What Los Angeles Home Sellers Must Do Before Escrow Can Close
The City of LA requires six mandatory items before escrow can close. Here's the full pre-sale retrofit checklist every LA home seller needs to know.
Most LA home sellers spend weeks preparing their home to look its best. New paint, staging, professional photography, and maybe a deep clean of the pool. What surprises many of them is that the City of Los Angeles has its own checklist that has nothing to do with curb appeal and everything to do with what happens inside escrow.
These are the mandatory pre-sale retrofit requirements. If you don't address them before your home goes under contract, they can slow your escrow, create unexpected costs at the last minute, and introduce friction with a buyer who expected a clean close.
Here's what the city requires, why it matters, and how to handle it without letting compliance become a late-stage headache.
What "Retrofit" Means in an LA Home Sale
"Retrofit" is the term the LA real estate industry uses for a specific group of health, safety, and water conservation upgrades that the City of Los Angeles requires at the point of sale. They are mandatory. They are the seller's responsibility by default. And they must be documented before escrow can close.
The requirements come from a combination of the Los Angeles Municipal Code, California state law, and Los Angeles Department of Water and Power ordinances. Together, they cover six specific items for single-family homes in the City of Los Angeles.
The Six Mandatory Items
1. Water Heater Double-Strapping
California Plumbing Code Section 507.2 requires all water heaters to be anchored with two metal straps, each at least 22 gauge and 5/8 inch wide. The straps keep the water heater from tipping or shifting during an earthquake, which could rupture a gas line or flood the home.
This is one of the least expensive items on the list. If your water heater was installed after the mid-1990s, it's likely already strapped. If not, the hardware runs $50 to $150 and most plumbers complete the job in an hour.
2. Smoke Detectors
The city requires smoke detectors in the hallway immediately outside each sleeping room, inside each bedroom, and on every level of the home, including floors without bedrooms. For single-family homes, battery-operated units are acceptable. Multi-unit buildings require hardwired detectors.
Sellers frequently find detectors that have been removed or have dead batteries. A single unit costs $20 to $50 and takes five minutes to install. Don't let a $30 item hold up your close.
3. Carbon Monoxide Detectors
Under California Health and Safety Code Section 17926, CO detectors are required outside each separate sleeping area and on every level of the property. These apply to any home with an attached garage, gas appliances, or a fireplace.
Combination smoke and CO detector units are acceptable and typically satisfy both requirements in one device.
4. Seismic Gas Shutoff Valve
This is the item that most often surprises sellers. Under Los Angeles Municipal Code Section 94.1217.0, every residential property with gas service in the City of Los Angeles must have an approved seismic gas shutoff valve (or an excess-flow device) installed before the property can be sold.
The valve automatically shuts off the gas supply when it detects seismic motion, preventing post-earthquake fires.
Installing one requires a permit from the LA Department of Building and Safety and a post-installation inspection. That process takes two to three weeks. The valve itself costs $200 to $800 depending on gas meter size, plus the permit and inspection fees.
This is the one item that causes escrow delays when sellers discover it mid-contract. The fix is straightforward, but the permit timeline means you cannot wait until you're in escrow to start the process. Get this done before you list.
5. Low-Flow Plumbing Fixtures
Per Ordinance 172,075 and California state law, all toilets must flush at a maximum of 1.6 gallons per flush, and showerheads must flow at no more than 2.5 gallons per minute. For homes built before 1994, state law since 2017 requires these fixtures to be installed before the home is sold.
This compliance is documented through the LADWP Certificate of Compliance for Water Conservation (the COC). A licensed retrofit inspector, licensed plumber, or licensed real estate agent signs the certificate along with the buyer and seller. The COC is filed with LADWP at close of escrow with a $15 filing fee, typically paid by the seller.
If your home has older high-flow toilets, budget $150 to $500 per toilet installed, depending on the model and any needed plumbing adjustments.
6. Impact Hazard Glazing
The mandatory inspection also checks sliding glass doors and shower enclosures for safety glazing. Tempered or laminated safety glass is required to prevent injury from shattering. Most homes built after 1977 already have compliant glazing. Older homes should be checked before listing.
The 9A Report: How All of This Gets Documented
All of the above items are covered through the Residential Property Report, which nearly everyone in the industry still calls the "9A report" after the old section of the municipal code. The 9A is issued by the City of Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety and is required under LAMC Section 96.300.
You apply for the 9A report by submitting an application to LADBS and declaring that the property is (or will be) in compliance with all the requirements above. The fee is approximately $70 to $71 per parcel. The report also pulls copies of permits issued on the property, checks for any pending special assessments (such as planned sewer or sidewalk work that could add cost to the buyer), and documents zoning.
