SB 326 balcony inspection: what LA condo buyers and sellers need to know

An SB 326 balcony inspection is a state-required check of the wood-supported balconies, decks and stairs in a California condo building. The first round was due January 1, 2025. Since January 1, 2026, the latest report goes to every buyer in the resale package, which is why it now comes up in nearly every LA condo escrow.

Here is what the law requires, what it leaves out, how to read a report, and what a failed one does to a sale and to the buyer's loan.

What SB 326 requires

SB 326 (2019) added Civil Code 5551 to the Davis-Stirling Act. The board of a condo association must have a licensed structural engineer, civil engineer or architect visually inspect a random, statistically significant sample of "exterior elevated elements" that the association maintains. Civil engineers were added by AB 2114 in 2024.

Exterior elevated elements are the load-bearing parts of balconies, decks, stairways and their railings that sit more than six feet above ground and rely in whole or in large part on wood or wood-based products for support. The inspection covers those structural parts and their waterproofing.

The report must state each element's current condition, its expected remaining life, and recommended repairs. If the inspector finds an immediate threat to the safety of occupants, the report goes to the city within 15 days, and the association must block access until the city has inspected and approved the repairs. In the City of Los Angeles that's LADBS, which can recover enforcement costs.

What SB 326 doesn't cover

• Concrete and steel balconies. The statute covers wood and wood-based supports. Many LA high-rises have concrete balconies that fall outside it.
• Elements owners maintain themselves. The law covers what the association maintains under its governing documents.
• Small buildings. Since SB 410, the law applies to buildings with three or more attached units.

"Outside SB 326" isn't the same as "not inspected." A concrete balcony with spalling or rusting rebar is still a repair, and Fannie Mae's critical repair rule doesn't care which statute found it.

The deadline, and the common mistake

The first SB 326 inspection was due January 1, 2025, and that date was never extended. Inspections repeat at least every nine years, so associations that met the first deadline generally owe the next one by January 1, 2034. Buildings whose permit application was submitted on or after January 1, 2020 must be inspected within six years of their certificate of occupancy.

Some management company and vendor blogs say the condo deadline moved to January 1, 2026. It didn't. AB 2579 (2024) extended the deadline for the apartment law, SB 721, to January 1, 2026. Civil Code 5551, as in force on October 27, 2026, still says January 1, 2025. An association that hasn't inspected is behind, and a buyer's lender may ask why.

SB 410: the report is now a disclosure

SB 410 (2025, Chapter 516, effective January 1, 2026) changed SB 326 in ways that matter to every sale:

• The most recent inspection report is now part of the resale disclosure package the seller provides (Civil Code 4525) and is listed on the association's fee form (4528).
• The report is an association record that owners can request.
• Reports must carry required cover-page information and the inspector's certification that the sample was statistically significant.
• The law now applies to buildings with three or more attached units.

The practical effect: a bad report used to surface late, if at all. Now it reaches every buyer and every buyer's lender, early in escrow. The association has 10 days to deliver the resale package after a written request (Civil Code 4530).

How to read an SB 326 report

Reports vary by inspector, but these are the parts to find:

1. The date and the inspector. Licensed structural engineer, civil engineer or architect, with license number. A report from before 2025 may not reflect current conditions.
2. The sample. The first page now lists the total units, the units with elevated elements, how many elements exist and how many were inspected, plus the inspector's certification. "Statistically significant" means enough to give 95% confidence, within plus or minus 5%.
3. Condition ratings. Look for any element flagged as failed, unsafe or an immediate threat, and any closed balconies.
4. Remaining useful life. Short remaining lives point to replacement soon, which points to money.
5. Recommendations and cost estimates. Then compare them with the budget, the reserve study and the minutes: is the work funded, scheduled, done, or none of those?
6. Follow-up. If the report recommended further destructive testing, ask whether it happened and what it found.

The report is also folded into the association's reserve study, and reports are kept for two inspection cycles. The minutes tell you what the board did with it. A recommendation the board voted to fund through reserves reads very differently from one that hasn't been discussed.

What a failed report does to a loan

Fannie Mae's critical repair rule (Selling Guide B4-2.1-03, dated August 5, 2026) makes a project ineligible when it has repairs affecting safety, structural integrity or habitability. The triggers include failure of a mandatory state or local inspection, unfunded repairs over $10,000 per unit that should be done within 12 months, and named items including balconies. If a structural inspection was done within three years of the lender's review, the lender must read the report.

