Balcony Repair & Reconstruction in Los Angeles
Where the Balcony Laws Stand in 2026
- SB 721, the Balcony Law. Applies to apartment buildings with three or more units. Exterior elevated elements supported by wood had to be inspected by January 1, 2026, a deadline AB 2579 extended from 2025. Re-inspections run every 6 years.
- SB 326. Applies to condominiums and HOA communities. A licensed structural engineer or architect had to inspect by January 1, 2025. Re-inspections run every 9 years.
Both laws trace back to the 2015 Berkeley balcony collapse, where concealed dry rot killed six people. If your building was inspected, the report tells you what to fix and the clock below applies. If it was never inspected, you are out of compliance today, and the exposure shrinks the day you start.
What Counts as an Exterior Elevated Element
The laws cover more than balconies. An exterior elevated element is any structure that extends beyond the
building’s exterior walls, sits more than 6 feet above the ground, is designed for people to use, and relies wholly
or substantially on wood for support. That includes:
- Balconies and decks
- Porches
- Exterior stairways
- Elevated walkways
- Entry structures
The Repair Clock After an Inspection
- Non-emergency repairs: 120 days from the inspection report to obtain permits, then 120 days to complete the work.
- Emergency conditions: immediate action. The inspector notifies the local building department, and the element stays closed until repairs pass.
- Miss the windows and local enforcement can levy civil penalties that reach $500 per day under SB 721, record a safety lien against the property, and keep the element red-tagged. The hazard is also documented, which is exactly what a plaintiff's attorney points to if someone gets hurt.
Balcony Repairs We Perform
- Dry rot removal and structural framing replacement: joists, ledgers, beams, and posts
- Waterproofing systems: new membranes, flashing, and drainage
- Railing and guardrail replacement to current code
- Decking, stucco, and soffit reconstruction
- Full demolition and rebuild where repair no longer makes sense
How a Repair Project Runs
Report review and site walk
We price from your inspection report, not a guess.
Scope and estimate.
Line items tied to each element in the report.
Permits
Pulled inside your 120-day window
Repairs
Staged to keep units occupied; red-tagged elements stay closed until cleared.
Final inspection and documentation
The city signs off and your compliance record closes clean.
Owners, HOA Boards, and Property Managers
For HOAs we break estimates out per building and per element, so the board can approve in one meeting and phase the work across budget years. For portfolio managers we handle multiple properties under one point of contact. Many of the same buildings also carry soft story retrofit obligations; we handle both, which saves a second mobilization.