ADU Pass
San Bernardino
San Bernardino County portion
Also in: No County
ADU Pass helps homeowners in San Bernardino, San Bernardino County, California navigate the permit paperwork for building an accessory dwelling unit. This area covers 7 ZIP codes.
Map
ADU details
ADU legality: allowed-with-restrictions
ADUs are legal city-wide but SBMC adds two notable city-specific guardrails: (1) explicit ban on under-30-day rentals (no STR) for any ADU/JADU; (2) JADU owner-occupancy mandatory. Permit intake is via Accela 'SANBERN' Citizen Access. City emerged from a decade-long Chapter 9 bankruptcy in 2022 - permit-counter staffing and turnaround have been recovering since.
Cost scenarios
| Scenario | Sq ft | Permit | Build | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| minimum | 150 | $1,750 | $60,000 | $61,750 |
| 600 | 600 | $2,700 | $240,000 | $242,700 |
| midpoint | 675 | $2,900 | $270,000 | $272,900 |
| 1000 | 1,000 | $9,100 | $400,000 | $409,100 |
| maximum | 1,200 | $10,500 | $480,000 | $490,500 |
Fee breakdown (as of 2026-04)
Permitting process
Viability (permitted uses)
- Long-term rental: yes Long-term ADU rental permitted; AB 976 (effective 2024-01-01) bars San Bernardino from imposing owner-occupancy on the ADU itself. JADU still subject to owner-occupancy of the primary or JADU per SBMC.
- Short-term rental: no SBMC §19.04 explicitly prohibits ADU/JADU rentals shorter than 30 days, regardless of when the unit was created. This is a hard local prohibition - STR is not viable for SB ADUs.
- Office rental: with-restrictions Renting an ADU as outside-tenant office space requires use change beyond residential; consult Planning at 909-998-2300.
- Home office: yes Owner home-office use within an ADU is a permitted accessory residential use.
- Studio / workshop: yes Owner artist studio / workshop use within an ADU is a permitted accessory residential use.
- Agriculture: with-restrictions Limited urban agriculture allowed in residential zones per SBMC; large-animal keeping limited to specific equestrian-overlay districts.
- Relative support: yes Family / multigenerational use of ADU explicitly permitted. JADU (under 500 sqft, owner-occupied) is the tailored vehicle for in-law / aging-parent housing in SB.
Incentives
Contacts
Utilities
- Water: San Bernardino Municipal Water Department (SBMWD) · 30d connect · $5,000
SBMWD is a city-owned utility; connection charges and capacity fees published in SBMWD rate schedules. Under-750-sqft ADUs exempt per SB 13. - Sewer: San Bernardino Municipal Water Department (SBMWD) Wastewater · 30d connect · $4,500
SBMWD operates the Water Reclamation Plant. Connection fees waived for ADUs under 750 sqft per SB 13. - Electric: Southern California Edison (SCE) · 30d connect · $1,800
SCE serves all of San Bernardino. Title 24 2025 solar mandate applies to new detached ADUs. - Gas: Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas) · 21d connect · $1,500
SoCalGas serves San Bernardino. No city gas-ban; all-electric ADUs may skip the gas connection.
Property values & taxes
Construction timeline
Realistic total: best 8mo · typical 13mo · worst 19mo
Modular pathway inspectors are experienced with modular
Financing
Insurance impact
Insurance market in San Bernardino is strained: WUI exposure on the north edge, Santa Ana River flood-zone exposure, and elevated property-crime rates push some carriers off the city. FAIR Plan + DIC stacking common in foothill neighborhoods.
HOA prevalence & preemption
San Bernardino has lower HOA prevalence than Rancho Cucamonga or Ontario - older urban-core stock predominates, with master-planned communities concentrated in Verdemont and the city's north end. AB 670 (2019) + AB 3182 (2020) preempt HOA ADU bans where they exist.
