General Contractor in Beverly Hills, CA

Green Design and Build is a licensed residential general contractor (CSLB #1110975) working in Beverly Hills from our Van Nuys office. Beverly Hills runs its own Building and Safety Division and its own design review, and it is one of the strictest cities in Los Angeles County to build in. Saturday work is banned near homes. Exterior changes in the Central R-1 zone need design approval before anything is built. ADU size limits change depending on which side of Santa Monica Boulevard you are on. None of that is negotiable, and all of it belongs in the schedule from day one rather than as a surprise in month three.

Beverly Hills runs its own building department

Permits come from the City of Beverly Hills Building and Safety Division, part of the Community Development Department, established under Beverly Hills Municipal Code 9-1-104. Beverly Hills is not one of the thirteen cities that contract building and safety services to Los Angeles County, and it is not LADBS. Applications start through the city’s Online Permit Applications system on the CitySmart platform, and electronic plan review runs through ProjectDox. When you resubmit revised drawings, they must use the same file naming as the original upload and be accompanied by a written narrative of what changed.

Allow at least two to three business days for staff to review the online application itself before you receive a reference number and instructions. Some projects then qualify for over-the-counter review; the rest go to electronic plan check. The permit counter is at City Hall, 455 N. Rexford Drive, and the number for permit questions is (310) 285-1000.

The Beverly Hills rules that catch people out

• Design review is mandatory in the Central R-1 zone. Under BHMC 10-3-2426, no single-family residence in Central R-1 may be erected, altered or remodeled until the exterior elevations and plans have been reviewed and approved, either by the design review commission or the Director of Community Development. Remodels that do not materially change the street-facing appearance are exempt. If your project touches the front of the house, this is a step before permit, not after.
• Construction hours are the strictest we work under. Under BHMC 5-1-205, permitted work is prohibited on weekdays between 6:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m., all day Saturday within 500 feet of a residential zone, and all day Sunday and on holidays — a list that includes Yom Kippur. Workers may not even enter the site before 8:00 a.m. After-hours permits exist but are issued at the building official’s discretion. On a Beverly Hills job you are working roughly five days a week, and any schedule that assumes six is wrong before it starts.
• Hillside R-1 Permit. BHMC 10-3-2550 requires a discretionary Hillside R-1 Permit to deviate from hillside standards, including limits on how much material may be imported or exported, cut-and-fill standards and setbacks. On a hillside lot this is a real entitlement step with its own timeline.
• Certificate of Appropriateness for historic property. Under BHMC 10-3-3219, altering, demolishing or changing the exterior of a designated landmark or a contributing property in a historic district requires a Certificate of Appropriateness first. It also reaches new construction and additions on non-contributing properties that are visible from the public right of way. The Director can act administratively within 21 days; work that may significantly change character-defining features goes to the Historic Preservation Commission with a public hearing and a 60-day window.
• Fire hazard severity zones. The city publishes a Fire Hazard Severity Zone map showing Very High, High and Moderate zones designated by the State Fire Marshal. If your property falls in one, expect Chapter 7A materials and defensible space requirements to shape the exterior specification.

ADUs in Beverly Hills: the rules genuinely change by street

This is where Beverly Hills differs most from the rest of our service area. Under BHMC 10-3-5000, the maximum ADU size depends on where in the city you are. In the Central Area south of Santa Monica Boulevard the cap is 1,200 square feet. North of Santa Monica Boulevard it rises to 1,400. In Trousdale Estates it drops to between 850 and 1,000 square feet depending on bedroom count. Junior ADUs are capped at 500 square feet everywhere, as state law provides.

Detached ADU height follows the same geography: 22 feet in the Central Area south of Santa Monica Boulevard, 25 feet north of it, with the Hillside Area and Trousdale Estates following state limits, and estate lots of 24,000 square feet or more permitted to match the height of the main house. Setbacks in the Central Area are a minimum four feet to side and rear; in the Hillside Area and Trousdale the ADU must match the primary dwelling’s setbacks, capped at four feet where the existing requirement is greater.

There is also a privacy rule that quietly changes design: windows within ten feet of and facing a side or rear property line must sit at least six feet above the finished floor. Porches and decks are limited to three feet above grade, and rooftop decks are prohibited. Incentive ADUs must be let on minimum one-year terms, with no short-term rental.

A garage conversion ADU runs $100,000 to $200,000 as a typical Los Angeles budgeting range. A detached new-construction unit runs $180,000 to $260,000 for 400 to 500 square feet, rising with size — and in Beverly Hills, where a 1,400 square foot ADU is permitted north of Santa Monica Boulevard, the upper bands apply. Our ADU rules hub and ADU rules calculator cover the state floor that every city must meet.

These are typical Los Angeles budgeting estimates, not a price list or a quote. Your project can come in lower or higher depending on the house, the scope and the finishes; the only real number is a written proposal after a site visit.

