MFB Co. Inc. Construction

MFB Co. Inc. Construction Design-Build | ADUs, Additions & Remodels | Q2–Q3 Planning Now Open

AB 2533 turns on one fact: the unit existed before January 1, 2020. Cities will ask you to prove it. Jurisdictions that ...
08/11/2026

AB 2533 turns on one fact: the unit existed before January 1, 2020. Cities will ask you to prove it.

Jurisdictions that have published their amnesty programs accept documentation like assessor records, escrow and transfer disclosure documents, prior building or code enforcement records, and signed letters from licensed professionals. Exact requirements vary city to city — which is why the documentation package gets built before the application goes in, not after the counter asks for it.

This is where having a licensed general contractor in your corner matters. We know what the file needs to look like, and CSLB License #904448 means our attestation carries weight.

Weak file, weak application. Strong file, smooth application.

DM us LEGAL — we will send you the document checklist we build for every amnesty file.

Every amnesty conversation eventually lands on the same statute: Health & Safety Code §17920.3. That is California’s def...
08/11/2026

Every amnesty conversation eventually lands on the same statute: Health & Safety Code §17920.3. That is California’s definition of a substandard building, and it is the only legitimate basis a city has to deny a pre-2020 unit under AB 2533.

It covers real hazards — the kind of conditions no builder should defend and no family should live with. Dangerous wiring. Failing structure. No heat. Bad sanitation.

What it does not cover is the paperwork and zoning technicalities that used to kill these applications.

When we assess a unit, this checklist is where we start. Not because the city demands it, but because it tells us the true scope: what is a hazard, what is cosmetic, and what the correction list will actually look like before you ever file.

This is the fear that keeps unpermitted units unpermitted: “If I tell the city it exists, they will make me demolish it....
08/08/2026

This is the fear that keeps unpermitted units unpermitted: “If I tell the city it exists, they will make me demolish it.”

Under AB 2533, that fear is backwards. For units built before 2020, the city cannot deny your permit just because the unit breaks building standards or the local ADU ordinance. Denial requires an actual health and safety hazard — and hazards get corrected, not bulldozed.

The bigger risk now is silence. An unpermitted unit is still exposed: code enforcement complaints, insurance gaps, disclosure problems when you sell. The law finally gives you a clean way to close that exposure.

The homeowners who lose under AB 2533 are the ones who never file.

Send this to the one person you know sitting on an unpermitted unit.

The eligibility test is simpler than people think. One date: January 1, 2020. If the unit existed before that date, AB 2...
08/07/2026

The eligibility test is simpler than people think.

One date: January 1, 2020. If the unit existed before that date, AB 2533 applies. It does not matter that it never had permits. It does not matter that it does not meet your city’s current ADU ordinance.

What matters is whether the unit is safe. Substandard conditions under Health & Safety Code §17920.3 — things like hazardous wiring, no heat, structural instability, inadequate sanitation — are the issues that have to be addressed. And in most units we see, those items are correctable, not fatal.

Built after January 1, 2020? Different conversation, still a solvable one. That is the normal ADU permitting path, and we do that every week.

DM us the word LEGAL and tell us what year the unit went in. We will tell you which path you are on.

Comment “2020” and we will send you the plain-English eligibility rundown. No spin, just the statute. AB 2533 was signe...
08/07/2026

Comment “2020” and we will send you the plain-English eligibility rundown.

No spin, just the statute.

AB 2533 was signed in September 2024 and took effect January 1, 2025. It covers both ADUs and Junior ADUs built before January 1, 2020.

The core of it: a local agency shall not deny a permit for one of these units because it violates building standards or the local ADU ordinance. Denial is only allowed when the unit is substandard in a way that threatens health and safety.

That is a fundamental shift. The city is no longer asking “does this meet every line of current code?” They are asking “is this unit safe to live in?” Those are very different questions, and the second one is winnable.

Source: California AB 2533 (2024); Health & Safety Code §17920.3.

There are unpermitted ADUs all over Southern California. Garage conversions. Backyard units. Granny flats that never saw...
08/06/2026

There are unpermitted ADUs all over Southern California. Garage conversions. Backyard units. Granny flats that never saw an inspector.

In 2024, California passed AB 2533. Effective January 1, 2025, if your unit was built before January 1, 2020, your city cannot deny you a permit just because the unit violates building standards or local ADU rules. The only thing that stops you is a genuine health and safety hazard.

That means the unit you have been quietly renting, or quietly worrying about, can become a legal, permitted, insurable asset.

Over the next two weeks, we are breaking down exactly how this works. Who qualifies. Who does not. What the inspection actually looks for. And what it takes to walk away with a permitted unit.

Follow along. This window is real, and it is the most homeowner-friendly amnesty California has ever passed.

Follow + Save this post. Tomorrow: what the law actually says.

Every set of plans represents more than a project—it represents trust.We’re grateful to our clients for trusting us with...
08/01/2026

Every set of plans represents more than a project—it represents trust.

We’re grateful to our clients for trusting us with their homes, investments, and vision, and to our architects, engineers, consultants, and trade partners for helping us move each project forward.

Thank you for continuing to place your confidence in Manuel Francisco Bran Co. Inc. We don’t take that responsibility lightly.

ProjectDevelopment

Five posts on who we don't work with. One post on who we do.Our clients are operators. Investors running a portfolio. De...
07/03/2026

Five posts on who we don't work with. One post on who we do.

Our clients are operators. Investors running a portfolio. Developers
running a pipeline. Owners running their own deal who treat the build as capital deployment, not as a haggling exercise.

They show up with a number, a thesis, and a timeline. They want a
partner who'll tell them when the deal doesn't pencil — before they close — and a firm that delivers what was scoped, when it was scoped.

If that's you, the call's open.

There's a square foot in every ADU that costs $4,100.It's the one between 749 and 750.Under California Government Code §...
07/03/2026

There's a square foot in every ADU that costs $4,100.

It's the one between 749 and 750.

Under California Government Code §66311.5, ADUs at or under 749 sq ft are exempt from impact fees. Cross into 750+, and every applicable fee — school, park, traffic — gets charged proportionally to your primary house.

LAUSD's school fee alone is $5.17 per square foot (California State Allocation Board, Jan 2024). On an 800 sq ft ADU, that's $4,100 in school fees. For one foot over the line.

Your architect won't ask. They draw what you said you wanted.

The owners I work with know before the first sketch.

Homeowners: DM your address. I'll send back the 749-vs-800 math for your specific build. Developers running 3+ ADUs: DM "RETAINER" for the GC Advisory engagement.

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