SB 326 & SB 721 balcony inspections across Los Angeles.

They're the same idea for two different building types. SB 721 covers multifamily buildings with three or more dwelling units and requires re-inspection by January 1 every six years. SB 326 covers condominium associations and requires re-inspection every nine years, performed by a licensed structural or civil engineer or architect. Both are exterior elevated element inspection laws, not seismic retrofit requirements.

SB 721 runs on a fixed statutory calendar: by January 1, 2026, and by January 1 every six years after that. The date does not shift to match the month you inspected, so the next statewide date is January 1, 2032. SB 326 is every nine years, and that cycle is meant to line up with the association's reserve study. The first deadlines have already passed: January 1, 2025 for SB 326 and January 1, 2026 for SB 721 (extended by AB 2579). Newer buildings are the exception: if your permit was applied for on or after January 1, 2019, your first SB 721 inspection is due six years after the certificate of occupancy instead. That date can land either side of the statewide one: a building occupied in 2019 was due in 2025 and is already past, while one occupied in 2021 lands in 2027. Where the two dates differ, treat the earlier one as yours until your inspector confirms which applies.

Any multifamily building with three or more units that has wood-framed balconies, decks, exterior stairways, or walkways more than six feet above the ground. If an association governs the property, the answer turns on how the homes are owned: SB 326 is written for condominium projects, and its inspection duty sits with the board of the condominium association. A planned development of detached or townhome-style homes, a stock cooperative, or an association set up some other way is not a condominium project, so having an association is not by itself what puts a building on the SB 326 cycle. If no homeowners association governs the property, a building with three or more dwelling units falls under SB 721, whether or not the units are rented. For an association, what settles it is the recorded declaration and governing documents: they say how the homes are owned and which parts the association maintains or repairs, and we read them with you before naming a law or a date. Buildings with only concrete or steel elements, or fewer than three units, are generally outside both laws. Use the checker above if you're not sure.

The "exterior elevated elements": balconies, decks, exterior stairways and walkways, along with their railings, the load-bearing wood framing beneath them, and the waterproofing that protects it. SB 721 also covers porches and entry structures. How much gets sampled depends on which law applies: SB 721 requires at least 15 percent of each type of element, while SB 326 requires a random, statistically significant sample rather than a fixed percentage.

We coordinate the qualified inspection and, when it finds repairs, carry them through construction and closeout. The inspection itself is performed by the licensed professional the law requires; we handle the coordination and the repair work, so you have a single point of contact from the first finding to the final documentation.

For SB 326, only a licensed structural or civil engineer or architect. For SB 721, a licensed architect, a licensed civil or structural engineer, a qualified and experienced contractor, or a certified building inspector. We coordinate with qualified inspection professionals and carry the repair side of the work.

It varies with building size, how many elements you have, and how much access the inspector needs, and we will not put a number on your building until we have seen it. Two things move it more than anything else: the element count that sets the sample size, and whether the inspector has to open anything up to see the framing. Tell us the address and unit count and we will come back with a real figure.