Soft Story Retrofit in Los Angeles, CA
Retrofit contractor for the city's mandatory program: 13,500 wood-frame buildings with tuck-under parking. CSLB License #1141734.
Los Angeles runs the largest soft story retrofit program in the country. Ordinance 183893, passed in 2015,
ordered roughly 13,500 pre-1978 wood-frame buildings strengthened, and the Orders to Comply started going
out in 2016. The math is simple: with a 7-year completion window, the deadline has already passed for most
buildings in the program. CalPrime takes buildings from an open Order to Comply to a closed one.
How the LA Program Works
Once LADBS serves an Order to Comply, the owner has:
- 2 years to submit retrofit plans or proof of a prior retrofit
- 3.5 years to obtain permits and start construction
- 7 years to complete construction and pass final inspection
Qualifying buildings are wood frame, two or more stories, built under code standards in place before January 1, 1978, with ground-floor parking or similar open space. Not sure of your status? LADBS keeps a public program database; send us your address and we check it as part of the free assessment.
Past Your Deadline?
An open Order to Comply follows the property: it surfaces in title searches, refinancing, and insurance underwriting, and the city can cite and fine owners who sit on it. It also puts your exposure on record if the building fails in a quake. The city works with owners who are actively moving toward compliance, so the practical move is to get plans into plan check now.
Cost Recovery for Rent-Stabilized Buildings
If your building falls under LA’s Rent Stabilization Ordinance, the city’s cost recovery program lets you apply to pass through 50 percent of approved retrofit costs to tenants, capped at $38 per unit per month. We walk owners through the numbers as part of every estimate.
Los Angeles Soft Story FAQs
LADBS mailed Orders to Comply to the roughly 13,500 identified buildings and keeps a public database. Send us your address and we will check your compliance status at no charge.
Code enforcement, fines, and friction with lenders and insurers, plus the liability of a documented, uncorrected hazard. Starting plans now is the fastest way to get back on defensible ground.
No. The work concentrates in parking areas and the ground floor. Tenants stay, and most buildings keep partial parking during construction.
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.