No Covenant Required: HCD Says Cities Can't Deed-Restrict Your ADU

You're at the permit counter with a clean ADU application, and near the end of the city's checklist sits one more condition: before the permit issues, record a covenant — a deed restriction that rides with the property forever — promising to follow the city's ADU rules. It binds every future owner of your lot.

Here's the thing: for a standard ADU — one you aren't selling separately — HCD's recent findings say that recorded covenant is a requirement the city isn't allowed to impose.

The line State ADU Law draws

Government Code section 66315 is short and blunt: "No additional standards, other than those provided in Section 66314, shall be used or imposed, including an owner-occupant requirement, except that a local agency may require that the property may be used for rentals of terms 30 days or longer."

A required covenant is an extra standard. That's HCD's read, applied to cities in 2026.

The one exception is a JADU — a junior ADU inside the walls of a house. A JADU does get a deed restriction, but a tightly limited one. Government Code section 66333(c) allows only two things in it: "(1) A prohibition on the sale of the junior accessory dwelling unit separate from the sale of the single-family residence, including a statement that the deed restriction may be enforced against future purchasers. (2) A restriction on the size and attributes of the junior accessory dwelling unit that conforms with this article." Two items. Nothing else.

So: standard ADU, no covenant; JADU, a two-item deed restriction and no more. That's the frame HCD enforces.

Oceanside: a covenant on every ADU

Oceanside's ADU ordinance required that "The property owner shall record a covenant, approved as to form by the City Attorney, declaring compliance with each and every condition referenced in this section." HCD's finding was flat:

The requirement for a covenant is a strictly prohibited additional standard in the context of other ADUs.

HCD told the City to remove the covenant requirement for ADUs not sold separately, and limit the JADU covenant to the two items in section 66333(c).

Verified against HCD's ADU Ordinance Findings letter to the City of Oceanside, dated June 17, 2026 (Finding 25).

Napa County: same requirement, same finding

Napa County's ordinance required "a covenant in a form approved by the county to notify future owners of the requirements of this subsection." HCD's response was that "a deed restriction cannot be imposed on an ADU" — citing section 66315 — and added: "Although covenants are required for JADUs, they are strictly prohibited for ADUs." The instruction — remove the covenant requirement for an ADU. (ADU Ordinance Findings letter, June 1, 2026, Finding 6.)

San Juan Capistrano: the JADU deed restriction, overstuffed

San Juan Capistrano tripped on the other half of the rule. Its JADU deed restrictions carried extra terms: a clause that "The deed restriction may be removed if the owner eliminates the JADU, as evidenced by, for example, removal of the kitchen facilities…" and an enforcement clause letting the City pursue "any remedy available to it at law or equity…" HCD's position: section 66333(c) allows only its two items, so "The additional items may be applied generally in an Ordinance, but must be removed from a required deed restriction to be consistent with State JADU Law." (ADU Ordinance Findings letter, August 11, 2026, Finding 4.)

Berkeley: the same deed-restriction rule

Berkeley's code required owners to file a deed restriction on the ADU. HCD — which noted it reviewed Berkeley's currently available Municipal Code because no official ordinance copy was provided — found the same problem — "Although deed restrictions are required for JADUs, they are prohibited for ADUs" — and told the City to remove the ADU deed-restriction requirement. (ADU Ordinance Findings letter, June 16, 2026, Finding 5.)

What it means for your project

If your city is conditioning a standard ADU permit on a recorded covenant, that's exactly the barrier HCD has been flagging. And if you're building a JADU, the deed restriction should carry only the two items section 66333(c) lists — not a removal mechanism or a broad enforcement clause.

Two cautions. These are HCD enforcement letters — HCD's interpretive position, not court rulings, and a city can respond with findings and push back. And the rule bends for narrow cases: a JADU, or an ADU sold separately as an affordable unit. So before you refuse to sign anything, confirm which unit type you're building and check the current requirement with your building department or a land-use attorney. This isn't legal advice. But a covenant demand on an ordinary ADU may be a barrier state law doesn't let your city hold over your permit.

What CrossBeam does with it

When the letter lands on your desk, CrossBeam turns it around the same day: what each item is actually asking, the code or law behind it, and a written response you can hand to your team or your attorney — the back-and-forth that used to eat weeks, done in a couple of hours.