Journal ·
Pasadena Soft-Story Retrofit: The Deadlines by Priority Group and What Buyers Should Check
Pasadena requires older wood-frame buildings with tuck-under parking, on parcels with five or more units, to be evaluated by an engineer and, if they fall short of the standard, retrofitted within seven years of the city's notice to the owner. For Priority 1 buildings, whose notices the city dates December 5, 2019, seven years ends on December 5, 2026. The rule sits in Pasadena Municipal Code Chapter 14.08, added by Ordinance No. 7345.
Which Pasadena buildings does the soft-story ordinance cover?
Section 14.08.020 sets two conditions, and both must be true. A permit for the new building was applied for on or before November 12, 1976, or, if no permit can be located, the Building Official determines it was built under code standards from before that date. And the ground floor or basement contains parking or similar open space that creates a soft, weak, or open-front wall line.
Three exceptions are written into the same section:
- Single-family residences.
- Multiple-family residential parcels containing four or fewer units.
- Concrete podium levels with a rigid concrete diaphragm. The first wood-frame story above the podium is still covered.
The count is by parcel, not by building. A parcel with four or fewer units is outside the ordinance. A parcel with five or more is inside it, even if the units sit in two smaller buildings. The city's soft-story program page counts approximately 493 buildings that require evaluation and possible retrofit.
What are the Pasadena soft-story deadlines by priority group?
The ordinance prints no calendar dates. Table A of section 14.08.050 counts years from the Notice to Owner, and section 14.08.060(C) starts the period on the day the notice is mailed. The city's page lists one notice date per priority group. The dates below are that arithmetic, so a building's own notice controls if it was mailed on a different day.
| Priority 1 | Priority 2 | Priority 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who is in it | 3 or more stories, or 25 or more units, or qualified historic buildings of any size | Parcels with 10 to 24 units | Non-historic 2-story buildings with 5 to 9 units |
| Notice date on the city page | December 5, 2019 | December 2, 2020 | March 3, 2021 |
| Plans and permit, 4 years per the city page | December 5, 2023 | December 2, 2024 | March 3, 2025 |
| Construction complete, 7 years | December 5, 2026 | December 2, 2027 | March 3, 2028 |
The code itself still says three years for plans and permit, which for Priority 2 and 3 would be December 2, 2023 and March 3, 2024. The next section explains the gap. The city states that as of August 2021 the notice had gone to every affected owner in all three priorities.
Did Pasadena extend the soft-story deadlines?
One milestone moved. The code still says three years to submit retrofit plans and obtain a permit. The city's page says that line was extended to four years under Resolution No. 9774, the 2020 emergency resolution on municipal code time limits. The City Manager's written suspension, filed in April 2020, lists section 14.08.050 with a 12-month extension of the plans milestone only. The city's page adds that all other deadlines remain the same.
The two city texts do not match perfectly. The suspension describes itself as covering matters approved before July 1, 2020, and the Priority 2 and 3 notices went out after that date. The program page applies four years without separating the groups. An owner who relied on the fourth year should have that confirmed in writing by Building and Safety.
Separately, section 14.08.060(E) lets an owner request more time in writing. The owner carries the burden of proof, and the Building Official may extend by no more than six calendar months.
What happens if a Pasadena building misses the deadline?
Section 14.08.120 lists four consequences:
- A covered building not brought into compliance within the Table A time frame "shall be declared unsafe" and becomes subject to the current building code.
- A violation is a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of up to $1,000 or up to six months in jail, or both, with each day counted as a separate offense.
- After written notice, the Building Official may record a notice of violation against the property with the County Recorder. This is discretionary, so an unrecorded title is not proof of compliance.
- The violator pays the city's code enforcement costs.
A recorded notice would appear in a preliminary title report. The permit record is the more reliable check.
How does the soft-story order work for a Pasadena condo?
The city's Notice and Order answers this directly: retrofit plans are required per building, not per unit, and compliance may require coordination with the homeowners' association.
