The answer, first.
01The short answerSample report
Room for 3 more homes
- A junior ADU inside the house, up to 500 sq ft
- The garage, made into an ADU
- A new detached ADU, up to 1,200 sq ft
Lot Report by SAZANCO · $49.99
Buying a house? See how much you can add before you make an offer.Investing in a property? See how many homes it can hold before you buy.Want an ADU in the back yard? See if one fits, and how big it can be.Adding on? See how many more square feet the City allows.Own an apartment building? See how many ADUs the law lets you add.
See what your lot can hold, before you pay for plans or the lot.
Type an address in the City of Los Angeles. See how many homes the law lets you add, or how much bigger the house can get, drawn on your lot.
Built from City, County and State records, with the code section for every rule. A person at SAZANCO checks each report before it goes to you.
Below is a real report on a house lot in the San Fernando Valley, page by page, with the address hidden. Page 04 is a concept: the same check on a fourplex.
Or make the house itself bigger.
02Adding onSample report
Add about 1,784 sq ft to the house
3,874 sq ftCity floor area limit for this lot2,090 sq ftthe house now, on record33 ftheight, with a sloped roof25 · 6.5 · 25 ftfront, side and rear yards- One floor or two
- Plan check only, no hearing
LAMC 12.03, 12.07.01, 12.21.1
Every rule named, with its section.
03The lawSample report
State ADU law Yes
- Up to 1,200 sq ft in LA, 800 always allowed
- 16 ft tall, 4 ft from the side and rear lines
- No impact fees at 750 sq ft or less
There nowNew ADUGround it may use
Gov. Code 66323(a)(1)–(2), 66321 · LAMC 12.22 A.33
The same check on a fourplex.
04An apartment lotConcept
Room for 5 more homes
- 4 detached ADUs, one per home there now (8 at most)
- 1 more inside, in space nobody lives in
- 18 ft tall next to a two-storey building
There nowNew ADUs
SB 1211 · Gov. Code 66323(a)(3)–(4), 66321(b)(4)(C)
Problems found before you pay a designer.
05Check this firstSample report
2 things to check first
- Fire access. The back is 152 ft from the street. LAFD wants 150.
- Soil. A liquefaction zone, so you need a soils report.
Drawn like a plot plan.
06The lotSample report
Your lot, from public records
RE9-1zone9,686 sq ftlot area65 × 148 ftfront and side lot lines1973house built10 public maps, checked for you.
07The map checksSample report
1 of 10 maps touches this lot
- Flood zone
- Fault zone
- Liquefaction zone
- Methane zone
- Hillside area
- Very high fire hazard zone
- Coastal zone
- Historic district or monument
- Specific plan
- Near major transit
Know what to do next.
08Next stepsSample report
5 steps, in order
- Pull the permit historyYou, at LADBS
- Boundary and topo surveyLand surveyor
- Soils reportGeotechnical engineer
- Ask about fire accessLAFD
- Plans, then plan checkYour designer
Why you can trust it
You can check every line.
- Public records, named. Zoning from City Planning's zoning map, the lot and the house from the County Assessor, permits from LADBS, hazard maps from the State, CAL FIRE and FEMA.
- The law, by section. Every answer names the code section it comes from, so you or your architect can look it up.
- A person checks it. Someone at SAZANCO reads each report against the records before it is sent to you.
- It says what it can't know. Lot lines come from the County's map, not a survey. Easements and soil aren't in public records, and the report tells you who to ask.
- Your money back. If we can't stand behind a report, you get the $49.99 back.
Your lot · $49.99
Get this report for your lot.
Type the address. The free check shows the zone, the lot size and how many homes the law allows. The full report is $49.99.
One lot in the City of Los Angeles per report. You pay on a secure payment page. We check the report, then email it to you within 24 hours. See a sample (PDF)
A planning report, not a permit, good for 90 days. Lot lines: the County's map, not a survey. Easements: only a title report shows them. Soil and slope: not tested.
The trade is old. The tools are not.
SAZANCO is a licensed general contractor in Los Angeles. We work out what the law lets you build on your lot, then we build it.
