Solid ADUADU builder in Westside
The Westside of Los Angeles runs from the beach neighborhoods of Venice and Playa del Rey up through Mar Vista, Palms and West LA to Brentwood and Pacific Palisades. Every neighborhood on this page sits inside the City of Los Angeles, which means one thing for your project: your ADU is reviewed and inspected by LADBS, the LA Department of Building and Safety. We handle that entire process for you, from the first feasibility check and the architectural plans to permits, construction and the final inspection sign-off.
Few parts of LA make a stronger case for an ADU than the Westside. Rents and home values here are among the highest in the city, so a permitted second unit can produce serious long-term rental income, or give family and guests a real home of their own. The housing stock helps too. Much of the Westside was built between the 1920s and the 1950s, which means compact lots, rear alleys and detached garages that sit unused or full of storage. Converting that garage into a legal ADU adds living space without giving up your yard, and it works within the parking and lot-coverage limits that come with smaller Westside parcels. Under California ADU law, ADUs are allowed on most residential lots, and LADBS reviews each application against the current standards.
Thinking about an ADU or garage conversion somewhere on the Westside? Start with a free feasibility check. Tell us your address and what you want to build, and we will tell you what is realistic on your lot, followed by a detailed fixed proposal if you want to move ahead. Call (747) 774-7310 or send us your details, and you will hear from us within 24 hours.
Neighborhoods in Westside
Venice
Venice is one of the most distinctive neighborhoods in Los Angeles, with its walk streets, canals and a housing stock that goes back to the early 1900s. Many blocks are lined with original beach bungalows and Craftsman cottages on compact lots, often with a detached garage opening onto a rear alley. Those tight lots make a ground-up addition difficult, which is exactly why garage conversions are so popular here: the structure already exists, so you gain a legal living unit without losing precious outdoor space. With rental demand in Venice among the strongest on the Westside, a converted garage or backyard ADU can work as a long-term rental, a guest house or a home office steps from the beach. We know how LADBS looks at these smaller coastal lots and can tell you quickly what your property allows.
Mar Vista
Mar Vista is classic postwar Westside: block after block of 1940s and 1950s ranch homes and minimal traditional houses on flat, rectangular lots. The typical setup is a long driveway leading to a detached one- or two-car garage at the back of the lot, and that layout is close to ideal for an ADU. The garage can be converted into a legal unit, or replaced with a new-build ADU if you want more square footage, while the main house stays untouched. Families here use ADUs for aging parents, adult kids and rental income, helped by Mar Vista's location between Venice, Culver City and the Expo Line. Because the lots are level and the garages are structurally straightforward, projects in Mar Vista tend to run smoothly through LADBS review.
West Los Angeles
West Los Angeles sits at the crossroads of the Westside, between Santa Monica, Sawtelle and the 405, with quick access to UCLA, Century City and the tech offices along Olympic. The streets mix 1920s and 1930s Spanish bungalows with postwar homes, most of them on modest lots with a detached garage off the driveway or a rear alley. That combination of older garages and deep renter demand makes West LA a natural fit for garage conversions: the unit rents easily, and the conversion uses space you already own. Homeowners here also add detached new-build ADUs in the backyard when the garage is too small or too far gone to save. We start every West LA project with a feasibility check of your specific lot, so you know what LADBS will accept before you spend anything.
Palms
Palms is one of the oldest and densest neighborhoods on the Westside, and while apartment buildings dominate the main streets, the side streets still hold 1920s to 1940s bungalows and duplexes on compact lots. Many of those properties come with an aging detached garage that contributes nothing but storage. Converting it into a legal ADU puts that square footage to work in a neighborhood where renters are always looking, thanks to the Expo Line, Culver City's job growth and the studios next door. Duplex and small-lot owners in Palms often have ADU options too, which we map out during the feasibility check. Because parking pressure is a real concern on these blocks, we design each project around the current ADU parking rules so the permit process stays clean.
Westchester
Westchester was built out in the 1940s and 1950s as tract housing for the aerospace workforce, and that heritage shows in its wide, flat lots and orderly streets around Loyola Marymount University. The typical home is a single-story postwar house with an attached or detached two-car garage, both of which can become an ADU: attached garages convert into connected suites, detached ones into fully independent units. Demand for those units is steady, from LMU students and staff to people working at LAX and the Silicon Beach offices in Playa Vista. The generous lot sizes also leave room for detached new-build ADUs when owners want to keep their garage. Westchester's level terrain and consistent construction make it one of the most predictable places on the Westside to build.
Playa del Rey
Playa del Rey is a small beach community tucked between the Ballona Wetlands, the bluffs and the ocean, with a quieter feel than its Westside neighbors. Housing splits between mid-century homes up on the bluffs and older beach cottages on the compact lots of the lowlands near the sand. On lots this tight, a garage conversion is often the only realistic way to add living space, and it is a popular one: owners create guest quarters, home offices and rentals that benefit from the proximity to the beach, LAX and Playa Vista. Bluff properties need a careful look at slope and access before planning, which is exactly what our feasibility check covers. We tell you up front what your lot supports, then handle the LADBS process from plans to final inspection.
