Cities | Fremont

Fremont, California Multiplex Rules 2026: Zoning, Lot Sizes, ADUs, SB 9, Apartments, the Hill Area and Fees

Fremont, California is a city of 226,442 people in Alameda County. Its zoning rules are Title 18 of the Fremont Municipal Code, published by Code Publishing Company. Three facts matter for a project here. The City Council amended the ADU, SB 9 and housing sections on May 5, 2026, so the published code is recent. A duplex is already a permitted use on an R-1 corner lot of the right size. And the cost of a project is set as much by fees as by zoning: impact fees by bedroom count, and an affordable housing ordinance that starts at two new homes. This page summarizes the ways to build two, three, four or more homes on a Fremont lot. The seven guide pages below cover each topic in depth.

Fremont Guide Pages

Start With State Law

Four state laws set the minimum Fremont must allow on a house lot or a small site. SB 9 (2021) allows two main homes on a lot in a single-family zone, a split into two lots, or both, approved by staff with no hearing. ADU law sets the accessory dwelling units (ADUs), second homes on a lot, and junior ADUs a city must allow; a junior ADU is a unit of 500 square feet or less inside a house. SB 684 and SB 1123 allow maps of up to 10 lots with 10 homes. The state density bonus gives extra homes to projects that include affordable homes.

Fremont has written most of these into its code. Section 18.190.005 says its purpose is "to implement Cal. Gov't Code §§ 66310 through 66342" for ADUs, and that in a conflict "the provisions of the applicable Government Code shall prevail." Section 18.190.007 is the City's SB 9 section, adopted in December 2023. Chapter 18.165 is the density bonus chapter. A search of Titles 17 and 18 found no section on small-lot maps, so that statute applies directly.

A fifth law is new. SB 79 allows taller and denser housing near qualifying rail stops. The state Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) says in its SB 79 advisory that the law's provisions "will take effect on July 1, 2026, in Alameda, Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, and San Diego Counties," and it classes BART as heavy rail. The Fremont code names the Fremont BART Station and the Warm Springs/South Fremont BART station. HCD's list of affected cities under the Housing Crisis Act includes Fremont, which brings in the state rule that a housing project must replace the homes it removes.

Fremont in Numbers

The US Census Bureau's Vintage 2025 city file estimates 226,442 people in Fremont on July 1, 2025, down from a 2020 estimates base of 230,492. That is a loss of 4,050 people, or 1.8 percent (VanPlex arithmetic: 230,492 minus 226,442, divided by 230,492). In that file Fremont is the 17th largest city in California, after Santa Clarita (228,430) and ahead of San Bernardino (222,044). In Alameda County, Oakland has 440,838 people, Hayward 157,113 and Berkeley 121,911, and the county as a whole 1,636,630.

The City Council staff report of March 10, 2026 on the 2025 Annual Progress Report gives the housing figures. The City adopted its housing plan, the Housing Element, on January 10, 2023, and the state certified it on March 22, 2023. The state assigned Fremont 12,897 homes to plan for from 2023 to 2031. Building permits were issued for 344 homes in 2023, 194 in 2024 and 549 in 2025, and the total to date, with an earlier projection period, is 1,490. Of the 2025 permits, 336 were in one Warm Springs project, 177 were ADUs, 28 were in a mixed-use project in Centerville and 8 were new single-family houses. In 2025 the City received eleven SB 9 applications and approved nine.

The Ways to More Homes Compared

Sources: Fremont Municipal Code 18.90.040, 18.90.050, 18.90.080, 18.45.060, 18.190.005, 18.190.007, 18.190.130, 18.190.165 and 17.05.050 (current through Ordinance 02-2026); City of Fremont Master Fee Schedule, Section II, effective January 5, 2026; Gov. Code 66499.41 and 65912.157.

Zones That Allow Homes

Section 18.30.010 lists 25 base districts and 6 combining or overlay districts. R-1 permits one single-family dwelling on a lot and, on a corner lot, a duplex: the use table reads "P on corner lots." The number in an R-1 name is the lot area in thousands of square feet, from R-1-6 to R-1-40. R-2 permits duplexes and duets. The R-3 districts permit multiple dwellings, buildings of three or more homes, and the number in the name is the top of a density range, from 8.8 to 11 homes per net acre in R-3-11 to 50.1 to 70 in R-3-70. R-G is kept for apartment sites built before July 22, 2003. Most commercial districts permit homes "as component of mixed-use project only," and the Downtown, City Center and Warm Springs districts near BART have their own chapters. Planned districts follow the rules of the most similar standard district. See the zoning districts page.

Lot Sizes and Dividing Land

Table 18.90.040 sets house lots at 6,000 to 40,000 square feet by district, each 100 feet deep. Section 17.25.180 adds that "No lot shall have a street frontage less than 35 feet," with an exception for attached housing and detached townhome developments. A flag lot, one that reaches the street by a narrow strip, needs 26 feet of frontage and may hold one house and one ADU. In the hillside combining district the lot area rises two percent for each one percent of slope over six percent. The Planning Commission decides tentative maps for five or more lots within 50 days, and the Planning Manager decides tentative parcel maps. An SB 9 lot split must leave two lots of at least 1,200 square feet. In 2025 the City received nine lot split applications and approved four. See the lot size and subdivisions page.

