How Long Does an ADU Take in Los Gatos? A 2026 Week-by-Week Timeline

A factory-built ADU in Los Gatos typically takes about 5 to 9 months from first call to move-in, and the single biggest fork in the schedule is topography: a flat in-town lot near the village runs the short end, while a foothill parcel adds engineering weeks up front. The legal spine is the same either way, state law makes review ministerial with a decision within 60 days of a complete application (Government Code sections 66310 to 66342), which Los Gatos follows as its baseline. The review queue answers to the town alone; everything else we can schedule.

The short version: Weeks 1 to 2 classify your lot, flat or hillside. Weeks 3 to 8 (or 10 with slope engineering) design and prepare plans. Weeks 8 to 20 the town reviews while your home is built in our factory 55 minutes away. It finishes with a crane set, hookups, and the final inspection.

The Los Gatos ADU timeline, week by week

Weeks	Phase	What happens
1 to 2	Property analysis	Free 30-minute review: terrain, setbacks, access, utilities
2 to 4	Site visit + feasibility study	The site visit is free; the feasibility study locks the exact quote, with slope and geology scoped if hillside
4 to 10	Design + plans	Model locked, structural (sized to terrain), Title 24
8 to 20	Permit review	60-day ministerial clock from a complete application
10 to 22	Factory build + foundation	Parallel with permitting
Final week	Delivery + finish	Crane set in one day, hookups, final inspection, keys

Flat lot and a small model, about 5 months best case; hillside parcels or our largest homes, roughly 9. A site-built ADU typically runs 16 to 24 months, and hillside site builds often blow past even that.

What moves the schedule in Los Gatos

Flat or hillside decides your preparation phase. In-town streets are straightforward. Foothill lots off Kennedy Road or above Highway 9 add geotechnical work, foundation engineering, and crane-access planning. None of it blocks the project; all of it belongs in the plan before the first drawing. The permit mechanics are in our Los Gatos ADU permits guide.

Only complete applications get the 60-day protection. Correction rounds are where schedules quietly die, so plan quality is the main schedule control you own.

Crane day needs choreography here. Narrow hillside streets mean the delivery plan, route, rigging, and staging, is engineered alongside the home. We have set homes on tighter streets than yours; it is planning, not drama.

The parallel build

While Los Gatos reviews your plans, your home is assembled about 97% complete in our Salinas factory, roughly 55 minutes away, and your foundation is built to match the terrain in the same window. That overlap is what keeps hillside projects in months instead of years: the slope only affects the site work, never the home’s construction.

Which home you order decides the tail of the schedule: the 660 square foot Six Sixty at $309,000, priced with a permitting budget built in, runs about 5 months best case; the 749 square foot two-bedroom at $369,000 is the rental favorite and stays under the impact-fee line; the 945 and 1,200 square foot three-bedrooms run 6 to 9 months, permitting willing. At Los Gatos property values the appraisal math is unusually kind; our ADU cost in Los Gatos guide and the ROI calculator put numbers on it.

Frequently asked questions

How long does a Los Gatos ADU permit take?

From a complete application, a decision is required within 60 days. Realistic total permitting commonly lands in the 60 to 90 day band, with hillside engineering adding preparation time in front of, not inside, that window.

How much longer is a hillside project?

Typically 4 to 8 extra weeks of geotechnical and foundation engineering up front, scoped in the feasibility study. The factory build absorbs most of it by running in parallel.

Can a crane even reach my foothill lot?

Almost always, with planning: route surveys, rigging plans, and occasionally a larger crane. Delivery access is one of the first things the free site visit checks, so you know before you commit.

What is the fastest realistic Los Gatos timeline?

About 5 months, small model, flat lot, clean permitting. We plan to that shape and never promise it, because the review queue belongs to the town.

Classify your lot, free

Flat or foothill, your schedule is written in your parcel’s contours. Book a free property analysis and our team will assess terrain, access, and your envelope. Thirty free minutes now beats a surprise in month three.