Journal ·
What Are Burbank's ADU Rules, and Where Can You Actually Build One?
Short answer: Burbank allows one accessory dwelling unit on most residential lots, capped at 850 square feet for a studio or one bedroom and 1,000 square feet with more than one bedroom, with a four foot side and rear setback. Two parts of the city are different. In the R-1-H horsekeeping zone no new ADU may be built at all, only converted. In the designated Mountain Fire Zones the cap drops to 800 square feet with no exceptions. Those two limits decide more Burbank projects than any state law does.
How big can an ADU be in Burbank?
Burbank Municipal Code section 10-1-620.3(F) sets the ceiling: "All new attached and detached ADUs shall not exceed 850 square feet, except for an ADU with more than one bedroom shall not exceed 1,000 square feet."
You will see 1,200 square feet quoted often. That number comes from Government Code section 66314, which caps "the total floor area for a detached accessory dwelling unit" at 1,200 square feet. That is a ceiling on what a city may allow, not a floor it must reach. Burbank chose 850 and 1,000.
Burbank also does something most cities do not. Section 10-1-620.3(F)(9) lets you buy back square footage with parking: for each additional on-site stall provided beyond the required minimum, up to 120 square feet is added to the maximum size of one ADU on the lot, and a deed restriction is recorded prohibiting removal of those spaces. That restriction runs with the land, so a buyer inherits it.
Lot size does not gate any of this. State law at Government Code section 66321 forbids a "minimum lot size" requirement for ADUs, and Burbank mirrors that by exempting new ADUs from floor area ratio, lot coverage and open space standards.
What are the Burbank numbers a homeowner actually needs?
| Standard | Burbank rule | Code section |
|---|---|---|
| Max size, studio or 1 bedroom | 850 sq ft | BMC 10-1-620.3(F)(2) |
| Max size, 2+ bedrooms | 1,000 sq ft | BMC 10-1-620.3(F)(2) |
| Max size, Mountain Fire Zone | 800 sq ft, no exceptions | BMC 10-1-620.3(M)(1) |
| Junior ADU | 500 sq ft, inside existing walls | BMC 10-1-620.3(P) |
| Side and rear setback | 4 ft | BMC 10-1-620.3(H)(1) |
| Detached height, standard lot | 17 ft to any architectural feature | BMC 10-1-620.3(G)(3) |
| Detached height, near transit | 18 ft, plus 2 ft for matching roof pitch | BMC 10-1-620.3(G)(3)(a) |
| Above a garage | 20 ft top of plate, 23 ft to features | BMC 10-1-620.3(G)(2) |
| Parking | 1 space per unit or per bedroom, whichever is less | BMC 10-1-620.3(C)(1) |
| Minimum rental term | Longer than 90 days | BMC 10-1-620.3(Q) |
| Decision deadline | 60 days from a complete application | Gov. Code 66317(a)(3) |
Where in Burbank can you not build a new ADU?
Two places, and both catch people mid purchase.
The first is the R-1-H zone, the horsekeeping zone in the Rancho. Section 10-1-620.3(N)(1) says "No new construction of ADUs shall be permitted in the R-1-H zone" and then lists the only paths: converting an existing permitted garage, converting an existing permitted guest dwelling, or converting square footage inside the main house. Subsection (N)(2) closes the obvious workaround, stating that conversion of any existing accessory structure, including a barn, stable, corral or tack room, "shall not be permitted." The city's own preapproved plan page repeats it in one line: "The Rancho area does not allow any new construction of ADU's." If you are looking at a property there, the R-1-H zoning rules shape far more than the ADU question.
The second is the Mountain Fire Zone. Section 10-1-620.3(M)(1) permits no ADU on R-1 or R-1-H property inside those zones unless the unit is a single ADU of no more than 800 square feet or a junior ADU of no more than 500, and brush clearance requirements are met. The city publishes fire zone maps alongside its ADU page. Check the map before you check the lot size.
What is the Burbank Preapproved ADU Program?
It is officially the Burbank Preapproved Accessory Dwelling Unit Program, abbreviated BPAP, and it exists because of Government Code section 65852.27, added by AB 1332. That section requires a local agency to "either approve or deny the application within 30 days" when the application uses a plan the city preapproved within the current triennial Building Standards Code cycle. Thirty days instead of sixty.
Here is the part the program page states plainly and almost nobody repeats. The Burbank library currently holds exactly one approved plan, listed as "BPAP 24001, City of Burbank 432 SF 1-Story Studio ADU." The program is for new construction only, and the page says garage conversions "cannot be included." The preapproval also expires with the code cycle: the page notes the next triennial cycle started January 1, 2026, and that plans must be updated and reviewed when the city adopts the new code.
The 30-day track is real, and today it is a 432 square foot studio or nothing. Check the BPAP page before budgeting around it.
