Fast, Reliable New Detached ADU Across Hollywood
A new detached ADU in Hollywood typically costs $280,000 to $520,000 all-in, drawings through final inspection, with hillside VHFHSZ compliance usually adding $20,000 to $40,000 over a flatlands build of the same floor plan. We’re Ellery ADU Studio, and we’ve designed, permitted, and built detached ADUs across Hollywood since 2015, from the alley-grid bungalow courts below Franklin Avenue to the steep cut-and-fill lots above the Boulevard. If you’re weighing whether the numbers on your current estimate actually hold up on your specific block, call us at (971) 497-2402. We’ll tell you what we’d inspect first, and it won’t cost you anything.
Why Ellery ADU Studio Is Hollywood’s Preferred New Detached ADU Company
We work Hollywood differently than most design-build firms. Before we quote a detached ADU, we walk the alley, pull the slab corner, and check the HPOZ map for your block. That’s not diligence for show; it’s how we keep the written price from drifting. On one recent Melrose Hill project, the client’s existing garage had no perimeter footing, just a 1920s floating slab. We found it before permit submittal, underpinned the stem wall, and the price we’d written in the contract didn’t move. That’s Clause 1 of The Haven Standard: a written price before any work starts, and Clause 5: the scope locks at signing, no door-side upsells.
Our Hollywood clients tend to be people who bought their houses between 2015 and 2025 and are now planning an ADU as a rental asset, a home for aging parents, or a studio for work that no longer fits in the main house. They’ve usually read the three-star reviews on other ADU companies, and they ask about permit sets and warranty language before they ask about paint colors. We respect that. Every project includes a documented photo record on every visit, and every finished ADU is backed by our 365-Day Done Right Promise: if it isn’t built to the permitted drawings, we make it right, in writing, before the project starts. Nadia Ellery founded this studio around that commitment, and it’s the reason we don’t advertise urgency. We just document what we find and price it honestly.
Our New Detached ADU Services in Hollywood
Custom Built ADU
Custom detached ADUs in Hollywood run $340,000 to $520,000 when the scope includes architectural glass, specialty plaster, and millwork-grade cabinetry. We handle the full design-build sequence under one contract: drawings, permit set, foundation, framing, finishes, and final inspection. On HPOZ blocks like Melrose Hill, we match lath-and-plaster texture and Spanish Colonial detailing so the new structure reads as intentional, not added.
Studio ADU
A studio detached ADU in Hollywood’s flatlands typically runs $220,000 to $300,000, assuming a simple roof form and standard finishes. The same studio on a hillside lot inside the Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone can reach $340,000 once Class A roofing, multi-pane windows, and ember-resistant vents are specified. We quote both scenarios truthfully, because the difference isn’t optional, it’s code.
1-Bed & 2-Bed ADU
One-bedroom detached ADUs in Hollywood generally land between $260,000 and $380,000. Two-bedroom units run $320,000 to $480,000, with the upper end reflecting steep hillside grading, geotechnical review, or long-lead material selections. If you’re planning a two-bedroom as a rental, the rent premium over a one-bedroom in Hollywood is often enough to recover the incremental cost within five to seven years, but we’ll show you the numbers before you commit.
Prefab ADU Installation
We specify and coordinate prefab systems from Cover, Dvele, Mighty Buildings, and Boxabl, and we handle the site prep, utilities, foundation, and finish connections under the same single contract. A prefab detached ADU in Hollywood’s flatlands can run $200,000 to $320,000 delivered and installed, but the hillside VHFHSZ requirements still apply to the site work and envelope, even if the module itself is factory-built. We order the module and the site scope together, so neither waits on the other.
What happens when you call
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A real person answersNo phone trees - you reach a local pro.
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You get an upfront price rangeHonest numbers before anyone is dispatched.
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A background-checked tech heads outLicensed & insured, dispatched right away.
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You approve before work beginsNothing starts until you say go.
Trusted Brands We Service in Hollywood
We specify and coordinate detached ADU systems from Boxabl, Dvele, and Mighty Buildings for Hollywood clients who want a factory-built envelope with a custom finish package. Our crews coordinate utility stubs, foundation tolerances, and fire-rated chase details for these systems on Hollywood’s narrow alley lots, where crane access and setback clearances have to be planned weeks in advance. We keep the material spec in the written contract, so a change in brand availability doesn’t become a change in your price.
Common New Detached ADU Problems We See in Hollywood Homes
- The 1920s alley garage floating slab. On blocks between Santa Monica Blvd and Melrose Ave, many detached garages sit on concrete slabs with no perimeter footing. A change-of-occupancy to habitable space fails inspection, and the fix, stem-wall underpinning, runs $15,000 to $25,000 before framing starts. We pull the slab corner during our first walk so this never surfaces mid-permit.
