Garage Conversion · Los Angeles
Turn the space you already own into a rentable ADU, a guest suite, or the office you actually want to work in. Permitted the right way for your city and built like part of the house.
The Opportunity
The foundation is poured, the walls are framed, and the roof is on. That head start is why converting a garage is the most affordable way to add real living space in Los Angeles, and thanks to California’s ADU laws, most garages can legally become full rental units.
Athenian Builders Group is a licensed and insured California contractor (CSLB #1045030) that handles the whole conversion: design, permits, and construction with our own crews. You approve a fixed price in writing before work starts, and the finished space carries a 2-year workmanship warranty.
What It Can Become
A self-contained unit with a kitchen and bath, permitted as an ADU. In a city that always needs housing, it pays you back month after month.
Room for your parents, a kid saving up, or guests who stay a while. Its own entrance, its own heat and air, privacy on both sides.
A finished, insulated, climate-controlled room steps from the house. Commute: 20 feet.
Attached garages can often become JADUs, the lowest-cost path to a permitted second unit.
Transparent Pricing
Real 2026 ranges. The big variables: whether you add a kitchen and bath, the condition of the slab, and how far utilities have to run.
| Conversion Type | What It Includes | Typical Cost (2026) | Typical Timeline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Living Space Conversion | Insulation, drywall, flooring, windows, electrical, HVAC: office, gym, or guest room | $100k – $140k | 8–10 weeks |
| Full ADU Conversion | Everything above plus a kitchen, full bath, and separate entrance: a rentable unit | $120k – $180k | 10–14 weeks |
Typical Los Angeles ranges for 2026, not quotes. Fixed, itemized price after a free on-site visit. Full breakdown in our ADU cost guide.
Estimated project cost
Permits
A converted garage becomes legal living space through an ADU or JADU permit with LADBS or your city's building department. The good news built into state law: you usually do not have to replace the parking you lose, and the existing garage footprint typically keeps its setbacks. We prepare the drawings, pull the permits, and manage every inspection.
Already converted your garage years ago without permits? That is a different project with its own path: see garage conversion legalization.
Questions
Usually yes. We evaluate the slab during the free site visit; most need moisture sealing and floor buildup rather than replacement. If a section needs work, it goes in the itemized estimate, not a surprise change order.
Habitable rooms need about 7 feet 6 inches of finished ceiling height in most cases, and most LA garages clear it. Where a garage runs low, there are engineering options, and we tell you the honest cost before you commit.
Existing garages converting within their footprint generally keep their current setbacks under state ADU law, even where a new build could not go. It is one of the biggest advantages of converting instead of building new.
In most of Los Angeles, no. State law removed most parking-replacement requirements for garage conversion ADUs. We confirm the specifics for your address during the site visit.
Living-space conversions typically run 8 to 10 weeks of construction; full ADU conversions with a kitchen and bath run 10 to 14. Permitting adds time up front, and you get the full schedule in writing.
Get a free on-site feasibility visit and a fixed, itemized price for your Los Angeles garage conversion. Call (310) 857-2520 and we’ll tell you honestly what your garage can become.
Takes about a minute. We reply the same business day and set up a free on-site visit.
