Soft Story Retrofit in Burbank, CA
Retrofit contractor for Burbank's mandatory soft story program. CSLB License #1141734.
Burbank's soft story mandate took effect January 10, 2025, and it moves fast: the screening deadline passed in January 2026, engineered plans are due by January 11, 2027, and construction must finish by January 10, 2030. Burbank is also one of the few cities still paying owners to comply early, with a 50 percent permit-fee refund for projects fully compliant by January 10, 2028. The owners who move this year collect the refund and skip the plan-check crush that hits every mandate's deadline months.
Who Must Comply in Burbank
Multi-family residential buildings permitted under pre-1978 code standards with either:
- Tuck-under parking on the first story, with one or more stories above containing three or more units, or
- A weak front first story with two or more stories above
The Burbank Deadlines
- January 12, 2026: screening form and posted Notice of Order sign (passed)
- January 11, 2027: submit engineered plans
- January 10, 2028: secure plan approval, and the last day of the 50 percent permit-fee refund
- January 10, 2029: obtain the permit and start construction
- January 10, 2030: complete construction and finalize the permit
Burbank put real teeth behind these dates: non-compliant buildings get recorded with the Los Angeles County Recorder as in violation, administrative citations follow, and the Building Official can order a building vacated until it complies.
Burbank Soft Story FAQs
File it now and keep moving; the screening form is the lightest lift in the program. The deadline that decides your project’s cost and schedule is the January 2027 plan deadline, and there is still room to meet it.
Projects that reach full compliance by January 10, 2028 qualify. That means plans, permits, construction, and final sign-off all done, so a project starting in early 2027 or sooner has a realistic shot at it.
State grant programs have opened periodically for qualifying apartment buildings, with limited funding and short windows. We flag anything open at the time of your project.
Why Owners Choose CalPrime
- Licensed, bonded, and insured. CSLB License #1141734.
- One team from assessment through final city sign-off: engineering plans, permits, construction, and inspections.
- Tenants stay in place. We stage the work around parking areas and keep the building occupied.
- A line-item estimate from a free site walk before you commit to anything
Start With a Free Building Assessment
Send us your property address and we will check your building’s status with the city, walk the site, and give you a clear scope and estimate. No cost, no obligation.