LOS ANGELES—Robert Lopata, president and co-founder of property management firm LBPM, has increased the units at many of his properties by converting existing square footage into legal units, and going through Building & Safety for approval. If landlords can meet all requirements, which may include safety upgrades or adding additional parking, then the Building & Safety department is almost sure to approve the unit. If you can't meet the requirements, the alternative is to go through the variance process with the Planning Commission to get an exemption, but don't count on it.

“One other way to expand the number of units in your property is to go through the variance process. That is a political process and you have to go through the Planning Commission,” Lopata tells GlobeSt.com. “To do that, you have to hire a land use attorney that will create a case for you to get the variance. If you win, that variance would exempt you from certain requirements that would otherwise stop you from adding square footage or converting square footage into a legal unit. We have not had success with the variance process. It becomes very expensive for a very uncertain outcome. You could spend $50,000 dollars or more to get through the process, and when you get there, it could be a no go. For that reason, often times, people back away from that.”

Even if you can get through the expensive and timely process, the Planning Commission may want to approve the unit in exchange for something, like converting the unit into a low-income residence. “In that case, it wouldn't be worth the conversion because the value of the unit goes down,” says Lopata. “It won't work for everyone, but when it does work, it is worth something. It is valuable to the property owner and to the city, because the community gets legalized units that have been seen by Building and Safety and approved. It also expands our stock of housing.”

Still, if you think you can get an extra unit or two out of your property, it is worth talking to a land-use attorney, because the benefit is worth it. If you think you are close, you may have a shot at this,” says Lopata. Instead of trying to get an exemption, Lopata instead recommends working with your attorney to find legal solutions to the meet the requirements. “The nice thing about the way that we have done this is to review the request with a land-use attorney to figure out exactly what we can do to a building, and then take it through the Building and Safety route,” he says. “We really stay away from looking for variances, but that isn't to say that there aren't cases where it is worth doing. I look at it as a gamble, a $50,000 gamble.”

LOS ANGELES—Robert Lopata, president and co-founder of property management firm LBPM, has increased the units at many of his properties by converting existing square footage into legal units, and going through Building & Safety for approval. If landlords can meet all requirements, which may include safety upgrades or adding additional parking, then the Building & Safety department is almost sure to approve the unit. If you can't meet the requirements, the alternative is to go through the variance process with the Planning Commission to get an exemption, but don't count on it.

“One other way to expand the number of units in your property is to go through the variance process. That is a political process and you have to go through the Planning Commission,” Lopata tells GlobeSt.com. “To do that, you have to hire a land use attorney that will create a case for you to get the variance. If you win, that variance would exempt you from certain requirements that would otherwise stop you from adding square footage or converting square footage into a legal unit. We have not had success with the variance process. It becomes very expensive for a very uncertain outcome. You could spend $50,000 dollars or more to get through the process, and when you get there, it could be a no go. For that reason, often times, people back away from that.”

Even if you can get through the expensive and timely process, the Planning Commission may want to approve the unit in exchange for something, like converting the unit into a low-income residence. “In that case, it wouldn't be worth the conversion because the value of the unit goes down,” says Lopata. “It won't work for everyone, but when it does work, it is worth something. It is valuable to the property owner and to the city, because the community gets legalized units that have been seen by Building and Safety and approved. It also expands our stock of housing.”

Still, if you think you can get an extra unit or two out of your property, it is worth talking to a land-use attorney, because the benefit is worth it. If you think you are close, you may have a shot at this,” says Lopata. Instead of trying to get an exemption, Lopata instead recommends working with your attorney to find legal solutions to the meet the requirements. “The nice thing about the way that we have done this is to review the request with a land-use attorney to figure out exactly what we can do to a building, and then take it through the Building and Safety route,” he says. “We really stay away from looking for variances, but that isn't to say that there aren't cases where it is worth doing. I look at it as a gamble, a $50,000 gamble.”