Regulatory overlays (4)
- flood-zone
Santa Ana River and Lytle Creek flood-control reaches cross the city; FEMA Zone A / AE applies on parcels along those waterways and triggers floodplain elevation + insurance requirements. - wui-fire-zone
Northern city edge meets the Cajon Pass / San Bernardino National Forest WUI; CalFire LRA / VHFHSZ designations reach Verdemont, Arrowhead Springs, and parcels adjacent to the foothills. Chapter 7A construction triggered there. - airport-noise-zone
San Bernardino International Airport (SBD) AICUZ / ALUCP overlay reaches parcels south and east of the runway; sound-attenuation construction required in inner contour bands. - seismic-retrofit-zone
City sits at the convergence of the San Andreas, San Jacinto, and Cucamonga fault systems - SDC D citywide; Alquist-Priolo special-studies zones cover broad swaths. ASCE 7-22 detailing required.
Technical envelope (climate & building code)
Climate & energy code
Building code
Amendments:
- Amendment
- Amendment
- Amendment
- Amendment
Contractor market (aggregate)
Legal history (timeline)
Current ordinance: San Bernardino Municipal Code §19.04 - Residential Zones (Article II) - ADU/JADU provisions, adopted 2017-01-01, last amended 2025-02-01
- 2012-08-01 — City of San Bernardino files for Chapter 9 municipal bankruptcy (city-policy)
San Bernardino filed Chapter 9 protection citing a $45M operating shortfall and $1B+ in long-term obligations. Pension and post-employment costs were the dominant driver; the bankruptcy reshaped permit-counter staffing and back-office capacity for the next decade.
Effect: Set the operational baseline for SB's permit shop: staffing reductions, slow plan-check turnaround, deferred portal upgrades. Still affects ADU plan-check timing today. - 2017-02-07 — Bankruptcy Court approves City of San Bernardino Plan of Adjustment (city-policy)
U.S. Bankruptcy Court approved the city's Plan of Adjustment, beginning the multi-year creditor-payment runway that culminated in case closure in 2022.
Effect: Operational stabilization: building department began rebuilding capacity, but plan-check throughput remained below pre-bankruptcy levels through the late 2010s. - 2020-01-01 — SBMC §19.04 ADU update for AB 68 / SB 13 / AB 670 cycle (city-ordinance)
City updated §19.04 to incorporate the 2020 statewide preemption package: 60-day clock, fee caps under 750 sqft, four-foot side/rear setbacks, void HOA covenants.
Effect: Aligned San Bernardino's ADU regime with state law; preserved the city's distinctive STR prohibition and JADU owner-occupancy. - 2022-06-01 — U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Scott Clarkson closes San Bernardino's Chapter 9 case (city-policy)
After 10 years and one month, the city's Chapter 9 case closed - all claims resolved, $2.5M operating surplus, ~$40M in cash reserves (about 25% of general fund budget).
Effect: Ends formal fiscal-distress status. Permit-counter capacity now growing; ADU plan-check turnaround improving year-over-year, but still slower than pre-bankruptcy peer cities. - 2023-01-01 — SBMC §19.04 - January 2023 revision (Article II Residential Zones) (city-ordinance)
Codified the SB 897 / AB 2221 (height standardization, 850/1000 sqft envelopes) cycle into §19.04 Residential Zones article.
Effect: Standardized detached-ADU height allowances; clarified JADU under-500-sqft utility-connection exemption. - 2025-02-01 — SBMC §19.04 - February 2025 revision (current published version) (city-ordinance)
Most recently posted §19.04 Residential Zones PDF. Maintains the 800-sqft ministerial fast-path size, four-foot side/rear setbacks, JADU owner-occupancy, and the under-30-day rental prohibition.
Effect: Current operative ADU rule for the City of San Bernardino. Applicants must conform to this revision.
Known issues (3)
- policy-review — SBMC §19.04 prohibits ADU/JADU rental under 30 days - STR business model is unavailable in San Bernardino. This materially changes ADU ROI math vs surrounding Inland Empire cities.
- staffing-shortage — City emerged from a decade-long Chapter 9 bankruptcy in 2022; permit-counter staffing is rebuilding but turnaround still runs longer than Ontario / Rancho Cucamonga. Plan for 4-7 week first review and 2-3 plan-check cycles.
- other — Northern Verdemont / Arrowhead Springs neighborhoods sit in CalFire LRA / VHFHSZ - Chapter 7A construction adds 8-15% to materials cost; FAIR Plan + DIC stacking common.