The 9A report must be provided to the buyer before they enter into a purchase agreement, or at minimum before close of escrow. Having it completed before you list means you have something clean to hand to buyers and their agents from day one.
City vs. County: An Important Distinction
The 9A report and LADWP COC apply only to properties inside the incorporated City of Los Angeles.
If your home is in an unincorporated area of Los Angeles County, the 9A report does not apply. State-level requirements for smoke detectors, CO detectors, and water heater strapping still apply everywhere in California.
Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, West Hollywood, and Culver City are each incorporated separately from the City of LA. They have their own municipal rules at the point of sale, which may overlap with city requirements or differ in specific ways. Your listing agent should confirm which rules apply to your specific address before you list.
Exemptions to Know About
Some types of sales are partially or fully exempt from the mandatory retrofit requirements. Foreclosure sales, short sales, probate sales, and other court-ordered or distress transfers often qualify for an exemption.
Trust sales are a separate question. The TDS exemption that sometimes applies to trustee sales does not automatically eliminate retrofit obligations. If you are selling a home held in a living trust, review what trustees need to know about an LA home sale and confirm the specific requirements with your listing agent and escrow officer.
When to Handle This
The seismic gas shutoff valve is the only item that requires meaningful lead time, because of the permit and LADBS inspection cycle. Everything else on the list can typically be completed in a single day by a licensed retrofit company. The 9A application takes a few days to process.
Sellers who wait until they're in escrow to address these items risk delaying a scheduled close. At the luxury end of the LA market, a delayed closing carries real financial consequences. If you're timing your sale around the November 2026 Measure ULA repeal ballot, or if your buyer has a rate lock expiring, a late-discovered compliance issue can cost far more than the retrofit itself.
For more on what sellers pay in total at closing, see the full LA seller net proceeds breakdown. For the parallel disclosure obligations around hazard zones, see what natural hazard disclosures require of LA sellers.
Who Pays?
Under the standard California Association of Realtors purchase agreement, the seller pays for all mandatory government retrofit items as a condition of closing. In practice, these costs come out of your proceeds.
Typical cost range for a compliant single-family home: $300 to $600 for documentation and filing fees (9A report, COC filing, retrofit inspection). If major items need installation, budget $800 to $2,500 or more. The seismic gas shutoff valve is the most variable cost at $200 to $800 for the valve, plus permit and inspection fees.
At the price points where most Hollywood Hills, Bel Air, Beverly Hills, and Westside sales happen, these are modest costs relative to the transaction value. The risk is not the money but the time, particularly for the seismic valve.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the 9A report apply to all properties in Los Angeles County?
No. The Residential Property Report applies only to properties inside the incorporated City of Los Angeles. Unincorporated county areas and separately incorporated cities like Beverly Hills and Santa Monica have different local requirements. Your listing agent can confirm which rules apply to your specific address.
What happens if retrofit items are not completed before close of escrow?
Escrow cannot close without the required compliance documentation. If items are discovered after you're in contract, you have a few options: complete the work during escrow (with the risk of delays), negotiate a credit to the buyer for specific items, or request an extension. The cleanest path is to have everything done before you list.
How long does it take to get the seismic gas shutoff valve installed?
Plan for two to three weeks from hiring a plumber to receiving final LADBS inspection clearance. Some contractors can move faster, but permit timelines are unpredictable. This is the one item where waiting until you're in contract nearly guarantees a delay. Start this process as soon as you decide to sell.
Are these requirements waived in trust or estate sales?
Not automatically. Confirm with your listing agent and escrow officer what documentation the specific sale requires. The TDS exemption and the retrofit obligation are governed by different sections of the law and do not automatically travel together.
Can the buyer agree to accept the property without the retrofits being done?
In most cases, no. The mandatory items are required by city ordinance, not just by contract. The 9A report and LADWP COC must be filed to transfer title in the City of Los Angeles regardless of what buyer and seller agree to in the purchase agreement.
Get Compliance Done Early
Handling your retrofit compliance before you list is one of the clearest ways to protect your closing timeline. The cost is modest relative to the value of any LA luxury home sale. The complexity is in knowing what's required and doing it in the right sequence.
If you're preparing to sell in the Hollywood Hills, Beverly Hills, Bel Air, Studio City, or anywhere on the Westside, Grey Square can help you build a timeline that gets these items handled before your home goes to market.
Get an estimate of your home's current value or reach out to our team to talk through your specific situation.
Paul Blair is the founder and broker of Grey Square, a virtual real estate brokerage representing buyers and sellers across Dallas and Los Angeles. With 22 years in the business and more than $200 million in closed transactions, Paul works the full range of the market, from luxury homes in the Park Cities and Preston Hollow to estates in the Hollywood Hills and across the Westside. Connect with Paul and the Grey Square team at greysq.com. TX TREC #9011505 · CA DRE #01792671.