California Landlords Convert Garages to Housing, Sparking Tenant Lawsuits Over Lost Parking
Landlords across Los Angeles are converting garages and parking lots into new apartments, known as Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs), a practice facilitated by California's Senate Bill 1211, which took effect in January 2025. This law aims to ease the state's housing shortage by making it easier to add ADUs to multi-apartment properties and explicitly bars cities from requiring landlords to replace lost parking spaces. Consequently, many tenants are losing their guaranteed parking, which they claim was part of their original leases. This has led to numerous lawsuits against landlords, with some tenants also naming the city. Older and disabled residents are particularly affected, citing significant challenges in accessing transportation and essential services without their parking spaces.
