HCD · compliance tracker
Gov. Code § 66326 requires every California city and county to submit its ADU ordinance to the Department of Housing and Community Development. HCD reviews it and publishes findings. We read all 463 published letters and track the outcome for every jurisdiction.
If HCD finds an ordinance non-compliant, the statute says it "shall be null and void" and the agency must apply state standards instead. Not the offending clause, the whole ordinance. HCD enforces this by ordering cities to delete severability clauses, on the grounds that severability conflicts with the null-and-void language.
The practical consequence: in most of these cities, the ADU rules published on the city's own website may not be the rules that govern your project.
HCD's ADU Handbook explains the law. It does not tell you whether your city's ordinance passed review. That is what the letters say, and they are published as individual PDFs with no index that lists every jurisdiction. Find your city →