California legislation · 2025-2026 Regular Session
California AB956: Accessory dwelling units and junior accessory dwelling units.
Status: Chaptered, September 29, 2026
What the bill says
An act to amend Sections 714.3 and 4751 of the Civil Code, and to amend Section 66323 of the Government Code, relating to housing. housing Accessory dwelling units and junior accessory dwelling units. Existing law, the Planning and Zoning Law, provides for the creation by local ordinance, or by ministerial approval if a local agency has not adopted an ordinance, of accessory dwelling units in areas zoned for single-family or multifamily dwelling residential use in accordance with specified standards and conditions…
From the chaptered text, September 29, 2026:
An act to amend Sections 714.3 and 4751 of the Civil Code, and to amend Section 66323 of the Government Code, relating to housing. housing Accessory dwelling units and junior accessory dwelling units. Existing law, the Planning and Zoning Law, provides for the creation by local ordinance, or by ministerial approval if a local agency has not adopted an ordinance, of accessory dwelling units in areas zoned for single-family or multifamily dwelling residential use in accordance with specified standards and conditions. Existing law also provides for the creation of junior accessory dwelling units by local ordinance, or, if a local agency has not adopted an ordinance, by ministerial approval, in single-family residential zones in accordance with specified standards and conditions. Existing law, the Davis-Stirling Common Interest Development Act, among other things, makes void and unenforceable any covenant, restriction, or condition contained in any instrument affecting the transfer or sale of any interest in a planned development, and any provision of a governing document, that effectively prohibits or unreasonably restricts the construction or use of an accessory dwelling unit or junior accessory dwelling unit on a lot zoned for single-family residential use that meets the above-described standards and conditions for those units. This bill would revise the provision governing prohibitions or restrictions on the construction or use of an accessory dwelling …