SB 721 vs. SB 326: Which Balcony Inspection Law Applies to Your Building?

Why two laws exist

Both laws came out of the 2015 Berkeley balcony collapse, in which a wood-framed balcony with hidden dry rot failed under a group of students. The Legislature responded with two bills aimed at the two kinds of multi-unit ownership. SB 721 (2018) wrote the apartment-building rules into the Health and Safety Code, enforced by local building departments. SB 326 (2019) wrote the condominium rules into the Davis-Stirling Act, the law that governs homeowner associations, and tied the inspection to the association's reserve study.

The construction problem they address is the same: a walking surface over wood framing, exposed to weather, where a failed waterproofing membrane lets water into joists, ledgers and post bases that nobody can see. Los Angeles has tens of thousands of these elements on the apartment and condominium buildings along every boulevard in the Valley and the Westside, built from the 1950s through the 1980s, most of them never opened since.

SB 721 vs. SB 326 at a glance

Which law is mine?

Ask two questions. How many units? Three or more, and one of the laws applies; one or two, and neither does, though the same construction standards still apply to the deck. Who owns the building? One owner renting the units out is SB 721. An association of owners is SB 326. A mixed building, with an association and some rented units, is SB 326 territory because the association owns the common-area elements.

In Los Angeles the practical split falls along the boulevards: the 1960s and 1970s apartment buildings along Ventura, Van Nuys, Sherman Way and Magnolia are mostly SB 721; the condominium conversions and townhome associations behind them are SB 326. Every city page on this site, from Sherman Oaks to Glendale, has a three-question check that sorts it in a few seconds.

What the inspection looks at

The inspector is looking for the load path and the water path. Load path: the joists, the ledger where the element attaches to the building, the posts and beams that carry it, the railing connections. Water path: the walking surface and its membrane, the flashing at the wall and the door thresholds, the drains and scuppers, the drip edge, and the condition of the wood under the membrane. Where the framing is enclosed, the inspector opens a sample or uses a borescope or moisture meter; where it is exposed, the inspection is visual.

The report states, element by element, whether the component is sound, needs repair within a stated time, or is an immediate hazard that must be closed off. That last category is what triggers the 15-day notice to the city under both laws.

What happens after the report

The report is a scope of work waiting for a price. The repairs are construction: a permit, framing and membrane work, inspections, and a closed permit the owner or board files with the report. This is where a licensed general contractor comes in, and where the two laws converge: whether the building is SB 721 or SB 326, the deck gets opened, the rotted framing is replaced, the element is re-flashed and re-waterproofed, and the permit is inspected and closed.

Right Image Builders prices the exact elements the report flags, in writing, pulls the permit through LADBS or the city, phases the work so residents keep access to their units, photographs what the tear-off finds, and hands over the closed permit. The guide to what a deck waterproofing job involves walks through the sequence; the deck and balcony waterproofing page is the starting point for a repair scope.

Deadlines have passed. What now?

Both first-inspection deadlines are in the past. An apartment owner who has not inspected is out of compliance with SB 721 and exposed to local enforcement and to liability if an element fails; an association that has not inspected has a board acting outside its fiduciary duty. The fix is the same: commission the inspection now, act on the report, and keep the records. Lenders and insurers have started asking for the report at refinancing and renewal, which in practice is the deadline that gets buildings moving.

Sources (checked October 2026): Health and Safety Code §17973 (SB 721, as amended by AB 2579): exterior elevated element inspections for buildings with three or more multifamily dwelling units; first inspection by January 1, 2026, then every six years; non-emergency repairs within 120 days of the report; Civil Code §5551 (SB 326): inspections of load-bearing exterior elevated elements and associated waterproofing in condominium associations with three or more units; first inspection by January 1, 2025, then every nine years, by a licensed structural engineer or architect; City of San Mateo and City of San Ramon building-department summaries of SB 721 and SB 326 (deadlines, inspector qualifications, repair timelines), checked October 2026; Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety, plan check and permit information; Right Image Builders service and neighborhood pages (2026 planning ranges, timelines, permit authorities). Cost figures are Right Image Builders' 2026 planning ranges from its service and neighborhood pages.