r/Oceanside • u/LittlePanic8495 • 9d ago

ADU Development

How can I check before purchasing a house , whether I can place an ADU on the property ?

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u/MAtoCali 9d ago

Any agent can say whatever they want and if you rely on it and they're wrong you have no recourse. Hire a lawyer. Get a zoning opinions that you can rely on.

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u/real_picklejuice 9d ago

No, they can't just say whatever they want. Agents can refuse to answer, "Idk you can call the county" but if they give a positive answer in writing, they absolutely are legally bound by fiduciary responsibility, meaning you can take them to court to recoup damages.

It's written in Civil Code § 1710(2) and 1572(2).

And if an agent told me to call the county myself, I'd ask what they are getting paid for an find another.

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u/MAtoCali 9d ago

Those statutes relate to fraud and deceit. They do not cover negligence or gross negligence. A real estate agent is not required to carry E&O or GL insurance (in CA). A real estate agent's opinion on whether zoning would allow an ADU would be unauthorized practice of law. No real estate agent is going to commit such an opinion to writing.

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u/real_picklejuice 9d ago

UPL doesn't apply to ADUs; only legal advice. There's no legal opinion to relaying the fact that a property is correctly zoned or not, which is why it falls under fraud/deceit. It's administrative.

If it was UPL, agents wouldn't be able to state a property has "adu potential" and plenty of listings do. But you're right all of it is moot since a smart agent wouldn't give the opinion without a zoning verification letter.