ADU Design & Permitting Near Me in Los Angeles - One Fixed Price, Permits Handled

ADU Design & Permitting Near You in Los Angeles, CA

If you’re searching for ADU design and permitting near you in Los Angeles, Ellery ADU Studio has designed, permitted, and built more than 900 ADUs across the metro since 2015 – every one with a written price before work started. We cover Los Angeles and surrounding neighborhoods under one contract that takes the project from schematic drawings through final inspection sign-off, so there’s no hand-off gap between the designer and the builder. Call (424) 551-7706 and a live person will answer – not a voicemail queue.

Nadia Ellery founded this studio specifically because the existing model – hire a designer, then hire a separate contractor, then watch them argue over who’s responsible for the discrepancy – was costing Los Angeles homeowners time, money, and their permits. The one-contract design-build structure is the fix, and it’s been the fix since 2015.

Fast, Local ADU Design & Permitting

When you call (424) 551-7706, a live person answers around the clock. We can typically schedule an initial site assessment within a few business days for properties across Los Angeles, Culver City, West Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Venice, Westchester, Beverly Hills, and West Hollywood.

That first Site Assessment is the foundation of your written price. Under Haven Standard Clause 1, no number leaves our office without documentation behind it – we measure the lot, confirm the setbacks, check the utilities stub-out locations, and then produce a written scope with a fixed price. You don’t get a rough estimate followed by a revised estimate followed by a change order. You get one number, in writing, before anything else happens.

We’ve kept that standard across every single project since 2015 – from compact Junior ADUs in Mar Vista bungalows to new detached ADUs on larger lots in Beverlywood and Palms. Los Angeles permitting timelines vary by council district and project type, but we know the LADBS process and common sticking points well enough to plan around them from the first drawing set.

Areas We Cover

Ellery ADU Studio serves homeowners across a wide stretch of Los Angeles County. The neighborhoods and cities we work in most frequently include Culver City, West Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Venice, Westchester, Beverly Hills, and West Hollywood – all within reach of our Los Angeles base. If you’ve already done your research on what’s involved, our full overview of ADU Design & Permitting in Los Angeles walks through LADBS requirements, typical setback rules, and what a complete permit set actually contains.

Homeowners in Silver Lake, Echo Park, Atwater Village, Los Feliz, and the mid-Wilshire corridor also contact us regularly. Each of those neighborhoods has its own zoning layer – some are in the Hillside Grading Ordinance zone, some have deed restrictions tied to older subdivision covenants, and a few have specific fire clearance requirements from LAFD that affect where a detached ADU can sit on the lot. We document all of that, including any HOA & Zoning Compliance issues, in the permit set-not in a verbal conversation that you have to remember six months later.

What We Actually Do: The Five Services Under One Contract

This matters when you’re searching “ADU design and permitting near me,” because a lot of what shows up in those results is either a design-only firm that hands you off to a contractor, or a contractor who subs out the drawings. Ellery ADU Studio is neither. The following five ADU Design & Permitting services are all available under the same single written contract:

• ADU Design & Permitting – schematic design through construction documents, plan check responses, and permit issuance coordination with LADBS.
• Garage Conversion ADU – structural assessment, title 24 energy compliance, and full permit set for converting an existing attached or detached garage. In Los Angeles, garage conversions typically run $120,000-$220,000 all-in, drawings through final inspection, depending on finish level and utility work required.
• New Detached ADU – ground-up design and construction of a standalone unit. Site-built detached ADUs in Los Angeles typically run $250,000-$480,000 depending on size, finish level, and required site work. Prefab and modular options through brands like Abodu, Cover, Dvele, Mighty Buildings, and Plant Prefab can shift that range.
• Junior ADU & Interior Conversion – converting existing interior space (a bedroom, a finished basement area, or a portion of the main house) into a permitted Junior ADU under California’s JADU statutes. These projects typically run $60,000-$130,000, though the range depends heavily on how much existing infrastructure can be used.
• ADU Site Prep & Utilities – grading, drainage, electrical panel upgrades, sewer lateral work, and gas line extensions. This line item is the one most often left out of a competitor’s initial quote. We include it in ours.

The written price covers all five where applicable. Under Haven Standard Clause 5 (No Surprises), the scope is locked at signing. No door-side upsells, no scope creep.

How Los Angeles Permitting Actually Works – and Where Projects Stall

Los Angeles permitting for ADUs runs through LADBS – the Department of Building and Safety – and in some cases requires concurrent review by the Department of City Planning if there’s a discretionary approval involved. Most standard ADUs don’t require discretionary approval since 2020 state law (AB 68 and its successors) stripped most of those barriers, though the Permit Application itself still demands careful preparation. But there are still meaningful complications.

In West Los Angeles and parts of Santa Monica-adjacent neighborhoods, older properties often have utility easements that cut through the back of the lot exactly where a detached ADU would otherwise go. In Venice, the proximity to the coastal zone means some parcels trigger a California Coastal Commission notification, which adds weeks. In Beverly Hills and West Hollywood, the city jurisdictions are separate from Los Angeles, so the permit goes through Beverly Hills Community Development or West Hollywood Building and Safety rather than LADBS – different forms, different plan check timelines, different fees.

We’ve navigated all of it. The permit set is the core product here, not an afterthought, and it’s designed from day one to move through plan check without unnecessary back-and-forth. When LADBS or another jurisdiction does issue a correction, we respond to it – that’s included in the contract, not billed separately.

Prefab and Modular ADU Coordination in Los Angeles

If you’ve been researching ADU options, you’ve probably seen names like Abodu, Cover, Dvele, Mighty Buildings, Boxabl, Plant Prefab, Tuff Shed, and James Hardie come up. These systems can shorten construction timelines and in some cases reduce cost – but they still require a site-specific permit set, utility connections, foundation work, and inspection coordination. A prefab unit without a proper site contract is how homeowners end up with an unpermitted structure and a red tag.

