Homeowners in Fresno area catch on to ADU trend, building more living space or rental property
In the backyard of one of his rental homes, Fresno real estate broker Brandon Telesmanic decided to maximize his property and build a smaller rental unit on site.
Back in the day, this secondary structure often was referred to as a mother-in-law suite — typically offering separate living quarters equipped with a bathroom, kitchen and living/sleeping area, and detached from the main house.
These days, these smaller structures (which aren’t always that small) are commonly referred to as an ADU, or accessory dwelling unit.
Now, Telesmanic could have two different tenants on what initially was a single-family parcel: one living in the main house and the other occupying the ADU.
“The laws have changed over the years; they’re more laxed,” Telesmanic said. “In some ways, the newer regulations have made things a little easier for homeowners to build ADUs.”
Creating a rental property to generate additional income isn’t the only reason for building an ADU.
Some homeowners have continued to build ADUs for the more traditional purpose of letting extended family live there — like converting an attached garage into a studio.
Regardless of the reasons, more homeowners in the Fresno area are starting to build ADUs — a trend that has taken off in more populated parts of California and is steadily catching on in the Valley.
The California Department of Housing and Community Development reported the number of ADUs permitted annually in 2016 to 2023 jumped from 1,336 to 26,924.
In 2023, ADUs comprised more than 21% of all homes permitted statewide.
“It’s something we have been trying to encourage,” said Ashley Atkinson, the City of Fresno’s assistant director for planning and development. “We’ve tried to streamline the process.
“A lot of cities have seen exponential growth in ADUs.”
More ADUs being built
Costs of ADUs often depend on size and how they’re built, ranging from $60,000 for prefabricated small homes upwards to $200,000 for detached units built from the ground up.
In 2022 when the City of Fresno started rolling out free, preapproved blueprints plans for homeowners to build ADUs, there were eight applicants.
Last year, 56 ADU applications were submitted for use of those preapproved plans.
That increase of ADUs within the City of Fresno is likely even greater considering these statistics (which were provided by the City of Fresno’s ADU Program) do not include prefabricated units, such as kits sold on Amazon or customized ADUs that didn’t use the city’s pre-approved designs.
“Every year, we see more and more ADU applications,” said Isaac Garza, the City of Fresno’s ADU program director. “And every year, we see more and more plans provided and get approved.”
In neighboring Clovis, there were 27 applications submitted in 2023, with all receiving approval.
Interest doubled in 2024 with Clovis receiving 55 new applications and issuing 40 permits.
Nine of the 40 permits issued were part of Clovis’ Cottage Home Program, city-approved designs that Clovis offered for free to encourage ADUs to be built on properties along alleyways. The other 31 permits were for custom ADU designs.
David Oxx, a longtime Fresno resident, elected to take advantage of the City of Fresno’s free ADU blueprints. He’s building a three-bedroom, two-bath unit in the backyard of his one-acre property.
“It could be for any of my family members,” said Oxx, who broke ground on his 1,015-square-foot ADU development in mid-January. “It could be for my daughter. It could be for me when I get older.
“It’s always good to have a backup. And this is a great backup.”
Helping housing crisis?
Despite growing interest, the number of ADUs built hasn’t been significant enough to solve the affordable housing crisis that exists in the Fresno area and beyond.
There also has been debate whether ADUs actually offer affordable housing. Locally for example, a fully furnished, 650-square foot ADU had a rental price of $2,500 per month, according to Zillow.com.
In addition, there has been growing criticism of ADUs changing the character of neighborhoods as traditional suburban life becomes more densely populated.
Nonetheless, the California Department of Housing and Community Development described ADUs as a critical form of infill-development that can be affordable and offer important housing choices within existing neighborhoods.
State laws even allow homeowners to build ADUs and sell them as part of a split lot.
In other instances, a homeowner could have as many as three dwelling units on what originally was a single-family parcel, with one primary dwelling unit, one ADU and then a Junior ADU, such as a converted garage.
In theory, as more ADUs are built and become available for rent, the more choices renters have; and more availability for renters typically means more stability in rent prices, Atkinson said.
“The state,” Atkinson said, “really put in statewide laws to minimize restrictions to make ADU developments happen more frequently.”
Getting started, finished
Those interested in building an ADU need to consider the time and money required to make it happen, as well as how much space is available on their property, according to Fresno general contractor Charles Lewis, owner of Lewis Development.
While using the pre-approved blueprints offered by the city or county can save some time and about $2,000 to $4,000 for typical custom plans, not every property can accommodate those city pre-approved designs.
There are also restrictions, such as a detached ADU needing to be a minimum of four feet away from the main house, as well as from the rear property lines.
In most cases, ADUs have a maximum height limitation of 16 feet (under certain conditions, they can be 18 or even 20 feet tall).
California’s ADU handbook also lists a maximum size of a detached ADU at 1,200 square feet where local agencies don’t have a compliant ADU ordinance.
And solar energy systems are required for newly constructed ADUs.
If someone thinks simply purchasing a fabricated small home will reduce the time and costs, Lewis advises to study all the details.
“You still have to install that fabricated home, and hook up water, electricity and figure out the plumbing situation,” Lewis said. “You also want to figure out if you want separate meters for your electricity and water from the main house.
“When it’s all said and done, you just want to make sure you do it the right way and the way you prefer.”
Checking with the homeowner associations also is important.
While HOAs are not allowed to prevent ADUs from being built, they can impose “reasonsable” restrictions often related to aesthetics.
Oxx said he is hoping his ADU is completed in six months.
He said he spent about $15,000 simply in fees before breaking ground.
Building on his one acre property has allowed Oxx to build nearly as big of an ADU that’s allowed and avoid spacing issues.
“Things sometimes start slow,” Oxx said. “It’ll be worth it when it’s all done.”
Telesmanic, meanwhile, put the finishing touches on his latest ADU rental at the end of January — after about 18 months planning and designing, and another six months in building.
“It’s kind of like a combo between a passion project and an investment property,” said Telesmanic, whose new ADU is located in a quiet central Fresno neighborhood.
Inside the 600-square foot ADU that’s located just to the left of the main house, Telesmanic worked with an interior designer to completely furnish and decorate the unit to offer a high-end, luxury hotel feel.
There’s the Tiffany-blue colored front door (that matches the front door to the main house), a sparkling new kitchen with custom cabinetry, stainless steel appliances and an island just big enough to still allow enough walking space to the bedroom. There’s also a small laundry-dryer inside a hotel-style bedroom closet.
Telesmanic said he’s planning to rent out the ADU to corporate clients and people visiting the Fresno area for three to six to 12 months.
Along with the ADU being furnished like a luxury hotel one-bedroom suite, bills for electricity, gas, water, trash, internet and yard upkeep all would be included in rental price that’ll range between $2,000 to $3,000 per month.
But before ever finding a renter, Telesmanic’s ADU already is expected increase the property’s value. The flip side, though, is that an ADU could raise the property tax bill following an assessor’s reevaluation of the property.
“Pretty happy, pretty relieved to complete this project,” Telesmanic. “There’s just not a lot of properties like this where there are two separate units. I would imagine that the amount of money put into (the ADU) is adding to the value of the whole property. Hopefully, a little bit more.
“There’s a lot of custom features to really make this property marketable.”
