AB 1751 Explained (2026): Townhomes You Can Sell, With No Hearing

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Townhomes you can sell, on one lot, with no public hearing. From 2027, AB 1751 lets you build up to 150 townhomes, with no hearing. I'm John Jung, with Brick Work. Four rules decide if it pencils. Part one. Which lots qualify. There are two doors. Land zoned for apartments qualifies as it is. Single-family land qualifies only if it's underutilized, which means no house on it, unless the house is abandoned and uninhabitable. Both words. Not either one. That's the old test. In 2027 the small-lot subdivision law, SB 1123, switches to abandoned, or failing just one of six basics: a sound roof and walls, plumbing, hot and cold water, heat, wiring, or safe floors and stairs. So the same tired house can open SB 1123 next year and still block AB 1751. Some sites are out no matter what. Rent-controlled homes that had tenants in the last five years. Any Ellis Act withdrawal in the last fifteen. A parcel that held five or more units in the last five years. Very high fire zones, and sites that qualify for SB 79 transit housing. Sites your city counts for lower-income housing, and lots without city sewer. Part two. The density floor. Here's the part nobody mentions. AB 1751 has a minimum. Your project has to reach seventy-five percent of the state's default density. For cities in LA County that default is thirty homes per acre, so the floor is twenty-two and a half. On a 7,500 square foot lot, that's at least four townhomes. On ten thousand square feet, at least six. And watch the eleven-home line. Past about 19,400 square feet, the floor forces eleven or more homes. At eleven, ten percent have to be affordable to lower-income households for forty-five years, or more if your city's own rule asks for more. Part three. 1,750 square feet, and the stairs. The size cap is an average of 1,750 net habitable square feet per home. Net means measured to the inside face of the walls. It leaves out garages, carports, unfinished attics and basements, and any space under six and a half feet of headroom. Now the stairs. AB 1751 counts them. The new SB 1123 definition, starting in 2027, leaves them out. In a three-story townhome, that's well over a hundred square feet you either spend or get for free. Part four. Fee simple, no HOA, and no public report. Each townhome can sit on its own lot, as small as 600 square feet, with no minimum width or frontage. The city can't make you form an HOA. It can require a maintenance agreement for a shared drive. Here's how projects back into one by accident. If the shared driveway is its own lot owned in common, that's common area, and the law treats you as a planned development. At five or more lots, that means a Department of Real Estate public report. The cleaner structure is easements over each owner's own lot, plus a recorded maintenance agreement. Run it past your attorney. And the public report itself? You can skip it when three things are true. No common interest development. Every lot inside a city. And every lot sold with a finished home. The law already makes you build before you sell, so that last one comes free. But unincorporated county land, like Altadena, doesn't get this exemption. A few last details. Unlike SB 1123, this law sets no sixty-day deadline for the city. The city can't require covered parking. You can't split these lots again later with SB 9. And it applies in every city, including charter cities, except San Francisco. Which path wins on your lot, AB 1751, SB 1123 or SB 9, depends on the zone, the house and the tenant history. Send us the address. We'll run every path on your lot. brickwork.la.

What AB 1751 allows

Up to 150 townhomes, each no more than three stories of occupiable space, sharing a wall on one or two sides or separated by no more than the minimum fire separation distance.
Each home on its own lot, as small as 600 square feet, with no minimum width, depth or frontage. Other tenures work too: a common interest development, a limited-equity co-op, a community land trust, or tenancy in common.
Ministerial approval, no hearing. A project that meets the standards can be denied only on a written finding, based on a preponderance of the evidence, of a specific health and safety impact.
No required covered or enclosed parking, and no required HOA (beyond what the Davis-Stirling Act itself requires). The city can require a road maintenance agreement.
It applies in every city, charter cities included, except San Francisco. You can't count on splitting the lots again with SB 9 later.

Which lots qualify

Zoning	What AB 1751 requires
Zoned to allow multifamily housing	Qualifies as it is. There's no vacancy test.
Zoned single-family	Must be underutilized: no permanent residential structure, unless the structure is abandoned and uninhabitable. Both words.

Gov. Code § 66499.46(a)(2)(A), added by AB 1751.

That single-family test is stricter than the one SB 1123 switches to in 2027. SB 1123 will accept a house that is abandoned or fails one of six basics in Civ. Code § 1941.1: a sound roof and walls, plumbing, hot and cold water, heat, wiring, or safe floors and stairs. So the same tired house can open SB 1123 next year and still block AB 1751.

Sites that are out no matter what

Demolishing covenant-affordable housing, or rent-controlled homes that had tenants in the last 5 years.
Any Ellis Act withdrawal in the last 15 years.
A parcel that held 5 or more units in the last 5 years.
Sites eligible for SB 79 transit-oriented housing, and sites your city counts for lower-income housing.
Very high fire hazard zones, farmland, wetlands, fault zones (unless built to seismic code), flood zones, hazardous-waste sites, protected habitat, historic-district contributors and landmarks.
Lots without community water and municipal sewer.

