Where is a single-family home allowed in Los Angeles County?

Find your lot's zone on the city zoning map, then read its row. Every status below was read from the Los Angeles County Municipal Code use tables (read October 2026). Base zones only. General information, not legal advice — check with the city before you apply.

Los Angeles County's code calls this use “Single-family residences”. Each row links to the use table it comes from. A zone marked “see note” has a condition in the code, for example upper floors only or a larger lot.

R-5, C-MJ, M-1, M-1.5, M-2, M-2.5.

• Standards for this use: Sections 22.140.520, 22.140.580 (S1/S2/S3/S7 'Additional Regulations' column).
• 'Single-family residences on compact lots' (S2): R-A -, R-1 -, R-2 CUP, R-3 CUP, R-4 CUP, R-5 -. In MXD-RU, single-family residences are SPR only as part of a mixed-use development (S7, sub-table 'Mixed use developments, vertical or horizontal').
• State law: State law lets most single-family lots add an ADU and a JADU (California ADU law) and a second home or a lot split under SB 9 (Gov. Code § 65852.21).
• Not covered here: M-3: S5 says premises 'may be used for any use' except the listed exceptions, so no per-use row exists; not comparable, no cells given; B-1 and B-2: S6 is a short list of allowed items (parking, landscaping, grading etc.) with none of the 16 uses; no cells given; Zone W has no cell for several uses because the row is '-' (given as no); Zones O-S/R-R/W belong to the Resort/Open space group in S1; Overlay and special districts in S8 to S70 (Santa Monica Mountains LIP, Coastal specific plans, Billboard, Parking, Equestrian, Green Zone, TOD specific plan) are not base zones and were not used. Overlay zones and specific plans can also change the answer.

• Duplex
• Rooming or boarding house
• Church or place of worship
• Community garden
• Growing crops
• Kennel
• Emergency shelter