Quick answer: under AB 2533, if your unpermitted ADU or junior ADU was built before 1 January 2020, Los Angeles generally cannot deny a permit to legalize it just because it violates building standards or ADU rules — unless fixing a problem is necessary to meet the health and safety standards that define a substandard building. The city cannot penalize you for having the unit, generally cannot charge impact fees, and has to tell you that you can get a confidential inspection by a licensed contractor before you apply. APLA Construction (CA Lic #1136359) does those inspections and the correction work across Los Angeles.
AB 2533 (Juan Carrillo) amended what was then California Government Code § 66332. Since 1 January 2026 the same provision is § 66311.7: SB 543 (Stats. 2025, ch. 520) renumbered it, and HCD confirms the two citations refer to the same text, so you may see either number in city materials. It was approved by the Governor on 28 September 2024 and has applied since 1 January 2025. It changed the state’s unpermitted-ADU protection in three important ways:
Los Angeles has an enormous stock of garage conversions and backyard units built without permits over the decades. For many of those owners, AB 2533 turns legalization from a gamble into a defined process.
For an unpermitted ADU or JADU constructed before 1 January 2020, Government Code § 66311.7 provides that a local agency:
| The city cannot… | Authority |
| Deny a permit because the unit violates building standards enforced under the State Housing Law | § 66311.7(a)(1) |
| Deny a permit because the unit does not comply with state ADU or JADU law or a local ADU ordinance | § 66311.7(a)(2) |
| Charge impact fees or connection or capacity charges, except where utility infrastructure is required to meet health and safety standards and the fee is otherwise authorized | § 66311.7(e) |
| Penalize you for having had the unpermitted unit — and it must approve the permits needed to correct health and safety problems | AB 2533 |
Note what the fee waiver covers: impact fees and utility connection or capacity charges. Ordinary building permit and plan-check fees are a separate matter and should be expected.
The protection has a real limit. Under § 66311.7(b), the city may deny the permit if it finds that correcting a violation is necessary to comply with the standards in Health and Safety Code § 17920.3 — the conditions that make a building legally substandard. And under § 66311.7(c), the section does not apply to a building that is deemed substandard under § 17920.3.
Section 17920.3 covers conditions such as missing basic sanitation, hazardous wiring, hazardous plumbing or mechanical equipment, structural hazards and inadequate exits. In practice, that means the question is rarely whether an older unit can be legalized and usually what needs fixing first — which is exactly what the confidential inspection is for.
This is the most useful provision for homeowners, and the least known. Under § 66311.7(d), every local agency must publish, through its permit checklists and website:
The point is sequencing. A private inspection tells you what the unit needs before you put it in front of the city, so you can decide whether and how to proceed with full information. Once you apply, a city inspector may inspect the unit for compliance with health and safety standards and give recommendations — and by then you already know what they are likely to find.
The 1 January 2020 date matters, so documentation matters. Local agencies implementing AB 2533 have listed evidence such as county assessor records, escrow or real estate disclosure documents, prior building or planning records, insurance documents, notarized letters from prior owners or tenants, and dated photographs. Requirements vary by jurisdiction, so confirm what LADBS (City of Los Angeles) or LA County Building and Safety (unincorporated areas) will accept for your address. Gather what you have before you apply.
A separate provision, Government Code § 66331, helps owners who are facing a building-code enforcement action. On the owner’s request, a local agency must delay enforcement of a building standard for an ADU built before 1 January 2020 — or one built later in a jurisdiction whose ADU ordinance was noncompliant at the time but is compliant now — subject to Health and Safety Code § 17980.12. It buys time; it does not legalize the unit.
What the state has told Los Angeles. In a 24 March 2026 technical-assistance letter to the City, HCD said the law sets no upper limit on the number of pre-2020 units that must be given a path to a permit, provided each is habitable and meets the definition of an ADU. A legalized unit can count toward the ADU totals allowed under Government Code § 66323, but § 66323 cannot be used to stop a unit from being legalized. That matters most on apartment properties with several unpermitted units.
For the permit side of new and converted units generally, see our ADU permit process guide.
In July 2026 LADBS published Information Bulletin P/BC 2026-161, setting out how the City of Los Angeles permits pre-2020 unpermitted ADUs and JADUs and issues them a Certificate of Occupancy. The key points:
APLA Construction is a licensed general contractor (CA Lic #1136359) and can carry out the confidential pre-application inspection AB 2533 describes, then the correction work that follows — electrical, plumbing, egress, framing and the other items that typically surface in older garage conversions. Because every unit is different, we scope after inspecting rather than quoting a flat rate. If your unit is a garage conversion, our garage conversion ADU guide and our article on ADU parking requirements are worth reading too.
AB 2533 is a 2024 California law that amended the state’s unpermitted-ADU provision, now Government Code § 66311.7 (numbered § 66332 until 1 January 2026). For unpermitted ADUs and junior ADUs built before 1 January 2020, it generally bars a local agency from denying a permit because the unit violates building standards or ADU rules, unless correcting the violation is necessary to meet the health and safety standards in Health and Safety Code § 17920.3. It has applied since 1 January 2025.
Only in limited cases if the unit was built before 1 January 2020. The city may deny it if correcting a violation is necessary to comply with Health and Safety Code § 17920.3, and the protection does not apply to a building deemed substandard under that section. Otherwise, § 66311.7 bars denial on the grounds of building-standard or ADU-rule violations.
Under AB 2533, a local agency may not penalize an applicant for having the unpermitted unit, and it must approve the permits needed to correct noncompliance with health and safety standards. That protection applies to units built before 1 January 2020.
Generally not. Government Code § 66311.7(e) says a homeowner legalizing a pre-2020 unit shall not be required to pay impact fees or connection or capacity charges, except when utility infrastructure is required to comply with § 17920.3 and the fee is authorized by § 66324(e). Normal building permit and plan-check fees still apply.
Section 66311.7 does not cover it. Depending on the circumstances, you may still be able to request a delay in enforcement under § 66331 if the unit was built while your jurisdiction’s ADU ordinance was noncompliant, and otherwise legalize it through the standard permit process.
If you own an older garage conversion or backyard unit that was never permitted, the first step is knowing what it needs. APLA Construction can carry out a confidential inspection before you apply and handle the correction work after. Call (818) 818-4419 or email info@aplaconstruction.com. CA License #1136359.
Sources: Government Code § 66311.7 (formerly § 66332, renumbered by SB 543, effective 1 January 2026) and § 66331, read at leginfo.legislature.ca.gov on 14 October 2026; AB 2533 (2024) chaptered text; California Department of Housing and Community Development, Letter of Technical Assistance to the City of Los Angeles, 24 March 2026; LADBS Information Bulletin P/BC 2026-161 (effective 15 July 2026, revised 5 August 2026). Evidence examples from local agency AB 2533 guidance. General information about state law, not legal advice for a specific property.