ADU permit application

ADU permit application support built to get approved, not resubmitted.

A complete permit package — site plan, floor plans, elevations, structural, and Title 24 energy — prepared and shepherded through city review for Bay Area homeowners, with the design decisions that control permit speed made before submission, not after.

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Fabuhome ADU permit application preparation and city review support

60: Days California cities have to act on a complete ADU application
CA: Licensed contractor — License #1133829
1: One coordinated package instead of loose documents

Scope

What a complete ADU permit application includes — and why incomplete ones bounce.

Cities do not reject ADUs because they dislike ADUs. They bounce applications because a sheet is missing, drawings contradict each other, or the energy paperwork does not match the plans. Completeness is the whole game.

The drawing set

Site plan with setbacks and utilities, dimensioned floor plans, exterior elevations, and sections — internally consistent, so the plan checker never has to guess which sheet is right.

Technical inputs

Structural drawings and calculations, Title 24 energy compliance documentation, and utility information for water, sewer, and electrical service — coordinated with the architectural set, not stapled to it.

Review support

Submission through the city portal, tracking the completeness determination, and responding to plan-check comments with revisions until the permit is issued.

The clock

The 60-day clock only starts on a complete application.

California law requires cities to act on a complete ADU application within 60 days. The word doing the work in that sentence is complete — an incompleteness letter resets everything.

What starts the clock

Every required sheet present, dimensioned, and consistent across the set
Structural and Title 24 documents that match the architectural drawings
Utility, setback, and site information the checker can verify without asking

What stops it

Missing or contradictory sheets that trigger an incompleteness determination
Plan-check comments that require redesign, not just clarification
Revisions that fix one comment and quietly create two new conflicts

What upstream design controls

A layout that respects setbacks and height limits before anything is drawn
Structural and energy strategy chosen early, so the documents agree
Knowing that CA law generally protects ADUs to at least 800 square feet

Why applications stall

Permit speed is decided before the application is submitted.

The slow ADU permits we see follow the same script: a floor plan gets drawn in isolation, the structural engineer works from an older version, the Title 24 report describes windows that moved, and the city — reasonably — sends it all back. Each review-comment cycle costs weeks, and every cycle traces back to decisions that were never coordinated.

Fabuhome runs the ADU permit application as one package with one owner. The design is checked against city standards before drafting gets detailed, the structural and energy inputs are built from the same current set, and when comments come back — some always do — the responses are turned around fast, without the finger-pointing that happens when four separate consultants each own a sheet. That is how a San Jose or Santa Clara submittal earns its completeness determination on the first pass.

One internally consistent drawing set instead of four consultants' PDFs
Structural and Title 24 coordinated with the current floor plan
Submission and completeness tracking handled through the city process
Plan-check comment responses managed until the permit is in hand

Get your ADU application reviewed

Fabuhome material and finish coordination

Process

A permit application sequence that respects the clock.

Every step exists to avoid the resubmittal cycle that quietly adds months.

01

Feasibility check

Confirm setbacks, size, height, and utility path against city standards.
02

Package assembly

Produce plans, elevations, structural, and Title 24 as one coordinated set.
03

Submission

File through the city portal and track the completeness determination.
04

Plan check

Respond to review comments with revisions until the permit is issued.

Connected pages

The permit is one stage — connect it to the rest of the ADU.

Use these pages to plan the design before the application, or the build after it.

ADU Design The design work that determines whether the permit application moves fast. ADU Design San Jose ADU planning shaped around San Jose lots, standards, and review. ADU Garage Conversion Converting an existing garage — a different permit package with its own traps. Permit Drawings Drawing packages for remodels, additions, and other city submissions. ADU Cost Calculator A quick estimate of what your ADU could cost before you commit to drawings.

FAQ

ADU permit application questions.

Short answers for homeowners comparing scope, cost, timeline, and next steps.

What does an ADU permit application include?

A typical package includes a site plan showing setbacks and utilities, dimensioned floor plans, exterior elevations, structural drawings and calculations, Title 24 energy compliance documents, and utility connection information. The exact checklist varies by city, which is why Fabuhome confirms local requirements before assembling the set.

How long does ADU permit approval take?

California requires cities to act on a complete application within 60 days. In practice, total time depends on how many review cycles the package triggers — a clean first submission can move close to that window, while an application that bounces for completeness or accumulates plan-check comments can take several months longer.

How much does the permit process cost for an ADU?

There are two buckets: city fees — plan check, permit, and any utility or school fees, which vary by jurisdiction and unit size — and the professional work of producing the drawings and calculations. Scope drives the second bucket: a simple detached unit needs less engineering than a hillside site or a complex conversion. Fabuhome quotes after a feasibility review, not off a rate card.

Who is this service for — do I need a design first?

Both cases work. If you are starting from scratch, Fabuhome designs the ADU and produces the permit package as one effort. If you already have a design, we can review it for city compliance, complete the technical documents, and manage submission — flagging anything likely to draw comments before the city does.

Why do so many ADU applications get sent back?

Almost always coordination: sheets that contradict each other, energy documents describing an older plan, or missing utility and structural information. Fabuhome builds the package as one set with one owner, so the city reviews a consistent application instead of a stack of documents from consultants who never compared notes.

Next step

Tell us what you want to build.

A useful first message includes the property city, project type, timeline, and budget range. Vague messages get vague answers. Specifics save everyone time.

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