Brentwood
Brentwood combines the flats south of Sunset, with their 1930s and 1940s traditional and ranch homes on deep lots, and the hillside streets and canyons to the north. Lot sizes here are among the most generous on the Westside, which opens up the full range of ADU options: converting an existing garage, building a detached guest house or adding a spacious backyard unit for family. Many Brentwood owners are less focused on rental income and more on flexibility, housing for parents or adult children, a private office, or space for household staff. Hillside parcels involve extra LADBS review for grading and access, so we assess that early, during the free feasibility check. The result is a clear picture of what your property allows before design work begins.
Pacific Palisades
Pacific Palisades stretches from the bluffs above the ocean into the canyons of the Santa Monica Mountains, a neighborhood of mid-century ranch homes, traditional houses and newer custom builds. Since the January 2025 fire, much of the community has been focused on rebuilding, and many homeowners are using that moment to include an ADU in their plans, as guest quarters, long-term housing for family or a place to live on site while the main house is completed. On lots that were not affected, the classic options apply: converting an existing garage or adding a detached unit where the lot allows. Canyon and bluff parcels involve additional review for slope, access and fire safety, which we factor into the feasibility check from day one. Whatever your starting point, we guide the project through LADBS from plans to final inspection.
Sawtelle
Sawtelle, known for its Japantown history and its restaurant scene along Sawtelle Boulevard, packs a lot of life into a compact grid just west of the 405. The residential streets carry an older housing stock, 1920s and 1930s bungalows on narrow lots, increasingly mixed with newer small-lot homes and townhomes. Where the original detached garages survive, often reached from the driveway or a rear alley, they are strong candidates for conversion into a legal ADU. Renter demand here is deep and constant, driven by UCLA, Santa Monica employers and the neighborhood's own walkability, so a converted unit rarely sits empty. Narrow-lot projects live or die on the details of setbacks and access, so we start with a free feasibility check of your exact parcel before any design work.
Del Rey
Del Rey sits between Culver City, Mar Vista and the Marina, a long-time working neighborhood that has become one of the busier ADU markets on the Westside. The streets are dominated by postwar stucco cottages and modest ranch homes on flat lots, most with a detached garage at the end of the driveway. That layout keeps garage conversions simple: the structure, slab and access are usually already in place, and the flat terrain avoids the complications hillside projects face. With Silicon Beach offices, Culver City studios and the Marina all minutes away, converted units in Del Rey attract reliable long-term tenants. For many owners here, an ADU is the most practical way to build value on the lot they already own, and we can confirm what is possible with a free feasibility check.
Cheviot Hills
Cheviot Hills is one of the Westside's most established neighborhoods, with curving streets of 1920s and 1930s Spanish Colonial Revival, Tudor and traditional homes next to the golf course and the studios. Lots here are larger than in much of West LA, and many homes have a detached garage set behind the house, which gives owners two good paths: convert the garage into a private ADU or build a new detached unit that matches the character of the main home. Projects in Cheviot Hills often serve family needs, a guest house, a studio or space for returning adult children, though the location near Century City and the studios makes rentals attractive too. Period homes deserve period-appropriate design, so we detail conversions to sit naturally beside Spanish and Tudor architecture. It starts with a feasibility check that maps what your lot allows.
Rancho Park
Rancho Park is a quiet pocket of the Westside next to Cheviot Hills, built out mostly in the 1930s and 1940s with tidy traditional homes on rectangular lots. The classic configuration is a single-story house with a driveway running back to a detached garage, and that rear garage is often the easiest square footage on the lot to turn into a legal ADU. With Century City, Westwood and the Expo Line close by, a converted unit here appeals to professionals who want a small, well-located place in a residential setting. Owners also use ADUs as offices and guest suites, keeping the main house free for family life. Because the lots and structures in Rancho Park are so consistent, we can usually give a clear feasibility answer quickly and follow it with a detailed fixed proposal.
Our ADU services in Westside
Garage Conversion
Your garage is likely the fastest and most cost-effective route to a legal ADU. The structure, slab and roof are already there, so you are converting instead of building from scratch. We check feasibility, guide your plans and permits, and match you with vetted, CSLB-licensed contractors who build your ADU. One point of contact from first idea to final inspection.
Detached ADU
Thinking about a detached ADU in your Los Angeles backyard? We check feasibility, guide your plans and permits, and match you with vetted, CSLB-licensed contractors who build your new unit. One point of contact and clear fixed proposals, from the first sketch to the final LADBS inspection.
Attached ADU
Thinking about adding a rentable unit onto your house, or turning part of it into one? Solid ADU checks feasibility, guides your plans and permits, and matches you with vetted, CSLB-licensed contractors who build your attached ADU. One point of contact from first idea to final inspection, and clear fixed proposals before anything starts.
Junior ADU (JADU)
A Junior ADU turns up to 500 square feet of your existing house, often a spare bedroom or part of an attached garage, into a self-contained unit with its own entrance and efficiency kitchen. We check feasibility for free, guide your plans and the LADBS permit process, and match you with a vetted, CSLB-licensed contractor who builds it. One point of contact from first idea to final inspection.
ADU Plans & Permits
Want an ADU but dreading the paperwork? We check feasibility, match you with licensed architects and engineers who produce your drawings, structural calculations and Title 24 energy report, and guide the full LADBS plan check with you, all the way to a permit you can build on.
Projects in Westside
Planning an ADU in Westside?
Call for a free feasibility check or request a callback. We respond within 24 hours.