How long does Burbank have to approve an ADU application?
Sixty days, and the clock has a front end most owners never invoke. Government Code section 66317(a)(2)(A) requires the permitting agency to determine whether the application is complete and give written notice "not later than 15 business days after the permitting agency received the application." Then subsection (a)(3): "If the local agency has not approved or denied the completed application within 60 days, the application shall be deemed approved."
That is why the 15 business day completeness notice matters. Until an application is complete the 60 days has not started, and the completeness letter is the document that proves when it did.
What will Burbank Water and Power charge you?
This is the line item that moves budgets, and the utility says so itself. The BWP water plan check handout tells applicants to contact Water Engineering and warns that "water charges and fees can vary widely (from a few hundred up to ten thousand dollars) depending on your project," driven by fixture count, main location, and whether a separate service is requested. It also gives an ordering instruction worth following: have the Fire Department review the plans first, then the Water Division, because water fees hinge on the sprinkler requirement.
On the electric side, BWP's ADU plan check requirements state that a single metered residential service may not exceed 400 amps without BWP preapproval, and that since October 1, 2023 a customer may face a capacity charge based on the kVA demand of the new or upgraded panel.
Impact fees are separate and mostly avoidable. Government Code section 66311.5(c)(1) bars any impact fee on an ADU of 750 square feet or less, and Burbank repeats that at 10-1-620.3(K)(2). Cross 750 square feet and the fees come back, charged proportionally against the primary dwelling. That single threshold explains a lot of 749 square foot floor plans.
Can you rent a Burbank ADU, and for how long?
Burbank requires terms longer than 90 days. Section 10-1-620.3(Q) reads: "ADUs and Junior ADUs, which are rented, shall be rented for terms longer than 90 days." State law at Government Code section 66315 authorizes cities to require "rentals of terms 30 days or longer." Burbank's floor is three times that. Whether the gap survives a challenge is a legal question, and not one to guess at. For a buyer underwriting rental income, the operative number today is 90 days.
An ADU may be rented separately from the house but may not be sold or conveyed separately from it, per 10-1-620.3(R).
Owner occupancy is a quieter trap. It does not apply to a standard ADU, but Burbank left the clause in the code as a dormant provision that "shall spring back into effect without further action of the City Council" if state law changes. For a junior ADU sharing sanitation facilities, owner occupancy applies now.
What happens to a unit that was built without permits?
Two separate mechanisms, and they do different things.
Government Code section 66331 lets an owner request that a local agency delay enforcement of a building standard for an ADU built before January 1, 2020. The mechanics live in Health and Safety Code section 17980.12, which sets the delay at five years and adds a hard date: "The enforcement agency shall not approve any applications pursuant to this section on or after January 1, 2030." The whole section repeals January 1, 2035. That is a closing window, not a standing amnesty.
Separately, Burbank's own 10-1-620.3(H)(3) allows unpermitted accessory structures to keep their legal nonconforming setbacks through an ADU conversion, provided the Building Official finds no threat to health and safety and no recorded easement is violated. That provision is what makes a 1950s garage sitting two feet off the line convertible at all. Ignoring the rules is expensive: 10-1-620.6(B) starts penalties at $100 per day.
Q: Does Burbank require a minimum lot size for an ADU?
No. Government Code section 66314(b)(1) states that objective standards "shall not include requirements on minimum lot size," and Burbank exempts new ADUs from floor area ratio, lot coverage, open space and minimum lot size requirements at 10-1-620.3(F)(1).
Q: Do I need to replace the parking spaces if I convert my garage?
No. Section 10-1-620.3(C)(2) says that when a garage, carport or covered parking structure is demolished or converted in conjunction with an ADU, replacement parking for the main dwelling is not required. If you convert the garage, the garage door must come out and be replaced with windows or a residential entry door, per 10-1-620.3(J)(1).
Q: Do I have to install fire sprinklers in a Burbank ADU?
Only if the main house already has them. Section 10-1-620.3(M)(2) provides that if sprinklers are required for the primary dwelling, they are also required for the new ADU, and that building an ADU does not by itself trigger sprinklers in the existing house.
Q: Can I build an ADU in the Rancho if I already have a barn?
No. Section 10-1-620.3(N)(2) specifically excludes conversion of a barn, stable, corral or tack room, and (N)(1) bars new construction in R-1-H outright. Only a permitted garage, a permitted guest dwelling, or interior square footage of the main house may be converted.
This is general information, not legal, tax or engineering advice. Code sections change, and the Burbank Municipal Code moved hosting platforms in 2026, so confirm the current text with the Community Development Department before you spend money. Call Alla at (818) 699-5367 or use the enquiry form.
More on the neighborhoods where these rules bite hardest in the Burbank area guide.