The Beverly Hills Flats is the City's Central Area, roughly the grid between Sunset and Santa Monica Boulevards, where a house may hold 1,500 square feet plus 40% of its lot and every street-facing side goes through design review. Zillow put the typical Flats home at about $10.3 million in September 2026, up 16.1% in five years, and in the Flats you're mostly paying for the lot.
You're comparing houses in the Beverly Hills Flats, or the Flats against the hills, and need to know what a lot allows and what it costs to own before you bid.
At a glance
| City | City of Beverly Hills (Central Area, Article 24) |
|---|---|
| First streets built | 1907 (Rodeo, Canon, Crescent, Carmelita, Elevado, Lomitas) |
| Floor area cap | 1,500 sq ft plus 40% of the site area |
| Height, north of Santa Monica Blvd | 28 ft, up to 34 ft with 10-ft side yards |
| Property tax rate | 1.189084% (Tax Rate Area 2410, 2026-27, before direct assessments) |
| Fire hazard zone | Not zoned at a sample point near City Hall (LA County map, 2025) |
Home values by the numbers
Zillow Home Value Index, September 2026: the typical value of homes in the middle third of the market, smoothed and seasonally adjusted. Neighborhoods are Zillow's own boundaries. A typical value is the middle of the market, not its top.
What are the Beverly Hills Flats?
The Flats is the level part of Beverly Hills, zoned by the City as its Central Area. Here the lot sets the house by a formula anyone can run, and the street-facing side passes through design review. That makes a Flats purchase a land purchase first: price the lot, then decide whether the house on it is worth keeping.
Where the Flats sit on the City's map
The City's Housing Element sorts single-family land into the Hillside Area, generally north of Sunset Boulevard, the Central Area north of Santa Monica Boulevard (between North Santa Monica and Sunset), the Central Area south of Santa Monica, and Trousdale Estates. On this page the Flats means the Central Area, with most attention on the part north of Santa Monica. The code treats the two Central Area halves a little differently on height.
The 1907 streets that set the pattern
The City's history says landscape architect Wilbur D. Cook laid out its curving streets, and that the first ones built, in 1907, were Rodeo, Canon, Crescent, Carmelita, Elevado and Lomitas. The Beverly Hills Hotel went up in 1912 near the Gathering of the Waters, where canyon streams met close to Beverly Drive and Sunset, two years before the City incorporated.
Building rules in the Beverly Hills Flats
Article 24 of the Beverly Hills Municipal Code governs the Central Area. These are the rules that most often decide what a Flats house can become. We've phrased them plainly; have your architect confirm them against the City's current code.
Floor area: the lot sets the house
Total floor area can't exceed 1,500 square feet plus 40% of the site area, and a main house must be at least 1,600 square feet. Projects above the formula need Planning Commission review. Because the cap scales with the lot, every extra 1,000 square feet of land adds 400 square feet of house.
Height north of Santa Monica Boulevard
North of Santa Monica Boulevard the plate height is 22 feet and the building height 28 feet. With side yards of at least 10 feet on each side, the limit rises to 30 feet for a flat roof, 32 feet for a sloped roof and 34 feet for a sloped roof with a ridgeline.
Height south of Santa Monica Boulevard
South of Santa Monica the plate height is also 22 feet, but the building height runs 25 feet with a flat roof, 28 feet sloped and 32 feet sloped with a ridgeline. A two-story house fits on either side; the difference shows in roof form.
Design review for the street-facing side
Any part of a Central Area house visible from a public street goes through the City's design review. There's no such review in the Hillside Area. Budget the time it adds, and expect the façade you see in a rendering to change before it's approved.
| Rule | Flats, north of Santa Monica | Flats, south of Santa Monica | Hillside Area |
|---|---|---|---|
| Floor area | 1,500 sq ft + 40% of site | 1,500 sq ft + 40% of site | 40% of pad + 10% of slope (smaller sites); 15,000 sq ft cap with basements |
| Building height | 28 ft, up to 34 ft | 25 to 32 ft by roof type | 26 ft, up to 30 ft in an envelope |
| Design review | Yes, street-facing parts | Yes, street-facing parts | No |
Work out what a Flats lot allows
The formula makes the Flats the easiest part of Beverly Hills to value on paper. Take the lot size from the assessor's record, multiply by 40% and add 1,500 square feet.