House Lots: ADUs and SB 9

Section 18.190.005 allows a new detached ADU of up to 1,200 square feet and a new attached ADU of up to 1,000, with side and rear setbacks of four feet. A detached ADU may be 16 feet tall, or 18 feet within one-half mile walking distance of a major transit stop. "No additional parking spaces shall be required for an ADU," and "Owner occupancy shall not be required for either the primary dwelling unit or the ADU." A house lot may also combine a converted ADU, a junior ADU and a detached ADU of up to 800 square feet. Rooftop decks on ADUs have been prohibited since May 2026, and rentals of less than 30 days are not allowed.

The City's SB 9 section limits a lot that is not split to "no more than a total of four units of any kind, including accessory dwelling units and junior accessory dwelling units." It requires one parking space per unit except near transit, separate utility connections, and compliance with the impact fee ordinance. A project of two or more net new units also falls under the affordable housing ordinance. See the ADUs and SB 9 page.

Three or More Homes

An R-3 project must fit inside its density range, and near stations the TOD overlay sets minimums of 30 or 50 homes per net acre. On November 4, 2025 the City Council denied an appeal that sought to use a density bonus concession to go below an adopted minimum density next to a BART station. Chapter 18.155 applies to "any project containing two or more net new living units or residential lots": 15 percent of for-sale homes and 10 percent of rental homes must be affordable, or the applicant may use an alternative. The fee schedule lists the in-lieu fee at $44.00 per habitable square foot for for-sale units and $17.50 for rental units over 700 square feet. For projects of three to ten homes in multifamily or mixed-use zones, the City may not hold floor area ratio below 1.0 or 1.25. Near the BART stations, SB 79 sets state minimums of 75 feet and 120 homes per acre within one-quarter mile of a Tier 1 stop. See the three or more homes page.

Parking, Setbacks and Height

In R-1-6 a house needs a 20-foot front yard, a 25-foot rear yard and interior side yards of at least 5 feet that total 12 feet. Height is limited to 17 feet for one story and 30 feet for two. The first story may cover 40 percent of the lot, and the second story is capped at half the first-story area, up to 1,000 square feet in R-1-6 and more in the larger districts. A solar access rule adds a setback from northerly lot lines equal to two times the height difference with the neighboring structure. The parking table asks for two covered spaces for a house or duplex unit with four or fewer bedrooms and three with five or more, and for one covered space plus guest parking for each apartment. Within one-half mile of public transit the City imposes no minimum, and never on a housing project of fewer than 20 homes there. See the parking, setbacks and height page.

The Hill Area and Historic Review

The code names two hill initiatives, the "Hillside Initiative of 1981 (Measure A) and the Hill Area Initiative of 2002 (Measure T)." A line called the toe of the hill, where the natural grade first reaches 20 percent, separates the hill rules from the rest of the city. Above it, the open space district sets 20-acre lots in the hill and hill face designations and 100 acres for land annexed after January 1, 2002, and limits all buildings on a parcel to a two-acre development envelope. Below it, the (H-I) hillside combining district enlarges lots on slopes and holds roofs to 30 feet. Ordinance 10-2025 of July 15, 2025 designated fire hazard severity zones. For old buildings, Section 18.175.150 allows no demolition permit for a building 50 years old or older "until it has been screened for historic significance." The fee schedule lists that screening at $192. See the hill area and historic review page.

Permits and Fees

Housing approvals use the design review permit. A house at or under 7,500 square feet that meets the standards and design rules gets ministerial review, with no hearing. Multifamily projects get discretionary review by the zoning administrator, or by the Planning Commission when a tract map is involved. Appeals must be filed within 10 calendar days. A housing approval must be used within 48 months, with one extension of up to 24 months. The Master Fee Schedule section effective January 5, 2026 lists deposits of $21,000 for standard design review, $16,000 for a tentative parcel map and $2,000 for an ADU. The five development impact fees total $41,038 on a three-bedroom home and $17,402 on a studio (VanPlex arithmetic from the schedule), and the construction tax adds $3,037 for a single-family dwelling. See the permits and fees page.

Rentals and Existing Homes

Chapter 9.60, adopted October 3, 2017, is Fremont's rent review program. It applies "to all residential rental units in the city," with exceptions that include junior ADUs and rooms in an owner's home. Either side may ask for review of "a rent increase exceeding five percent in any 12-month period." The steps are consultation, mediation and then "non-binding review by the rent review board." The chapter also says "Rent increases shall be limited to one increase in any consecutive 12-month period," and sets a civil penalty of up to $2,000 for landlord retaliation. The annual report of November 18, 2025 counts "approximately 17,084 rental units in Fremont that are subject to the RRO" and 26 requests for review in the year ending June 30, 2025. A separate chapter, 9.55, covers mobile home space rents.