The density floor

AB 1751 sets a minimum, not just a maximum. The project must reach at least 75% of the state's default density for your jurisdiction (Gov. Code § 65583.2(c)(3)(B)). For cities in Los Angeles County that default is 30 homes per acre, so the floor is 22.5 homes per acre.

Lot size	Minimum townhomes at 22.5 per acre
5,000 sq ft	3
7,500 sq ft	4
10,000 sq ft	6
15,000 sq ft	8
20,000 sq ft	11, so 10% must be affordable

Our arithmetic, rounded up. Smaller cities the state classes as suburban use 20 per acre (a floor of 15); confirm your city's default.

Watch the 11-home line. Past about 19,400 square feet the floor forces 11 or more homes, and at 11, at least 10% must be affordable to lower-income households for 45 years, or more if your city's inclusionary rule asks for more.

1,750 square feet, and the stairs

The homes must average no more than 1,750 net habitable square feet: finished, heated floor area measured to the inside face of the walls, with at least 6½ feet of headroom. Here's how that compares with SB 684 / SB 1123's definition from 2027:

Space	AB 1751	SB 684 / SB 1123 from 2027
Stairs	Counts	Doesn't count
Halls, service and storage areas	Counts	Counts
Garages, carports, parking	Doesn't count	Doesn't count
Unfinished attics and basements, cellars, half-stories	Doesn't count	Doesn't count
Space under 6½ feet of headroom	Doesn't count	Doesn't count

In a three-story townhome with about 45 square feet of stair per floor (our assumption), that's roughly 135 square feet you spend under AB 1751 and get for free under SB 1123.

Fee simple, no HOA, and no public report

The city can't make you form an HOA. Projects back into one by accident: if the shared driveway is its own lot owned in common, that's common area, and the law treats the project as a planned development (Civ. Code § 4175). At 5 or more lots that means a Department of Real Estate public report. The cleaner structure is easements over each owner's own lot, plus a recorded maintenance agreement. Run it past your attorney.

You can skip the public report (Bus. & Prof. Code § 11010.4) when all three are true:

No condominium, planned development or other common interest development.
Every lot is entirely inside a city.
Every lot is sold with a completed home.

AB 1751 already makes you build before you sell, so the third comes free. Unincorporated county land, like Altadena, doesn't get this exemption. And if your city waives build-then-sell so you can sell lots early, you lose it too.

AB 1751 or SB 1123?

	AB 1751	SB 684 / SB 1123
Homes	Up to 150 townhomes	Up to 10
Single-family land	No house, unless abandoned and uninhabitable	From 2027: abandoned, or fails a § 1941.1 basic
1,750 sq ft average	Stairs count	Stairs don't count (from 2027)
Approval deadline	None in the statute	60 days, then deemed approved
Sell lots before building	No, unless the city waives it	No, unless the city waives it

Which path wins depends on the zone, the house and the tenant history. A Brick Work report runs every path on your lot. To add homes and keep the house you live in, see AB 956.

Questions

What is AB 1751?

AB 1751 is the Missing Middle Townhome Ownership Act (Stats. 2026, ch. 781). It lets you subdivide a lot and build up to 150 townhomes, up to three stories each, approved through a ministerial process with no public hearing. Each home can sit on its own lot as small as 600 square feet and be sold on its own once it's built.

When does AB 1751 take effect?

January 1, 2027. The bill was signed September 29, 2026 and has no urgency clause.

Can I use AB 1751 on a single-family lot with a house on it?

Only if the house is abandoned and uninhabitable, both. Single-family land qualifies only if it has no permanent residential structure, unless that structure is abandoned and uninhabitable. If you live in the house, AB 1751 isn't your path on that lot; look at two ADUs under AB 956 or SB 9. Land zoned for multifamily housing has no vacancy test.

How many townhomes do I have to build?

At least 75% of the state's default density for your jurisdiction. For cities in Los Angeles County that default is 30 homes per acre, so the floor is 22.5 per acre: at least 4 townhomes on a 7,500 square foot lot and at least 6 on 10,000 square feet. Some smaller cities use a lower default, so confirm yours.

When does an AB 1751 project need affordable units?

At 11 or more homes, at least 10% must be dedicated to lower-income households for at least 45 years, or more if your city's inclusionary rule asks for more. Because of the density floor, lots larger than about 19,400 square feet in LA County cities are forced past 11 homes.

Does an AB 1751 project need an HOA or a DRE public report?

The city can't require an HOA, though it can require a road maintenance agreement. A public report is needed for 5 or more lots unless every lot is inside a city, there's no common interest development, and each lot is sold with a finished home. A shared driveway owned in common turns the project into a planned development and loses that exemption.

Can I sell AB 1751 lots before the homes are built?

No, unless your city waives the rule by ordinance or map condition. A parcel can't be sold, leased or financed on its own until it holds a completed home (or is common area, or the last undeveloped parcel). Selling lots early under a waiver also loses the public-report exemption.

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Sources

Last reviewed November 4, 2026. General information, not legal advice; the statute and your city's own rules control.

AB 1751 explained: townhomes you can sell, with no hearing