The formula on four lot sizes
| Lot size | 40% of lot | Maximum floor area |
|---|---|---|
| 10,000 sq ft | 4,000 sq ft | 5,500 sq ft |
| 15,000 sq ft | 6,000 sq ft | 7,500 sq ft |
| 20,000 sq ft | 8,000 sq ft | 9,500 sq ft |
| 30,000 sq ft | 12,000 sq ft | 13,500 sq ft |
Divide the asking price by the maximum floor area, not by the existing house, to compare two Flats listings on the same footing. A smaller house on a big lot can look expensive per foot and cheap per buildable foot.
Here's a worked example you can redo with real listings. Two houses both ask $12 million. The first sits on a 15,000-square-foot lot, so it allows 7,500 square feet: $1,600 per buildable foot. The second sits on 20,000 square feet and allows 9,500: about $1,263 per buildable foot. If you plan to rebuild, the second is the cheaper land by roughly a fifth, whatever the existing houses look like. If you plan to keep the house, compare condition and layout instead, and treat the buildable figure as a check, not the price.
Teardown or remodel: the checks before you price
Ask whether the house is on the City's Local Register of Historic Properties, which is numbered to 45 and includes estates by architects such as Wallace Neff and Gordon Kaufmann. A listed house isn't a teardown. Then pull the permit history, and plan for design review on anything new that faces the street.
Beverly Hills Flats home values: what the data shows
Zillow tracks the Flats as its own neighborhood, and the figures above are from that series. Two comparisons matter more than the headline number.
The Flats vs Trousdale Estates since 2021
Over five years Zillow's typical Flats value rose 16.1%, while Trousdale Estates, the one-story hillside enclave, fell 3.9%. Both use the same 1,500-plus-40% formula, but a Flats house can spread it over two stories, and a Trousdale house must fit it on one story on its pad. That's our reading of the gap, not a measured cause.
Why a Flats figure still isn't a house price
Zillow's typical value tracks the middle third of homes. Los Angeles Magazine, reporting PropertyShark's survey of 2022 sales in March 2023, ranked the Flats among the county's priciest neighborhoods, behind only Beverly Hills Gateway and Trousdale. A single Flats house can sit far from the typical value because the lot, not the neighborhood, sets its price.
Sales across Beverly Hills
The Elliman Report for the fourth quarter of 2025 put the median Beverly Hills single-family sale at $6,022,500 across 48 sales. That's a citywide median, well under Zillow's Flats figure, and it mixes hillside and Flats homes. For citywide trends see our Beverly Hills housing market report.
Owning a home in the Flats: tax, fire zone and the city line
The Flats sits inside the City of Beverly Hills and below the hills, and both facts show up in what you pay each year and at sale.
Property tax in the Flats
Tax Rate Area 2410, which covers central Beverly Hills including the Flats and the City Hall area, has a 2026-27 rate of 1.189084%, a little below the year before. On a $10 million purchase that's about $118,900 a year, and on $20 million about $237,800, before direct assessments. Run your own figure in the Beverly Hills property tax calculator.
Outside the hillside fire zone, mostly
The City says the area north of Sunset Boulevard, plus a few blocks south of it, is a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone. Los Angeles County's map shows a sample point near City Hall as not zoned. If a Flats house sits near Sunset, check its address on the official map; our guide to Beverly Hills home insurance explains why the zone matters to a quote.
No Measure ULA on a Flats sale
The City of Los Angeles' Measure ULA doesn't apply in Beverly Hills. A $20 million Flats sale owes none of the 5.5% ULA, about $1.1 million, that the same price would owe across the line. See the mansion tax calculator to compare.
Schools: Beverly Hills Unified and the capacity rule
Enter the address in Beverly Hills Unified's School Finder. The district says a student may be placed at another of its elementary schools when the school of residence is full, so an address doesn't guarantee a campus. Our Beverly Hills schools guide covers the details.
The Flats or the hills: choosing a side of Sunset
Choosing between the Flats and the hills is partly choosing a set of rules. The Flats give you a formula and a street; the hills give you a pad and a view.