Chapter 8.70 gives relocation benefits to a tenant ordered to move out because the owner failed to repair or maintain a unit. A rental building may be converted to condominiums only with a conditional use permit and within a yearly allocation of 100 units; a Planning Division memo counts zero applications from 2020 through 2025. State law protects tenants where a project replaces rented homes: an SB 9 project may not demolish a home a tenant lived in during the last three years. The statewide rent cap is on the rent and tenant rules page.

Recent City Council Actions

• January 10, 2023. The Council adopted the 2023-2031 Housing Element, which the state certified on March 22, 2023, according to the March 2026 staff report.
• July 11, 2023. Ordinance 06-2023 amended Chapters 9.60, 18.25, 18.90, 18.183 and 18.190, and is the first ordinance listed under the current ADU section.
• December 5, 2023. Ordinance 07-2023 added the SB 9 section, the housing site overlay and the small-scale multifamily section, and wrote the state rule on parking near transit into the code.
• January 7, 2025. Ordinance 01-2025, the 2024-2025 package of code amendments, changed sections that include the time limits on approvals, Section 18.330.030.
• February 4, 2025. Ordinance 02-2025 amended the rent review chapter, and Ordinance 03-2025 amended the historic resources chapter for objective standards for historic homes.
• May 20, 2025. Ordinance 07-2025 amended the tenant relocation chapter.
• July 15, 2025. Ordinance 10-2025 designated fire hazard severity zones.
• November 4, 2025. Resolution No. 2025-48 amended the Master Fee Schedule, and Resolution No. 2025-49 denied an appeal over a density bonus concession below the minimum density in the TOD overlay.
• November 18, 2025. Ordinance No. 13-2025 adopted the 2025 California building codes, and Resolution No. 2025-54 set the rent review fee at $23.00 per rental unit.
• April 7 and May 5, 2026. The Council introduced and then adopted Ordinance 02-2026, the Winter 2025-2026 code update to Titles 17 and 18.
• July 7, 2026. The agenda carried the second reading of an ordinance rezoning an 11.21-acre site at 43800 Osgood Road from regional commercial to tech industrial.
• October 6, 2026. This is the latest Council meeting whose agenda was read. It carried no housing or zoning ordinance.

Where the Code, City Documents and State Law Differ

The guide pages flag each difference where it arises. The main ones:

• Section 18.30.010 lists six combining and overlay districts. Chapter 18.137 creates a seventh, the housing site overlay, which the list leaves out.
• The commercial use table permits homes in a mixed-use project in C-G. The standards table for the same chapter says "no mixed-use permitted" on the C-G floor area ratio line.
• Section 18.190.005 gives a new attached ADU a flat 1,000 square feet. Government Code 66314 limits an attached ADU to 50 percent of an existing main home. The section says the Government Code prevails.
• The ADU section cites Government Code 66324(d), which the Legislature renumbered as Section 66311.5 effective January 1, 2026.
• The residential use table bars SB 9 two-unit developments in R-2, where a single-family dwelling is a permitted use.
• Table 18.183.030 lists two or three covered parking spaces for a house. Section 18.183.020 and Government Code 65863.2 remove the minimum within one-half mile of public transit.
• Table 18.90.050 lets R-3-70 buildings reach 65 feet near a transit station. Government Code 65912.157 bars a height limit under 75 feet within one-quarter mile of a Tier 1 stop for an SB 79 project.
• Title 17 holds a public hearing on tentative maps. Government Code 66411.7 and 66499.41 require approval with no hearing for the maps they cover.
• The Development Impact Fee report lists $15,097 for parkland on a three-bedroom home, effective July 1, 2024. The fee schedule section effective January 5, 2026 lists $15,062.
• Section 18.55.020 limits hill open space buildings to 30 feet. Section 18.250.040 says the 2002 initiative limits buildings above the toe of the hill line to 35 feet.

Limits of This Guide

The code was read from the publisher's site, which says it "is current through Ordinance 02-2026, passed May 5, 2026." City Council and Planning Commission agendas were read for 77 meetings from January 7, 2025 to October 6, 2026, with staff reports and minutes for the items cited. Those agendas show no ordinance amending the text of Title 17 or Title 18 after May 5, 2026. The Council may have acted on a housing rule after October 6, 2026.

The City website, fremont.gov, answered 403 to a script and was not used. As a result these documents were not read: the zoning map and General Plan maps, the Housing Element and its site list, the Citywide Design Guidelines and the small-lot, multifamily and neighborhood design guidelines, the community plans, the City's ADU and SB 9 handouts and forms, the texts of the 1981 and 2002 hill initiatives, the fire hazard severity zone map, the historical overlay maps and the Fremont register. The fee amounts come from one attachment to the City Council agenda of November 4, 2025. School, water and sewer charges of outside agencies, the regional SB 79 map and the federal flood maps were not read. Whether Fremont is a general law or charter city was not confirmed. Ask the Planning Division which standards apply to your lot and whether a newer ordinance is in force.

Where to Go Next

Related on VanPlex: the SB 9 page, the California impact fees page and the San Jose guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

Official sources (checked October 2026)