California's balcony inspection laws are not new, but the compliance calendar has now caught up with them. SB 326 and SB 721 have been on the books for years, and both statutory deadlines have now passed—SB 326's initial condominium inspection deadline expired January 1, 2025, and SB 721's initial multifamily rental inspection deadline, extended one year by AB 2579, expired January 1, 2026. For California public agencies, this means the questions building departments, code enforcement divisions, city attorneys, housing staff, and risk managers are fielding have shifted from "when do we need to be ready" to "how do we handle the properties that are already out of compliance." For California public agencies, these laws are no longer future compliance issues for private property owners, apartment operators, and condominium associations to manage on their own timeline. They are now part of the day-to-day work of building departments, code enforcement divisions, city attorneys, housing staff, and public agency risk managers. The Legal Framework: SB 326, SB 721, and AB 2579 SB 326: Condominium Inspections SB 326 applies to condominium projects and is codified in Civil...