For a condo buyer, that usually means the work is handled at the building level, and how it is paid for depends on the association's governing documents and budget. Under Civil Code section 4525, the seller must provide the association's statement of current regular and special assessments, any board-approved changes not yet due, and, on the buyer's request, approved board minutes from the previous 12 months, excluding executive sessions. An engineer's proposal or a retrofit vote can show up there before the assessment does.
Can a landlord pass retrofit costs to tenants in Pasadena?
Chapter 14.08 contains no cost pass-through. It does require written notice to current and prospective tenants describing the scope of work, the expected duration, and a contractor contact (section 14.08.070).
Rents on most apartments in these buildings are stabilized by Charter Article XVIII, which voters added on November 8, 2022 and amended in 2024. Section 1804(b) exempts some units from the rent provisions while keeping the eviction protections of section 1806. That group covers units state law (Costa-Hawkins) removes from local rent control, which can include individually owned condominiums, and certain subsidized units.
For a stabilized unit, the landlord's route is a petition to the Rental Housing Board for an upward adjustment under a fair return standard (section 1813). Once an initial rent is set for a new tenancy, section 1809(c) bars later increases based on cost increases, capital improvements, or other circumstances that arose before that tenancy began. If the city independently confirms that permitted, code-required repairs will make a unit uninhabitable for 30 days or more, section 1806(a)(8) lets the tenant choose a comparable vacant unit from the same landlord at the same or lower rent, if one exists, and a first right of return at the prior rent, to the extent state law allows. A buyer pricing a pre-1977 building should model the retrofit as an owner cost and read the Board's current regulations. The Pasadena tenant-occupied sale guide covers the rest of that article.
Is there grant money for a Pasadena soft-story retrofit?
Pasadena is one of eight Southern California cities listed by the California Residential Mitigation Program's Earthquake Multi-Unit Retrofit grant. The program page describes eligible buildings as wood-framed, multi-story, built before 1991, with 5 to 10 units and tuck-under parking, where the owner has received a notice and order under the local mandatory ordinance. It pays up to 70 percent of retrofit cost, capped at $4,260 per unit, and up to 70 percent of engineering and permit fees, capped at $7,000, for a combined maximum of $49,600. The page, labelled EMR Registration 2026, gives a window of August 19 through September 30. That date has passed, so confirm with CRMP whether another opens.
The city adds one concession of its own. Section 4.32.050(E) exempts buildings retrofitted under Chapter 14.08 from Pasadena's construction tax.
What should a buyer check before an offer on a pre-1977 Pasadena building?
- The original permit application date, against November 12, 1976, and the unit count on the parcel.
- Whether a Notice and Order was issued, and its mailing date. The date sets every deadline, and section 14.08.060(D) says an owner's failure to receive it does not invalidate the proceedings.
- Whether a retrofit permit was issued and finaled. A finaled permit is the record that construction was completed, the seven-year milestone. An issued permit with open inspections is not. Ask Building and Safety to confirm the status in writing.
- For a condo, the Civil Code 4525 package and the approved minutes.
- What the approved plans say. Unless the whole building was retrofitted to current code, section 14.08.100(C) requires the owner to sign a statement on the drawings that the work is limited to the soft-story condition and that the full building was not evaluated.
Pasadena's other sale-related inspections are covered in the Pasadena and Glendale point-of-sale comparison. Burbank's own ordinance, with different dates, is set out in the Burbank soft-story guide. The buyer's page lists what gets verified in contingencies, the seller's page covers what to settle before listing, and an owner weighing retrofit against sale can start with a home valuation.
Q: Does the Pasadena soft-story ordinance apply to a duplex or fourplex?
Not if the parcel holds four or fewer units in total. A duplex or fourplex sharing a parcel with other units, for five or more in total, is not exempt by the wording of section 14.08.020.
This article is general information about a city program and is not legal, engineering, or tax advice. Deadlines here are calculated from the notice dates the city publishes, so verify the dates for a specific building with Pasadena Building and Safety. Call Alla at (818) 699-5367 or use the enquiry form.
More on permits, districts, and price bands in this city in the Pasadena area guide.