Beverly Hills areas we serve

We work across 90210, 90211 and 90212. The city’s own zoning code divides residential Beverly Hills into a Central Area, split north and south of Santa Monica Boulevard, a Hillside Area, and Trousdale Estates — and as the ADU rules above show, those divisions are not cosmetic. They change what you may build, how tall, how close to the line and, on hillside lots, whether you need a discretionary permit at all. The first thing we establish on a Beverly Hills enquiry is which of those areas the property sits in, because everything else follows from it.

What we build most in Beverly Hills

• Whole-home renovations where systems, finishes and layout are dealt with together rather than in stages, and where design review shapes the exterior scope early.
• Kitchen remodels, frequently opening up a closed original plan, which usually means removing a load-bearing wall with an engineer, a beam and a plan check.
• Bathroom remodels, including primary suite reconfiguration.
• Room additions and second-story additions, where design review and, on hillside lots, the Hillside R-1 Permit set the real timeline.
• ADUs and garage conversions under the area-specific limits above.
• Foundation and structural work, including hillside conditions.

Permits in Beverly Hills: how we run it

We handle design, engineering, permitting and construction under one licence, so one company answers for the schedule. On a Beverly Hills project that means establishing which zone the property sits in before design starts, identifying at the outset whether design review, a Hillside R-1 Permit or a Certificate of Appropriateness applies, and building the construction programme around a five-day week from the beginning rather than discovering the Saturday rule after the framing crew is booked. Our design-build process page sets out each stage, and how contractor payments work in California explains what you should and should not be asked for up front.

Frequently asked questions

Who issues building permits in Beverly Hills?

The City of Beverly Hills Building and Safety Division, within the Community Development Department, established under Beverly Hills Municipal Code 9-1-104. Not LADBS and not Los Angeles County — Beverly Hills is not one of the county’s building and safety contract cities. Applications begin through the city’s Online Permit Applications system, plan review runs in ProjectDox, and the counter is at City Hall, 455 N. Rexford Drive. Permit enquiries: (310) 285-1000.

Can I work on Saturdays in Beverly Hills?

Not within 500 feet of a residential zone. Under BHMC 5-1-205 permitted construction is prohibited all day Saturday in or near residential zones, all day Sunday, and on the city’s holiday list, which includes Yom Kippur. On weekdays work runs 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and crews may not enter the site earlier. After-hours permits may be issued by the city building official, but you should plan on a five-day week.

Do I need design review to remodel my Beverly Hills house?

If the house is in the Central R-1 zone and the work changes the exterior, yes. BHMC 10-3-2426 requires exterior elevations and plans to be reviewed and approved before a single-family residence is erected, altered or remodelled. Remodels that do not materially change the street-facing appearance are exempt. Interior-only work is not caught by it, but anything that alters the front of the house is.

How big can an ADU be in Beverly Hills?

It depends where you are. Under BHMC 10-3-5000 the cap is 1,200 square feet in the Central Area south of Santa Monica Boulevard, up to 1,400 square feet north of it, and 850 to 1,000 square feet in Trousdale Estates depending on bedroom count. Junior ADUs are capped at 500 square feet. Detached height limits and setbacks vary by area too, and rooftop decks on ADUs are prohibited citywide.

Is my Beverly Hills property in a fire hazard zone?

Possibly. The city publishes a Fire Hazard Severity Zone map showing Very High, High and Moderate zones designated by the State Fire Marshal. Properties in the higher zones can be subject to California Building Code Chapter 7A construction requirements and defensible space rules, which affect exterior materials, vents, windows and landscaping. It is worth checking the map before design rather than during plan check.

Are you licensed to work in Beverly Hills?

Yes. Green Design and Build holds California contractor licence CSLB #1110975 and is licensed, bonded and insured. A California licence is issued by the state and valid statewide, so no separate city licence is required to build in Beverly Hills — the permit itself always comes from the city. You can verify any contractor’s licence on the Contractors State License Board website, and you should.

Sources

Permit rules on this page are City of Beverly Hills rules and can change. Confirm what applies to your address with the department before you plan around a date. Cost ranges and durations are our own, from jobs we have built.

• Beverly Hills Municipal Code section 10-3-2426, Design Review Required — design review before permit for a single-family residence in the Central R-1 zone, and the exemption for remodels that do not materially change the appearance from the street.
• Beverly Hills Municipal Code section 5-1-205, Restrictions on Construction Activity — no work between 6:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. on weekdays, none at any time on a Saturday within a residential zone or 500 feet of one, and none on Sundays or holidays without an after-hours permit.

Last reviewed 17 September 2026.

Plan your Beverly Hills project

Send us your address and what you have in mind. We will walk the house, tell you which zone it sits in and what that means for size, height and review, flag whether design review or a hillside permit applies, and give you a written, itemised estimate. The site visit and the estimate are free, and the proposal follows within 48 hours. See typical budgeting ranges on our pricing page, what is covered on our warranty page, payment options on our financing page, and every city we cover across Los Angeles County.