Journal ·
Selling a Glendale Home in a Fire Hazard Zone: The AB 38 Inspection and the $115 Fees
A Glendale seller whose house sits in a high or very high fire hazard severity zone has to hand the buyer documentation that the property meets defensible space rules, under Civil Code section 1102.19. Glendale Fire runs that inspection for real estate sales through its online permit portal for a $115 fee. Separately, the same department bills owners in the Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone a $115 annual Vegetation Management Program fee, and the two charges are easy to confuse.
Which Glendale homes need an AB 38 inspection?
The trigger is the map, not the neighborhood name. The Glendale Fire AB-38 page says an inspection is required when the property is in a High or Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone, and that these inspections are only for real estate transactions. The zones come from the Office of the State Fire Marshal, whose fire hazard severity zones page lets an owner enter an address and see the zone on a map.
The statute behind it is Civil Code section 1102.19. Since July 1, 2021 a seller of property in a high or very high zone must give the buyer documentation that the property complies with Public Resources Code 4291 or a local vegetation management ordinance. Which zone a parcel falls in, and whether the state maps changed it, is covered in the natural hazard disclosure guide.
How to request the inspection in Glendale
The city moved AB-38 requests into its EnerGov permit system. The steps on the city page are:
- Create an account in EnerGov and log in.
- Click Apply, then choose Permit, then Fire Permit, then Fire General.
- Select "Fire General - AB 38 Real Estate Disclosure".
- Pay the $115 inspection fee.
The inspector checks the property against Glendale's defensible space standards. If the work is not finished, the seller has two choices: clear it before the inspection, or use the written agreement described below. Requesting it early in the listing process leaves time to finish any clearance the inspector flags before escrow closes.
What the inspector looks for
Glendale's defensible space page says its standards rest on Chapter 49 of the California Fire Code and Glendale's local Fire Code amendments. The main numbers:
| Item | Glendale standard |
|---|---|
| Clearance from the house | 100 feet, or to the property line if closer |
| High hazard areas | Clearance may increase to 200 feet |
| Annual grasses and weeds | Cut to 4 inches or less |
| Wood piles | At least 30 feet from the house, or at the property line |
| Chimneys | At least 10 feet of clearance |
| Branches near the roof | Kept 5 to 10 feet from roofs and structures |
| Tree canopy over ground fuel | 6 feet of vertical clearance, or one third of tree height |
| Roads and driveways | 14 feet of vertical clearance |
| Under decks | Remove vegetation and clean up leaf litter |
| Leaf litter generally | Up to 4 inches allowed for erosion control |
The 100-foot figure matches state law. Government Code section 51182 requires 100 feet of defensible space in a locally designated very high zone, with more intense fuel reduction between 5 and 30 feet and an ember-resistant zone within 5 feet of the structure, based on regulations from the State Board of Forestry. The same section lets a local ordinance require a greater distance. Glendale presents its own 200-foot figure as part of its Fire Code amendments.
Clearance work on oaks, sycamores and other protected native trees is regulated separately by Glendale, as described in the indigenous tree guide.
What happens if the documentation is not ready by closing
If the seller has not obtained the documentation, section 1102.19(b) requires the seller and buyer to enter a written agreement under which the buyer obtains it instead. The details depend on which branch of the statute applies:
- Where a local ordinance requires owners or buyers to obtain compliance documentation, the buyer must comply with that ordinance.
- Where no such ordinance exists, and an agency offers an inspection, the buyer must obtain documentation within one year of the close of escrow.
Glendale's page describes the one-year option in plain terms. The statute writes the one-year clock for jurisdictions without a local documentation ordinance. Whether Glendale's code contains such an ordinance is something to confirm with Glendale Fire before the agreement is drafted, because it decides which deadline the buyer is signing up for.
Subsection (c) adds a point buyers miss: the agreement does not stop the city from enforcing defensible space rules on the property in the meantime. A buyer who takes over an uncleared lot inherits the brush and the enforcement.
The second disclosure: home hardening for older houses
Section 1102.19 is about vegetation. A separate statute, Civil Code section 1102.6f, covers the house itself. For a home built before January 1, 2010 in a high or very high zone, the seller gives a notice that the home predates the wildland urban interface building codes. Since July 1, 2025 that notice must also include the state's list of low-cost retrofits and say which of them the seller completed during ownership.
The city's AB-38 page presents the retrofit disclosure without the construction-date limit, and its list of vulnerabilities is worded differently from the statute. The rows below are the points where the two sources diverge, not the full list:
| Point | Glendale AB-38 page | Civil Code 1102.6f |
|---|---|---|
| Which homes | Sellers in the zones, no date limit stated | Homes built before January 1, 2010 |
| Roof | Roofing not rated Class A | Untreated wood shingles or shakes |
| Vents | No noncombustible or ember-resistant screens | Openings over one-eighth inch, or not flame and ember resistant |
| Gutters | Without noncombustible covers | Without metal or noncombustible covers |
| Five-foot zone | Combustible materials or landscaping within 5 feet | Same, plus under the footprint of an attached deck |
The statute is the binding text. The city list is a useful checklist for a walkthrough, and a seller who fills out the statutory form from the city's wording can end up answering a slightly different question.
The $115 VMP bill is not the AB 38 fee
Glendale's Vegetation Management Program fee page describes a $115 annual fee on properties in the Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone. It funds routine inspections, and the city says that starting in 2026 it will inspect over 16,000 parcels each year. The program's fee FAQ adds details that matter around a sale:
- The fee is charged per property per year and does not depend on the inspection result.
- The city began billing in 2018, and from April 2026 it bills monthly instead of at the end of the year.
- The "Fire Service Date" on the invoice is the date the invoice was generated, not the inspection date.
- If inspectors find hazardous vegetation, a Notice to Abate goes to the owner's mailing address of record. If they find none, a compliance letter can be generated for the owner on request.
- A seller who keeps receiving invoices after closing is told to update the owner record with the LA County Assessor. Glendale Fire takes ownership data from the Assessor and cannot change it itself.
The FAQ does not say whether a routine compliance letter satisfies section 1102.19. The city's own real estate route is the EnerGov AB-38 inspection, so that is the document to plan around.
A timeline that works for a Glendale sale
Check the zone on the state viewer before listing. If the house is in a high or very high zone, book the AB-38 inspection early, finish any clearance first, and keep the report with the disclosure package the seller's page walks through. For a house built before 2010, prepare the 1102.6f notice at the same time. Buyers comparing hillside lots should read the documentation alongside the R1R hillside rules, since the 100-foot clearance can cover much of a large hillside lot.
Q: Does every Glendale home need an AB 38 inspection?
No. Only property in a high or very high fire hazard severity zone, and only for a sale. The state map decides, parcel by parcel, so check the address rather than the street's reputation.
Q: Can the buyer handle the inspection after closing?
Yes, through a written agreement under section 1102.19(b). Read which deadline applies before signing, and factor the clearance cost into the offer, which is part of the review on the buyer's page. A home valuation for a hillside house should account for the cost of bringing the lot into compliance.
This article is general information drawn from the California Civil and Government Codes and City of Glendale publications, not legal advice. Fees, maps and inspection procedures change. Confirm current requirements with the Glendale Fire Department before relying on any figure. Call Alla at (818) 699-5367 or use the enquiry form.
Looking at homes in Glendale? Start with the Glendale area guide and current Glendale listings.