Ellery ADU Studio specifies and coordinates prefab and modular systems within the same single contract. Nadia Ellery has worked with these manufacturers since they first entered the Los Angeles market in force around 2019-2020, and the studio’s drawings are structured to match each manufacturer’s engineering package so the two sets move through plan check together rather than creating conflicting documentation.

The Haven Standard: What Every Ellery Project Includes

Every project we take on is governed by The Haven Standard. It’s not a marketing phrase – it’s a set of documented commitments that appear in the contract before any work begins:

• Written Price Before Any Work Starts (Clause 1) – the price is in writing and signed before the first drawing begins. No exceptions, no ranges that become higher numbers at the contract stage.
• Documented Photo Record – every site visit, every inspection, every milestone produces a documented photo record. Clients receive evidence of what was found and what was done – not a verbal summary.
• 365-Day Done Right Promise – if the finished ADU is not built to the permitted drawings, Ellery makes it right. That commitment is in writing before the project starts, not offered after the fact if something goes wrong.
• No Surprises (Clause 5) – scope is locked at signing. Change orders exist only for genuine owner-initiated changes to the scope, not for items that should have been caught during design.
• Free Second Opinion – if you have a written estimate from another firm, we’ll review it and tell you what’s included, what’s missing, and what the numbers look like against current Los Angeles market rates. No charge, no obligation.

What a Complete Permit Set Contains

This is the documentation you receive as part of every Ellery project – not a summary, the actual set:

• Site plan with verified lot dimensions, setback lines, and existing structure locations
• Floor plans, elevations, and sections at construction document level
• Structural calculations and foundation plan (for new detached ADUs and most garage conversions)
• Title 24 energy compliance documentation
• Electrical, mechanical, and plumbing plans
• LADBS (or applicable jurisdiction) plan check responses, documented and filed
• Inspection record through final sign-off
• Documented photo record throughout construction

That set is yours. It establishes the legal basis for the unit, supports your eventual resale or rental documentation, and is the same set the 365-Day Done Right Promise is measured against.

Key Takeaways

• Ellery ADU Studio has designed, permitted, and built 900+ ADUs in Los Angeles since 2015 – every one with a written price before work started.
• One contract covers design, permitting, and construction. No designer-versus-builder blame gap.
• Written pricing before any work begins – Haven Standard Clause 1. No “call for a quote.”
• Service area includes Los Angeles, Culver City, West Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Venice, Westchester, Beverly Hills, and West Hollywood.
• Garage conversion ADUs typically run $120,000-$220,000 all-in in Los Angeles. New detached ADUs typically run $250,000-$480,000. Junior ADUs typically run $60,000-$130,000.
• 365-Day Done Right Promise backed in writing before the project starts.
• A live person answers (424) 551-7706 around the clock.

Frequently Asked Questions

How fast can you get started on an ADU project in Los Angeles?

We can typically schedule an initial site assessment within a few business days of your first call. That visit produces your written price – and under Haven Standard Clause 1, no work begins until that price is signed. The LADBS plan check timeline after submission runs roughly 4-8 weeks for standard ADU projects, though some jurisdictions like Beverly Hills and West Hollywood run on their own timelines. We factor those into the project schedule from the start rather than treating them as surprises later. Call (424) 551-7706 to get your site visit on the calendar.

Do you serve my neighborhood? I’m not sure if I’m in your area.

If you’re in Los Angeles, Culver City, West Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Venice, Westchester, Beverly Hills, or West Hollywood, yes – those are areas we work in regularly. We also serve Silver Lake, Los Feliz, Echo Park, Atwater Village, Mar Vista, Palms, Beverlywood, and much of the mid-Wilshire corridor. The honest answer is that if you’re in the greater Los Angeles area and you’re not sure, call (424) 551-7706 and we’ll tell you directly.

How much does ADU design and permitting cost in Los Angeles?

Design and permitting fees for a standard Los Angeles ADU project typically run $25,000-$55,000 for a full construction document set and permit coordination, depending on project complexity, lot conditions, and whether LADBS or a separate jurisdiction (Beverly Hills, West Hollywood) handles the permit. That fee is part of the all-in price you receive in writing before work starts – it’s not billed separately after the fact. All-in construction costs: garage conversions typically run $120,000-$220,000; new detached ADUs typically run $250,000-$480,000; Junior ADUs typically run $60,000-$130,000. If you have a written estimate from another firm, our Free Second Opinion will tell you what those numbers actually include. Call (424) 551-7706 – you’ll get a real number, in writing, not a range that floats.

Can I reach you after hours or on weekends?

A live person answers (424) 551-7706 around the clock, including weekends. ADU projects don’t always hit their permitting questions on a Tuesday morning, and you shouldn’t have to leave a voicemail and wait for a callback to get a straight answer.

Talk to Ellery ADU Studio About Your Los Angeles Project

If you’re ready to move past research and into a written scope and price, call (424) 551-7706. A live person will answer. We’ll schedule a site assessment, measure the lot, confirm the setbacks and utility conditions, and produce a written price – all before any work begins. That’s Haven Standard Clause 1, and it applies to every project we take on in Los Angeles.

If you’d rather start by reviewing how the full process works, our detailed overview of ADU Design & Permitting in Los Angeles covers LADBS requirements, typical timelines by neighborhood, setback rules, and what each document in a complete permit set does. And if you have a written estimate from another firm, bring it – the Free Second Opinion is exactly what it sounds like.

Written by Nadia Ellery, Owner at Ellery ADU Studio Los Angeles, serving Los Angeles and nearby areas since 2015.