Hillside Area rules north of Sunset
In the Hillside Area, floor area depends on the pad and the slope, total floor area including basements tops out at 15,000 square feet without a Hillside R-1 permit, and only 3,000 cubic yards of earth may be moved on or off a site in five years. There's no design review, but there is a view-protection trigger near basin views.
Beyond the city line
Beverly Park's gated estates and the Beverly Hills Post Office canyons share the 90210 address but sit largely in the City of Los Angeles, with its hillside rules and Measure ULA. If you're weighing them against a Flats lot, put the transfer tax into the comparison.
Where to start a Flats search
Start with the lot list, not the house list. Our guide to buying a Beverly Hills home covers the process, and our recommended Beverly Hills agent is who we'd ask about Flats lots that aren't on the market. For the whole city, see Beverly Hills homes for sale.
Beverly Hills Flats FAQs
Where are the Beverly Hills Flats?
The Flats is the City of Beverly Hills' Central Area. The City's Housing Element places the Central Area north of Santa Monica between North Santa Monica Boulevard and Sunset Boulevard, with a second Central Area south of Santa Monica. The Hillside Area generally starts north of Sunset.
How big a house can you build in the Beverly Hills Flats?
Floor area can't exceed 1,500 square feet plus 40% of the lot, and the main house must be at least 1,600 square feet. A 20,000-square-foot lot allows 9,500 square feet. Going above the formula needs Planning Commission review. Height north of Santa Monica Boulevard is 28 feet, rising to 34 feet with 10-foot side yards.
What is the typical home value in the Beverly Hills Flats?
Zillow put the typical home value in its Flats neighborhood at about $10.3 million in September 2026, up 16.1% over five years. That figure tracks the middle third of homes, so individual houses can sell well above or below it. A Flats price depends mostly on lot size, since the lot sets how much house is allowed.
Is there design review in the Beverly Hills Flats?
Yes. Any part of a Central Area house visible from a public street goes through the City of Beverly Hills' design review process. The Hillside Area has no design review. Plan for the extra time on a new house or a façade remodel, and expect the street-facing design to change during review.
What is the property tax rate in the Beverly Hills Flats?
Tax Rate Area 2410, covering central Beverly Hills including the Flats, has a 2026-27 rate of 1.189084% of assessed value, before direct assessments. On a $10 million purchase that's about $118,900 a year. Read the rate area on your own parcel's bill, and ask a CPA or tax adviser about supplemental bills after a purchase.
Are the Beverly Hills Flats in a fire hazard zone?
Mostly not. The City says its Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone covers the area north of Sunset Boulevard plus a few blocks south. Los Angeles County's map shows a sample point near City Hall as not zoned. If a house sits near Sunset, check its exact address on the official map before you get insurance quotes.
Does Measure ULA apply in the Beverly Hills Flats?
No. Measure ULA is a City of Los Angeles tax, and the Flats are inside the City of Beverly Hills. A $20 million sale in the Flats avoids the roughly $1.1 million in ULA that the same price would owe in a City of Los Angeles area such as Beverly Park or Bel Air, at rates for closings after June 30, 2026.
Sources
- City of Beverly Hills: History of Beverly Hills
- City of Beverly Hills: Single-Family Regulations
- City of Beverly Hills: General Plan 2021-2029 Housing Element, Appendix B
- Beverly Hills Municipal Code Title 10, Article 24 (Central Area), text via GoCodebook
- Beverly Hills Municipal Code Title 10, Article 25 (Hillside Area), text via GoCodebook
- City of Beverly Hills: Local Register of Historic Properties
- Los Angeles Magazine: Los Angeles's priciest neighborhoods, on PropertyShark data (March 2, 2023)
- Douglas Elliman / Miller Samuel: Elliman Report Q4 2025, Greater Los Angeles
- Los Angeles County Auditor-Controller: Tax Rates by TRA (TRA 2410, FY 2026-27)
- City of Beverly Hills FAQ: What and where is the VHFHSZ?
- Los Angeles County GIS: Fire Hazard Severity Zones, Local Responsibility Area
- City of Los Angeles Office of Finance: Measure ULA FAQ
- Beverly Hills Unified School District: Enrollment Center
- Beverly Hills Unified School District: School Finder
- Zillow Research: Zillow Home Value Index, neighborhoods (September 2026)