved by the City of Beverly Hills as a legal ADU.

The challenge

The floor was not level, and opening it up showed why: in many areas there was no foundation under the structure.

Water had done the rest. The framing behind the shower, the bathroom and the kitchen walls was water damaged, and so was almost all of one wall. That wall backs onto the neighbor's garage. When we removed the drywall, the neighbor's stucco was right behind our framing. The two buildings had been built against each other with no waterproofing between them, and water had been getting in through the gap where the two roofs met.

The sewer line serving the unit was a problem too. It had to be relocated all the way from the ADU to the city connection.

The solution

We poured a new foundation with rebar, installed new floor joists and replaced the damaged framing, the same kind of structural repair an older building often needs once it is opened up. We repaired the roof and sealed the junction between the two buildings so water cannot get in again.

The unit was then rebuilt with new windows, a new HVAC system and an upgraded electrical service that includes a 220-volt line. The plumbing was upgraded throughout, with a wall-mounted toilet and an in-wall tank, and custom cabinets and custom closets were built for the kitchen and the bedroom. The bathroom is very small, so we chose a wall-mounted toilet and a wall-hung vanity to keep the floor open, and enlarged the shower slightly within the same room.

The sewer line was rerouted to the city connection. Sewer work often sets the scope of an ADU project; on our Los Angeles garage conversion, the sewer trench was most of the job.

Construction took about a month once the City of Beverly Hills issued the permits. The City's approval process came before that and is not part of the month. When the work was done, the City inspected the unit and approved it as a legal ADU.

The finished unit

The kitchen has cream raised-panel cabinets with brass pulls, a white and grey speckled counter, a stainless sink with a high-arc faucet and a backsplash of long, dark tiles. The bathroom is lined in large white tiles with grey veining, floor to ceiling in the shower and as a wainscot on the other walls, edged in brass. The shower has frameless glass, a brass overhead shower and a hand shower on a slide bar, a recessed niche and a linear drain. A wall-hung wood-tone vanity with a white sink top, a brass faucet and a brass-framed mirror sits beside the wall-mounted toilet. The main room has light wood-look plank flooring, white walls, recessed ceiling lights and a wall of built-in wardrobes with drawers.

Permitting in Beverly Hills

Permitting went through the City of Beverly Hills, not LADBS. The City's own ADU page says discretionary review does not apply to ADUs that meet its objective code standards, and that a completed ADU Affordability Questionnaire is required for approval of an ADU. The same page covers older unpermitted units: under AB 2533 (Government Code section 66332, signed September 28, 2024), the City may not deny a permit for an unpermitted ADU built before January 1, 2020 because it does not meet building or local ADU standards, though it may deny one for a property deemed substandard under Health and Safety Code section 17920.3. That law came after this project, which was approved by bringing the unit fully to code.

Last verified October 2026 against the City of Beverly Hills ADU page. Confirm current requirements with the City's Planning Division before relying on anything above.

Scope of work

New foundation with rebar
New floor joists
New plywood subfloor
Water-damaged framing replaced
Roof repair and waterproofing at the junction with the neighboring building
New windows
New HVAC system
Upgraded electrical service with a 220-volt line
Recessed lighting
Plumbing upgraded throughout
Sewer line relocated to the city connection
Drywall throughout, with moisture-resistant board in the bathroom
New hot-mop shower pan and shower waterproofing
Complete new bathroom with an enlarged shower: tiled walk-in shower with frameless glass, wall-hung vanity, wall-mounted toilet with in-wall tank
Complete new kitchen: custom cabinets, countertop, backsplash, sink and faucet
Custom closets
New wood-look plank flooring throughout
New baseboards and molding
Interior painting throughout
Legalization with the City of Beverly Hills

Before & after

The original bathroom with a framed glass shower in blue mosaic tile, a white vanity and a toilet — Before: the original bathroom, with a framed glass shower in blue mosaic tile, a white vanity behind it and the toilet in front.

The finished bathroom with a frameless glass shower, a wall-hung vanity and a wall-mounted toilet — After: the same bathroom, with a frameless glass shower, a wall-hung vanity and a wall-mounted toilet.

The original bedroom wall of white built-in cabinets, with a wall air conditioner to the right — Before: the bedroom wall as we found it, with white built-in cabinets and a wall air conditioner beside them.

The finished bedroom with new built-in closets, a wall air conditioner above a desk and new flooring — After: the same wall, with new built-in closets, the air conditioner above a desk and new flooring.

The work

The kitchen sink wall with the cabinets removed, stained along the base, over dark damaged flooring — The kitchen sink wall after the cabinets came out: water staining along the base of the wall and dark, damaged flooring where the sink cabinet stood.

Water-stained framing and insulation in the old shower corner, above a darkened subfloor — Inside the old shower corner: water-stained framing and insulation, and a darkened subfloor under the removed tile.

The bathroom floor opened, showing old joists over bare soil and the old drain fittings — The bathroom floor opened up: old joists over bare soil, with the drain fittings still in place.

Rotted, crumbling sheathing with a black coating between the studs at the base of a wall — Behind the wall finish: rotted, crumbling sheathing with a black coating at the base of the studs.