San Bernardino County — county ADU rules and overlays
County ADU ordinance
California state — ADU law and programs
State ADU law
California has the most aggressive statewide ADU preemption regime in the US, built from ~15 bills passed 2019-2025 and enforced by the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD). The 2026 HCD ADU Handbook addendum (in effect with the 2025 Title 24 code cycle) is the operative state-level reference. The regime does four things at once: (1) preempts local zoning that would ban or unreasonably restrict ADUs; (2) imposes by-right ministerial approval with short statutory deadlines; (3) caps fees and utility-connection charges; and (4) empowers HCD to void non-compliant local ordinances.
State HOA preemption
California has the strongest statewide HOA-preemption regime in the US for accessory dwelling units, built from two bills: AB 670 (2019) voided ADU-prohibiting covenants on single-family residential lots, and AB 3182 (2020) extended and codified the preemption into the Davis-Stirling Common Interest Development Act (Civil Code §§ 4740 / 4741). The combination prohibits common-interest communities from banning ADUs, restricting rentals below 25% of separate interests, or treating ADUs as separate HOA interests. Limits remain: HOAs retain authority over reasonable design standards and statutory height limits, and the 2026 Carlsbad case (CalMatters coverage) established that an HOA's documented design-standards regime can effectively delay or constrain ADU approval short of outright prohibition.
State financing programs
California's flagship state-level ADU financing program — the CalHFA ADU Grant Program — is paused and has not been refunded since the original $100 million allocation was fully deployed 2023-12-28. The program provided up to $40,000 per qualifying homeowner for pre-construction and non-recurring closing costs and financed approximately 2,500 ADUs in two rounds. As of 2026-04, no new funding round has been announced in the state budget. CalHFA continues to publish anti-scam warnings because bad actors actively solicit homeowners claiming access to grant funds that no longer exist. State-level financing activity has shifted to local pilot programs (San Francisco, San Jose, Los Angeles, San Diego) and private financing products (Fannie Mae ADU mortgage, HELOC, construction-to-permanent).
State housing programs
California's state-level ADU programs are concentrated at HCD (technical guidance, ordinance review, enforcement) and the paused CalHFA grant pipeline (covered under stateFinancing). The state does not operate a central pre-approved ADU plan library — instead, AB 1332 (2024) created a preemption framework for local pre-approved plans with a 30-day ministerial-approval deadline, and major cities (Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose, Sacramento, Berkeley) have rolled out their own plan catalogs. The California YIMBY coalition and other housing-policy organizations play an influential role in bill drafting; they are not state agencies but effectively drive much of the ADU legislative agenda. The Title 24 code cycle (now 2025, in effect for 2026 permits) is the authoritative building-code baseline.
Federal (United States) — ADU-relevant rules and programs
Federal ADU law
The United States has no federal statute that directly regulates accessory dwelling unit entitlement or design. Land-use authority over ADUs resides with states and local governments under the traditional police power. Federal engagement is limited to financing (Fannie/Freddie/FHA/VA/USDA), flood insurance (FEMA/NFIP), and discretionary housing programs (HUD), which are recorded in sibling sections of this file.
Federal financing programs
Federal housing-finance agencies and GSEs set nationwide underwriting rules that govern whether an ADU can be financed, appraised, and counted toward mortgage qualifying income. The relevant actors are Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, FHA (HUD), VA, and USDA Rural Development.
Federal tax credits
There is no ADU-specific federal tax credit. ADUs may incidentally qualify for existing federal energy-efficiency and clean-energy tax credits when the ADU construction includes qualifying measures.
Federal housing programs
HUD administers several discretionary programs that can fund ADU-related activity at the grantee's election, but none is an ADU-specific program.
ZIP Codes
- 92401
- 92404
- 92405
- 92407
- 92408
- 92410
- 92411
Post Office
- 1560 W Base Line St, 92411
- 1663 E Date Pl, 92404
- 2160 N Arrowhead Ave, 92405
- 390 W 5th St, 92401
- 4560 Hallmark Pkwy, 92407