Can You Legalize an Unpermitted ADU in Fremont?

You have found an extra unit at a Fremont property, but the permit record does not clearly account for it. Or you own the home and want to resolve an ADU or JADU that was built without permits.

If the unit was built before January 1, 2020, it may qualify for Fremont’s ADU/JADU Amnesty Program. Qualification is not automatic. The process starts with city forms and proof of the construction date, followed by a health and safety inspection and, eventually, a separate building permit.

This is general information and not legal advice. The city’s pages do not give application, inspection, or permit costs, and they do not promise a processing time.

Can an unpermitted ADU qualify for Fremont’s amnesty program?

An ADU or JADU built without permits before January 1, 2020, may qualify for the program.

That is the eligibility description on the City of Fremont’s ADU/JADU Amnesty Program page. The city says the program complies with California Assembly Bill 2533, which it identifies as Government Code section 66332.

The page does not say that every unit built before the cutoff qualifies. It also does not explain what happens to a unit built on or after January 1, 2020. Those questions should go to Fremont’s Building and Safety Division before you make plans around the program.

The distinction between an ADU and a JADU can matter. Fremont says ADUs are allowed on single-family and multi-family properties, subject to city regulations. A JADU is no more than 500 square feet and must be contained entirely within a single-family residence, including an attached garage. For broader context before reviewing a particular property, see the guide to ADU rules.

What protection does the amnesty process offer?

The program can protect an owner from code enforcement actions such as fines, penalties, or an order to remove the structure.

Fremont describes legalizing an ADU or JADU as the best way to protect an investment. The city also says permitting provides peace of mind that the unit meets legal and safety standards.

If a unit has violations that are not immediate health or safety risks, the city says the owner can have up to five years without penalty to complete the necessary improvements, bring the unit into full compliance, and apply for a building permit. Conditions affecting health and safety must be corrected to qualify for amnesty.

Conditions affecting health and safety must be corrected for the unit to qualify, and the building plans must reflect the corrections identified during the inspection process.

How do you start an amnesty request?

You start by completing the city’s application and checklist, providing construction-date evidence, submitting the documents, and paying the invoice.

The first required document is the “ADU/JADU Amnesty Request Application.” You must also review and complete the “Substandard Housing Checklist and Affidavit.” The checklist states that any conditions affecting health and safety must be corrected for the unit to qualify.

Supporting documentation must demonstrate that the ADU or JADU was constructed before January 1, 2020. The city’s page does not specify every acceptable type of supporting document, so confirm what evidence Building and Safety will accept for the property in question.

Completed documents go to the city’s Building and Safety Division by email. The city then calls for payment of an invoice, but the page does not state the invoice amount. Fremont prints 510-494-4460 as the Building and Safety Division phone number on the amnesty page.

What happens during the health and safety inspection?

A city building inspector checks the unit against health and safety standards after the forms and invoice have been handled.

You can schedule the Health and Safety Compliance Inspection through Fremont’s Citizen Access online permitting portal. If the inspector marks a condition as a “violation” or “unconfirmed,” that condition must be brought into compliance before a permit can be issued.

The city says only necessary corrections tied to the health and safety standards in its Substandard Housing Checklist will be required. The city’s pages do not predict what an inspector will find in any particular unit.

A seller considering an inspection before marketing a property can also review what a pre-listing inspection does and does not establish. That is a separate subject from Fremont’s required amnesty inspection, which is performed by a city building inspector for this permit process.

How does the unit become legalized?

The unit is legalized once the plans are approved, permit fees are paid, and all required inspections are completed.

Fremont says an owner may apply for a building permit within five years of the Health and Safety Compliance Inspection date without penalty. The building permit application is submitted through Citizen Access, and the plans must reflect every required correction identified during the inspection process.

An ADU needs its own permit, separate from permits for any other work on the primary residence. That remains true when the ADU is attached to the primary residence. Fremont says combined permit requests cannot be processed and will be rejected.

Once the city approves the plans, permit fees are paid, and all required inspections are complete, the ADU or JADU is legalized. The city does not state those permit fees or the total time required.

What should a buyer or seller verify?

A buyer or seller should verify the unit’s permit history, claimed construction date, application status, inspection findings, and remaining city steps.

The same discipline helps a seller. Do not assume possible eligibility means the unit is already legal, or that the invoice is the final cost. The process includes an inspection, corrections when required, plans, permit fees, and further inspections.

The city’s pages provide no seller disclosure instructions and make no claims about sale price, appraisal, loan approval, insurance, or tax effects. Broader transaction expenses are addressed separately in the cost to sell a house in California.

We were helping a Fremont buyer who found that a converted rear structure was being advertised as an ADU but did not appear in the permit record. He wanted to legalize it after closing and assumed that paying a permit fee would be enough. We discussed the possibility of plan review and corrective work before he assigned full ADU value to the space.

Which version of Fremont’s ADU rules applies?

Planning should confirm which version of Fremont’s ADU rules applies to a specific project.

The city’s general ADU page still describes Ordinance 06-2023. It says the Fremont City Council adopted that ordinance on July 11, 2023, and that regulations codified under Fremont Municipal Code section 18.190.005 took effect on August 11, 2023. Fremont also published a city news item about that update.

A June 12, 2026 letter from the California Department of Housing and Community Development refers instead to Ordinance No. 03-2026, adopted May 5, 2026. HCD said it had determined the ordinance complies with State ADU Law, limiting that acknowledgment to the portions relevant to State ADU Law because the ordinance is an omnibus bill. The department considered its review under Government Code sections 66310 through 66342 closed, while noting that the ordinance would need continued updates as state law changes.

As of November 6, 2026, the city page and state letter still refer to different ordinance numbers. Ask the Planning Division which rules apply to a project. Fremont prints 510-494-4455 for its Planning Division Zoning Line.

The city also says its informational handout covers requirements in single-family zones, but the Fremont Municipal Code and state law control if they conflict with the handout. Preapproved ADU plans may be used throughout Fremont with an expedited plan review timeline and lower permitting costs, though that does not replace confirming the rules for the property.

The short version

A pre-2020 unpermitted Fremont ADU or JADU may qualify for amnesty, but forms, evidence, inspection, corrections, a separate permit, fees, and final inspections stand between possible eligibility and legalization.

Start with the ADU/JADU Amnesty Request Application, the Substandard Housing Checklist and Affidavit, and proof that the unit was constructed before January 1, 2020. Ask Building and Safety about costs, timing, acceptable construction-date evidence, and whether an existing application continues after a sale. Ask Planning which ordinance applies.

For a separate estimate of the property’s value, use the home value tool.