- VHFHSZ window and vent failures. Hillside lots above Franklin Avenue fall inside the Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone, where multi-pane windows and ember-resistant vents are non-negotiable. Off-the-shelf units that satisfy code in Culver City get rejected here, and a re-order adds two to four months. We spec the Class A and ignition-resistant assemblies at the permit set stage.
- HPOZ visual-compatibility review. Melrose Hill and a handful of other Hollywood pockets require new detached ADUs to pass a design review that tests whether the structure echoes the rhythm of the street’s Spanish Colonial and Craftsman frontages. We prepare the compatibility documentation and material samples in the permit set, not as an afterthought.
- Unpriced long-lead materials drifting the schedule. Custom rift-sawn oak cabinetry and steel-and-glass door packages can take 12 to 20 weeks from order to delivery. If the material spec isn’t locked in writing when the permit is filed, the schedule drifts by months while the price moves. Under The Haven Standard, we lock the spec and the price before ordering, then manage the lead time openly.
Pricing for New Detached ADU in Hollywood, CA
Here are the ranges we actually write into Hollywood contracts: a flatlands studio ADU, $220,000 to $300,000; a hillside studio with VHFHSZ compliance, $300,000 to $340,000; a one-bedroom custom detached ADU, $260,000 to $380,000; a two-bedroom custom build, $320,000 to $480,000; a prefab ADU delivered and installed, $200,000 to $320,000, excluding the fire-hardening line items on hillside lots. The three variables that move your number are foundation condition, hillside versus flatlands fire code, and whether your block sits inside an HPOZ. We can assess all three on a single site visit, and we’ll put our price in writing before any work starts. Call (971) 497-2402 to schedule a free estimate, or bring us a written estimate from another firm and we’ll give you a Free Second Opinion.
We Also Serve Cities Near Hollywood
Our crews serve Hollywood daily, and we coordinate projects in Hollywood and surrounding areas from our Los Angeles office. For clients researching New Detached ADU work in other metro areas, we also serve Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose, and San Francisco, though every project still begins with a site-specific inspection and a written price.
Serving Hollywood, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Hollywood area and know this community well. Use the map below to see our service coverage - if you’re nearby, we can almost certainly help.
FAQs - New Detached ADU in Hollywood
The VHFHSZ rules add $20,000 to $40,000 to a detached ADU in the Hollywood Hills because the city requires Class A roofing, multi-pane windows, and ember-resistant vents on any new habitable structure, including a garage converted to a studio. The same floor plan two miles south in the flatlands below Franklin Avenue needs none of those assemblies. We identify your exact fire zone during the first site visit, so the written price reflects reality, not a surprise later. Call (971) 497-2402 to have us check your parcel.
The city will not sign off on a change-of-occupancy to habitable space if the garage sits on a floating slab with no perimeter footing, so the structure needs stem-wall underpinning at $15,000 to $25,000 before framing can begin. Contractors who quote without pulling the slab corner discover this after permit filing, and the change order lands on you. We pull the corner during our first walk, so the underpinning is in the original written scope. Call (971) 497-2402 for a free estimate that includes the foundation check.
No, an HPOZ like Melrose Hill does not block a new detached ADU, but it adds a visual-compatibility review that can take two months if the design doesn’t echo the Spanish Colonial or Craftsman rhythm of the street. We prepare the compatibility documentation, material samples, and elevation drawings inside the original permit set, because treating the review as an afterthought is how schedules quietly lose a season. Call (971) 497-2402 and we’ll tell you whether your block sits inside an HPOZ before you spend a dollar on drawings.
Lock the price for custom cabinetry and architectural glass at the same time you file the permit, because lead times of 12 to 20 weeks on rift-sawn oak and steel-and-glass door packages move more than labour costs on a custom Hollywood ADU. We write the material spec and the unit prices into the contract before ordering a single item, so the only variable after that is the manufacturer’s production queue. Call (971) 497-2402 to see how a price-locked spec changes the way the schedule behaves.
Yes, a hillside Hollywood ADU runs $20,000 to $40,000 more than the same floor plan in Burbank because Hollywood’s hillside parcels sit inside the Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone, while most Burbank lots do not. The difference is entirely in the fire-hardening assemblies: Class A roofing, multi-pane windows, ember-resistant vents. If you’re pricing both cities, we can show you the line items side by side. Call (971) 497-2402 for a written comparison on your specific floor plan.
Written by Nadia Ellery, Owner at Ellery ADU Studio, serving Hollywood since 2015.