SB 1211 for 5-unit apartment in Redwood City
In Redwood City, a 5-unit 5-unit apartment just became one of the highest-yield SB 1211 typologies — 6 new homes, ministerially approved. At Redwood City's median rent of $3,000/mo, that's ~$216K in additional gross annual rent.
The Redwood City scenario
The capital stack on a typical Redwood City 5-unit apartment project: existing equity (the lot itself, owned outright in many cases), construction loan against the new ADU appraised value, refi at completion against the stabilized rent roll.
Local tip for Redwood City: Peninsula corridor.
Mid-size multifamily (5–8 unit) design playbook
This is SB 1211's sweet spot. A 5-unit existing building maxes out the 8-detached cap (or comes close), so design moves are about packing detached ADUs efficiently around the existing structure and converting underutilized parking.
Pro-forma snapshot
| Existing units | 5 |
| Detached ADUs (SB 1211) | 5 |
| Interior conversions | 1 |
| Total new units | 6 |
| Median 1BR rent in Redwood City | $3,000/mo |
| Est. additional gross rent | $216K/yr |
| Estimated total project cost | ~$1,478K |
| Year-1 NOI estimate | ~$162K |
| Stabilized cap rate at cost | 11.0% |
| Replacement parking required | No (§66313) |
| Approval pathway | Ministerial · §66314 |
| Typical permit timeline in Redwood City | 75-130 days |
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