So a failed or unaddressed SB 326 report can stop conventional lending in a building until the work is done or funded. Once repairs are complete and documented, the building can pass again.

Loan type	If the SB 326 report shows open problems
Conventional (to $1,249,125)	Can be a critical repair. The project is ineligible until repaired or funded.
Jumbo	The lender reads the report. Expect similar treatment.
Non-QM and portfolio	Some may still lend. Serious structural items limit most lenders.
Cash	No loan test. Repairs arrive as special assessments.

Repairs are where the cost shows up. Boards can levy special assessments up to 5% of budgeted gross expenses a year without a member vote, with exceptions for emergencies and threats to health and safety (Civil Code 5605 and 5610). In Torrance, a 499-unit complex levied more than $49,000 per owner for a podium rebuild, re-piping and elevator work, about $19 million in all (ABC7, September 7, 2026). Podium and parking structure repairs are the kind Fannie names. More on this on our condo loan rules and warrantable vs non-warrantable pages.

SB 326 vs SB 721

	SB 326 (condos)	SB 721 (apartments)
Applies to	Condo associations, 3+ attached units	Rental buildings with 3+ units; associations carved out
Statute	Civil Code 5551	Health and Safety Code 17973
First deadline	January 1, 2025	January 1, 2026
Repeats	Every 9 years	Every 6 years
Who inspects	Licensed structural or civil engineer, or architect	Architect, engineer, or qualified contractor or inspector

A building entirely owned by one investor and rented out can still be a condo under Davis-Stirling, so check which law the building actually follows.

What buyers, sellers and boards can do

Buyers

Ask for the SB 326 report at the start of escrow along with the budget, reserve study and 12 months of minutes. Check whether the building has wood-supported balconies at all; many LA high-rises have concrete balconies, which the statute doesn’t cover. Give your lender the report early, and keep the loan contingency until the project is approved. The condo buyer checklist lists the documents in order.

Sellers

You'll be delivering the report, so read it before your buyer does. If it shows open items, find out from the board what's funded and when work is scheduled, and have that in writing for buyers. Our seller checklist and guide to selling an LA condo cover the rest.

Boards

If the building missed the January 1, 2025 deadline, it's behind now, and buyers will see that. If the report shows problems, fund and document the repairs: that's what moves a project back to eligible. The HOA board brief has the 2027 checklist. For buildings where the bigger issue is seismic, see LA's retrofit rules. Our hillside condo guide and loft guide cover building types where decks and exterior stairs are common.

Common questions

When was the SB 326 balcony inspection due?

The first SB 326 inspection for California condo associations was due January 1, 2025, under Civil Code 5551, and that deadline was never extended. The 2026 extension some blogs mention applied to apartments under SB 721. Inspections repeat at least every nine years, and buildings with permit applications on or after January 1, 2020 must be inspected within six years of occupancy.

Does a seller have to disclose the SB 326 report?

Yes. Since January 1, 2026, under SB 410, the most recent SB 326 inspection report is part of the resale disclosure package in Civil Code 4525 that a condo seller provides to the buyer. The association must deliver the package within 10 days of a written request, so buyers and their lenders now see the report early in escrow.

Does SB 326 apply to concrete balconies?

No. SB 326 covers exterior elevated elements that rely in whole or in substantial part on wood or wood-based products for structural support. Concrete and steel balconies, common in LA high-rises, fall outside the statute. They can still need repairs, and a lender reviewing a building looks at critical repairs regardless of which law, if any, required the inspection.

Can a failed balcony inspection stop a condo loan?

It can. Fannie Mae treats failure of a mandatory state or local inspection, and unfunded repairs over $10,000 per unit due within 12 months, as critical repairs that make a project ineligible for conventional loans. Balconies are named specifically. Once the work is completed or funded and documented, the building can pass review again.

This page is general information about published agency guidelines, statutes and ordinances. It is not legal, tax, lending or insurance advice, and we are not lenders, attorneys or insurance brokers. Lenders apply their own overlays, and only a lender’s review decides whether a specific loan in a specific building works. Rules and dates change: confirm anything that affects a decision with your lender, attorney, insurance broker or association. Facts are current as of October 27, 2026.