Who can perform an SB 721 inspection?

A licensed architect, a licensed civil or structural engineer, a qualified contractor with the required experience, or a certified building inspector as allowed by statute. At least 15 percent of each element type must be inspected.

SB 721 Deadline Passed: What LA Apartment Owners Face Now (2026)

Q: How much is the SB 721 penalty?

The statute sets one daily civil penalty, $100 to $500 per day, and it applies when required repairs are still incomplete 30 days after the inspector's notice, continuing until the repairs are done. The exact amount within that range is set by the local authority's fee schedule, and the local enforcement agency can grant extensions of time. An assessed penalty can also become a recorded building safety lien.

The first SB 721 balcony inspection deadline for California apartment buildings passed on January 1, 2026. If you own or manage a rental building with three or more units and you have not had a qualified inspection done, the building is now out of compliance. The reassuring part: the civil penalty is not automatic on day one, and there is a clear, finite path back to compliant. Here is what the law actually says, what it can cost, and what to do first.

The deadline, and why it moved

SB 721 requires inspection of a building's exterior elevated elements: balconies, decks, porches, stairways, and walkways more than six feet above the ground that depend on wood or wood-based structural support, along with their waterproofing systems. The original law set the first inspection deadline at January 1, 2025, but AB 2579 moved the first-inspection deadline to January 1, 2026. After that first inspection, the building must be re-inspected on a recurring cycle.

That cycle is the part owners forget: SB 721 compliance is not a one-time event. It is a standing obligation on the building for as long as you own it.

Jan 1, 2026

First inspection deadline, as extended by AB 2579

Every 6 yrs

Re-inspection required after the first cycle

15%

Minimum share of each element type that must be inspected

The penalty structure, in the statute's own numbers

SB 721 does not fine you the instant the deadline passes, and its one daily civil penalty is tied to repairs, not to the missed inspection itself. The sequence in the statute: an inspection finds an element that needs repair, the owner must correct it, and when the repair requirements go unaddressed the inspector notifies the local enforcement agency and the owner. If the repairs are still not completed within 30 days of that notice, the daily penalty can be assessed until they are done.

Straight from the statute (a range, not a quote)

The one daily civil penalty SB 721 sets

These are the figures the law sets. They are ranges an enforcement agency can assess, not a number anyone can promise or predict for your specific building.

$100–$500/day

when required repairs are still incomplete 30 days after the inspector's notice, at a level set by the local authority, until the repairs are completed

Lien

an assessed penalty can become a recorded building safety lien on the property, with the force of a judgment lien, and enforcement costs can be recovered

Missing the inspection itself is not what the daily penalty keys to, but it is not free either: an uninspected building violates the State Housing Law, which carries its own separate enforcement exposure, and in the City of Los Angeles balcony compliance is run as a code enforcement program with a public complaint hotline. For non-emergency repairs, the statute also sets permit clocks: a permit application within 120 days of receiving the inspection report, then 120 days to make the repairs once the permit is approved, with extensions possible from the local enforcement agency. Emergency conditions must be addressed immediately. Separately, the statute's own notification trigger fires when repair requirements go unmet at 180 days, and the law does not reconcile those clocks, so never treat the permit path as a guaranteed window. The practical answer under every reading is the same: start the path toward compliant rather than wait and hope.

The six-year cycle

After your first inspection and any repairs, SB 721 sets a recurring six-year inspection cycle. Budgeting for it as a scheduled capital item, the way you already plan for a roof or a boiler, is far cheaper and calmer than treating each cycle as an emergency. Keep the inspection report and the repair records together in one place. You will want them for the next cycle, for financing conversations, and for any future sale of the building.

What to do first

If you missed the deadline, you do not need a price on your building to get moving. You need the inspection that produces the real scope. In order:

Get a qualified inspection. Under SB 721, the inspection can be performed by a licensed architect, a licensed civil or structural engineer, a qualified contractor with the required experience, or a certified building inspector as allowed by statute. At least 15% of each type of element must be inspected.
Read the findings honestly. A good report separates what is genuinely unsafe and needs repair from what is fine. That scope, not a worst-case guess, is what should drive the budget.
Get a documented repair plan and budget. Repairs land on the statute's own clocks, a permit application within 120 days of receiving the report, then 120 days after the permit is approved for non-emergency work, so scope, permits, and scheduling should move together rather than one after another.
Found asbestos during the inspection? If confirmed asbestos-containing material stops the inspection from being completed, a 2025 amendment (AB 130) allows up to nine months for the abatement, then no more than three months to finish the inspection.
Keep the paper trail. Photos, permits, and closeout records are what actually demonstrate that the building is compliant.

Already have a report, or need one?

If your inspection is done and it found repairs, start with the required-repairs page. If you missed the deadline and haven't been inspected yet, the missed-deadline page walks through stopping the exposure.

We are a Licensed California General Contractor that takes owners from an overdue inspection through budgeted, permitted, completed repairs, and the closeout records that support compliance. If your building missed the deadline, the fastest way to keep the exposure from ever starting is to get inspected and get a documented plan moving.

Frequently asked

Is it too late now that January 1, 2026 has passed?

No. The most valuable thing you can do after a missed deadline is get inspected and get a documented repair plan moving. Acting is how you keep the repair exposure from ever starting.

How much is the penalty, exactly?

The statute sets one daily civil penalty, a range of $100 to $500 per day, and it applies when required repairs are still incomplete 30 days after the inspector's notice, continuing until the repairs are done. The exact amount within that range is set by the local authority's fee schedule, not by us, and the local enforcement agency can grant extensions of time. An assessed penalty can also become a recorded building safety lien on the property.

How often do I have to re-inspect?

After the first inspection, SB 721 requires re-inspection every six years.

Can you do the repairs, or only the inspection?

We are a licensed general contractor, so we carry the repair side of the work: review of the findings, scope and budget, permits and any required engineering, the repairs themselves, and the closeout records. We coordinate with qualified inspection professionals for the inspection itself.

SB 721 deadline passed: what LA apartment owners face now (2026)