The main room with its floor removed and a yellow level laid across the old joists over soil — The main room with its floor removed: a level laid across the old joists, with bare soil underneath.

The opened shared wall, with the neighbor's grey stucco directly behind the studs — The wall shared with the neighbor's garage, opened up: the neighbor's grey stucco sits directly behind the studs, with nothing between them.

New floor joists laid across the main room — New floor joists going in across the main room.

New plywood subfloor laid over new joists at the kitchen and bathroom end of the unit — New plywood subfloor going down over the new joists at the kitchen and bathroom end of the unit.

The main room with its new plywood subfloor in place — The main room with its new subfloor in place.

A new shower valve with new copper supply lines in the open wall — A new shower valve with new copper supply lines.

New copper supply stubs on a copper bracket and a new black drain line in an open wall — New copper supply lines and a new drain at a sink wall.

The bathroom floor open with new black drain lines below the joists and rebar along the walls — The bathroom floor opened again: new drain lines below the joists, and rebar laid along the base of the walls.

Rebar tied in a trench beneath the floor framing before the concrete pour — Rebar tied in a trench beneath the floor framing, before the concrete pour.

Fresh concrete placed along the base of a wall under the framing, with a shovel — Fresh concrete placed along the base of a wall, under the framing.

An in-wall toilet tank and frame set into new insulated bathroom framing — The in-wall tank and frame for the wall-mounted toilet, set into the new framing.

The bathroom reframed and insulated, with a new window, drain fittings and a framed shower curb — The bathroom reframed and insulated, with a new window, new drain fittings and the shower curb framed on the new subfloor.

A black hot-mop shower pan across the shower floor — The new hot-mop shower pan, a black waterproof layer across the shower floor.

Shower walls coated for waterproofing while large white veined tiles go down on the bathroom floor — The shower walls waterproofed, and large white tiles with grey veining going down on the bathroom floor.

New cream kitchen cabinets installed on new wood-look flooring, before the countertops — Kitchen cabinets installed and the new flooring down, before the countertops went on.

Built-in closet cabinets being assembled on the bedroom wall beside the air conditioner — The bedroom's built-in closets being assembled on the wall beside the air conditioner.

The result

A wall-hung wood-tone vanity with a white sink top, a brass faucet and a brass-framed mirror — The finished vanity: a wall-hung wood-tone vanity with a white sink top, a brass faucet and a brass-framed mirror.

A tiled shower with brass fixtures on a slide bar, a brass-edged niche, a linear drain and frameless glass — The finished shower: brass fixtures on a slide bar, a recessed niche with a brass edge, a linear drain and frameless glass.

Finished built-in wardrobes with drawers beside a wall air conditioner, over wood-look flooring — The finished closet wall: built-in wardrobes with drawers, beside the wall air conditioner.

The finished kitchen with cream raised-panel cabinets, a speckled counter and a dark tile backsplash — The finished kitchen: cream raised-panel cabinets with brass pulls, a white and grey speckled counter and a dark tile backsplash.

A wall-mounted toilet and wall-hung vanity, with large veined tile on the floor and lower walls — The wall-mounted toilet and the vanity, with large veined tile on the floor and the lower walls.

A speckled kitchen counter with a stainless sink, a high-arc faucet, brass pulls and a dark tile backsplash — The kitchen counter: a stainless sink with a high-arc faucet, brass pulls and a dark tile backsplash.

The finished unit with its entry door, the kitchen at the far end and the bedroom area in front — The finished unit: the entry door, the kitchen at the far end and the bedroom area in front.

Common questions

Can an unpermitted ADU in Beverly Hills be legalized?

Yes. This unit had never been permitted, and after we rebuilt it to code the City of Beverly Hills inspected and approved it as a legal ADU. For units built before January 1, 2020, the City's ADU page now also points to AB 2533, which limits when it can deny a permit for an unpermitted ADU, unless the property is deemed substandard.

What did "no foundation" mean for this unit?

In many areas there was nothing under the structure at all, which is why the floor was not level. We poured a new foundation with rebar, then installed new floor joists and a new subfloor on top of it.

Why was the shared wall with the neighbor's garage a problem?

The unit had been built directly against the neighbor's garage with no waterproofing between the two buildings, so water got in through the gap where the roofs met and damaged almost the entire wall. We replaced the damaged framing, repaired the roof and sealed the junction so water cannot get in again, the same order of work as any water damage reconstruction: stop the water, then rebuild.

Does legalizing an ADU in Beverly Hills go through LADBS?

No. Beverly Hills is its own city, so permits, plan check and inspections go through the City of Beverly Hills, not LADBS. More on working there is on our Beverly Hills page.

Why a wall-mounted toilet and wall-hung vanity?

The bathroom is very small, and fixtures mounted on the wall keep the floor open, which makes the room read larger and easier to clean. The toilet tank sits inside the wall, in the new framing shown in the work photos, and the space saved let us enlarge the shower slightly.

Have an unpermitted unit on your property?

Call (310) 717-0432 or request a consultation. We'll look at the unit's condition and what the City would require before you commit to a plan.

Call (310) 717-0432