“Lior is very personable and has many decades of construction experience. We appreciated his sincere evaluation of our project.”
Ann AnterasianHouzz · April 2019
ADU construction · Los Angeles, CA
ADU Construction Across
the City of Los Angeles
One state law, one LADBS — and a hundred different neighborhoods. We design, permit, and build ADUs citywide, from Valley flats to hillside and HPOZ parcels. CSLB #972213.
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CSLB LicensedLicense #972213
5.0 on Houzz17 verified reviews
Family-OwnedLicensed since 2010
24-Hour ResponseFree in-home estimate
Los Angeles PermitsLADBS · Valley branch · in-house
Why Hillstar
Why LA Homeowners Build ADUs With Hillstar
The city's rules are uniform; its lots are anything but. Our value is reading your parcel correctly before the first line is drawn.
Both LADBS Branches
Valley addresses plan-check in Van Nuys, Metro addresses downtown — our submittals move through both weekly.
Standard Plan Program Fluency
The city's pre-approved plan set can cut weeks from plan check on qualifying detached designs. We tell you honestly when it fits and when custom wins.
Overlay Radar
HPOZ districts, the Baseline Hillside Ordinance, coastal-zone review, protected trees — we identify every layer on your parcel at the first visit.
All Four ADU Types
Detached, attached, garage conversion, and JADU — recommended by lot geometry and goals, not by habit.
Utilities Priced Up Front
LADWP coordination, sewer capacity, and panel upgrades are design-stage numbers on our projects.
One Contract to Keys
Feasibility, drawings, permits, construction, inspections — a single accountable crew.
Our process
How We Build an LA ADU
The same disciplined path on every parcel in the city.
1
Read the Parcel
Zoning, overlays, hillside and tree status, and utility capacity established on-site.
2
Draw & File
Custom plans or the Standard Plan route — whichever genuinely serves the lot — filed with LADBS by us.
3
Build & Inspect
Foundation through finishes with our crew, every LADBS inspection met through certificate of occupancy.
4
Hand Over
Walkthrough, punch list, and a written workmanship warranty.
Citywide conditions
Permits, Lots & What's Specific to Los Angeles
The City of Los Angeles is the largest single ADU jurisdiction in the country, and it's not one neighborhood. The permit office, the design overlays, and the lot constraints shift across the city — what works in the West Valley does not match what works in West LA or in the eastside hills.
Permit jurisdiction
LADBS — Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety — issues every City of LA ADU permit. The Van Nuys office intakes Valley addresses; the Metro branch downtown handles non-Valley plan check. The City of LA Standard ADU Plan Program (the citywide pre-approved plan set) is open to qualifying lots and can shave weeks off plan check on a code-conforming detached design.
Lot & zoning patterns
Lot conditions are not citywide-uniform. West Valley R1 runs to deeper rectangles. Hillside neighborhoods — Beverly Crest, Hollywood Hills, Silver Lake, Mount Washington, Echo Park, Eagle Rock — run to steep, irregular parcels under the LA Baseline Hillside Ordinance. Westside flats from West LA through Mar Vista to Palms run to compact, often non-conforming-by-modern-code lots where setback and access drive feasibility. We confirm zoning, hillside classification, and HPOZ designation on every lot at the first site visit.
Design overlays you'll see here
LA carries 30+ HPOZ districts (Historic Preservation Overlay Zones — Carthay Circle, South Carthay, Balboa Highlands, Lincoln Heights, Whitley Heights, Spaulding Square, and more) where Office of Historic Resources review applies on top of LADBS plan check. Parcels inside the California Coastal Zone boundary along the LA coast carry Coastal Development Permit review. Hillside parcels add the Baseline Hillside Ordinance and, where applicable, the Mulholland Specific Plan. LA's protected-tree ordinance covers oaks, sycamores, walnuts, and bay trees citywide. We confirm which overlays apply at the first site visit, not after permit submittal.
Hillside ADU foundations
On a sloped parcel the foundation is the budget, not the finishes. There is often no level pad to build on, so the structure has to reach competent soil at depths that change across the footprint — which is why hillside ADUs are commonly carried on drilled piers or caissons tied together with grade beams, or on stepped and deepened footings, with retaining elements where the cut needs holding. The design is not a rule of thumb: it comes from a soils and geology report prepared for your parcel, and LADBS requires that report to be submitted with the plans and reviewed before permits issue. LADBS also requires a grading permit for any grading work in the hillside grading area, including removal and re-compaction, backfill, and retaining-wall cuts and backcuts, and grading plans are reviewed by both Structural Plan Check and the Grading Section. We get the soils work started early, because on a hillside lot it decides both the foundation design and the real number. If you are weighing a hillside project more broadly, we go deeper into slope, access and retaining in remodeling on hillside lots.
Design examples
ADU Design Examples
Examples of ADU styles and layouts.
Reviews
Homeowners on Working With Hillstar
Verified Houzz reviews from Hillstar Construction clients.
“Lior is a fantastic general contractor. He has tremendous work ethic and strong attention to detail.”
J. GlaserHouzz · June 2017
“Hillstar's crew was courteous, prompt, and worked hard to make every detail exactly what we wanted.”
Hillstar ClientHouzz · Verified
5.0 · 17 verified reviews on Houzz
FAQ
Los Angeles ADU — FAQ
Citywide rules, neighborhood overlays, ADU types, utilities, timelines, and rentals — the questions LA homeowners ask first.
What does state law actually guarantee in LA?
At least one ADU on single-family residential lots — the city must allow it. Los Angeles also accepts ADUs on most multifamily parcels, and specific conditions allow more than one unit on qualifying properties. The floor is set by Sacramento; the process runs through LADBS.
How do I know which overlays touch my property?
You verify, parcel by parcel. LA carries more than thirty HPOZ historic districts, hillside classifications under the Baseline Hillside Ordinance, coastal review near the water, and citywide protected-tree rules. We pull your parcel's layers at the first site visit so the design starts from reality.
Is the Standard ADU Plan Program worth using?
When the lot is flat, the design conforms, and speed matters — yes, it can compress plan check meaningfully. When the lot slopes, trees intrude, or you want something the pre-approved set can't express, custom drawings win. We recommend per parcel, not per policy.
What's the utility story on older LA homes?
Three checks: LADWP service arrangement for the new unit, sewer capacity alongside the LADBS submittal, and panel headroom — older houses frequently need an upgrade before an ADU's load can land. All three are resolved and priced during design on our projects.
How long does an LA ADU take?
Scope and site decide, but the sequence is fixed: feasibility, design and drawings, plan check, construction. Flat-lot conversions move fastest; hillside and overlay parcels carry extra review. Once your design is set, you get a realistic written schedule and we track to it.
What are the rental rules?
Detached and attached ADUs rent freely — state law ended owner-occupancy requirements for them. JADUs still require the owner to live in one of the units. Many owners build for family now and rent later; designing for that flexibility costs nothing extra at the drawing stage.
What kind of foundation does a hillside ADU need?
Whatever the soils report says it needs. On a slope there is usually no level pad, so the foundation has to reach competent soil at depths that vary across the footprint — commonly drilled piers or caissons tied with grade beams, or stepped and deepened footings, with retaining where the cut needs holding. LADBS requires the soils and geology report to be submitted with the plans and reviewed before permits issue, and a grading permit is required for any grading work in the hillside grading area. Anyone who quotes a hillside foundation before that report exists is guessing.
Also serving Los Angeles
Nearby ADU neighborhoods
Start With Your Parcel, Not a Brochure
Free feasibility visit anywhere in the City of LA — zoning, overlays, utilities, and a written recommendation.