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Selling a House in Pasadena vs Glendale: What Each City Requires Before Escrow Closes
Pasadena and Glendale share a border and treat a home sale differently. In Pasadena, the owner of a single-family house, condominium, townhouse or duplex must obtain a Presale Certificate of Completion or a Presale Certificate of Inspection from the city before escrow closes, under Chapter 14.17 of the Pasadena Municipal Code. In Glendale there is no city presale report, inspection or certificate at all. A Glendale seller owes the state-law items every California seller owes, plus, in a high or very high fire hazard severity zone, documentation of defensible space that Glendale Fire issues after a $115 inspection. The details, fees and deadlines follow.
What does Pasadena require before escrow closes?
Pasadena's Presale Self-Certification Program rests on Ordinance No. 7337 and Chapter 14.17 of the municipal code. Prior to the close of escrow for the sale of a single-family house, condominium, townhouse or duplex, the owner is responsible for obtaining one of two documents. A Presale Certificate of Completion is issued on the owner's own certification, with no city visit. A Presale Certificate of Inspection is issued after a city inspector walks the property.
The city lists the fees as $29.00 plus processing fees for the Certificate of Completion and $174.00 plus processing fees for the Certificate of Inspection, applied for in person at the Permit Center, 175 North Garfield Avenue, or through the city's online portal. The Code Compliance Division answers questions at PresaleProgram@cityofpasadena.net.
The two-track design has a history. The city's news release of March 20, 2019 states that the council approved the ordinance on January 28, 2019, that the program went live on April 1, 2019, and that it replaced an Occupancy Inspection Program from the early 1970s, which had required a city inspection before the sale of any single-family home or duplex. Pasadena Now's report on the council vote dates the original ordinance to 1973, revised in 1991.
Who qualifies for Pasadena's self-certification?
Eligibility for the Certificate of Completion turns on four statements. The property must have no open code compliance cases, and the owner certifies all of the following on the application:
- the actual square footage of living space does not exceed the Los Angeles County Assessor's record by 10 percent or more;
- the property meets fire prevention, detection and exiting requirements;
- there is no unpermitted construction, addition, conversion or accessory structure greater than 120 square feet.
Miss any one of them and the property needs a Presale Certificate of Inspection. The city schedules an inspection, then issues a housing inspection report listing any of the specified deficiencies. If none are found, the certificate issues. If deficiencies are found, the owner either corrects them and pays for a re-inspection, or executes a Transfer of Responsibility, which moves the duty to fix them to the buyer. In practice the house decides between the $29 filing and the $174 inspection: a converted garage, or a listing that advertises 400 more square feet than the assessor shows, puts the sale on the inspection track.
Does Glendale have a point-of-sale inspection?
No. Glendale has no presale report, inspection or certificate ordinance for home sales. Two title-company compilations of cities with such programs, one published by WFG National Title in 2020 and one by Monarch Title in 2022, list Pasadena, Los Angeles and San Marino among dozens of cities, and Glendale appears on neither. The city's own property research page points buyers and sellers to building permit records, planning case records and a "Recent Property Record Summary" in the Glendale Permits portal. That is what a Glendale buyer pulls instead of a certificate: the permit history, ordered by the buyer or the agent, with no city sign-off required to close.
What does AB 38 require when the house is in a fire zone?
Since July 1, 2021, Civil Code Section 1102.19 requires the seller of a home in a high or very high fire hazard severity zone to give the buyer documentation that the property complies with defensible space rules under Public Resources Code Section 4291 or a local vegetation ordinance. If the documentation does not exist by closing, the seller and buyer sign a written agreement under which the buyer obtains it within one year of the close of escrow. The 100-foot defensible space standard itself sits in Government Code Section 51182.
Glendale implements this with its own inspection. The fire department's AB 38 page directs the seller to apply in the EnerGov permits portal for the fire permit named "AB 38 Real Estate Disclosure", pay a $115 fee, and receive the compliance documentation after the inspection. The same page adds that since July 1, 2025 the seller must also give the buyer the State Fire Marshal's low-cost retrofit list, disclose which of those retrofits were completed during the seller's ownership, and disclose known vulnerabilities such as single-pane windows, roofing below Class A, unscreened vents, combustible material within 5 feet of the house and gutters without noncombustible covers. Whether a Glendale parcel is in a zone is checked on the city's Fire Hazard Severity Zones viewer.
The statute applies in Pasadena's zones as well. The Pasadena Fire Department publishes its own fire hazard severity zone map, and a seller inside the zone should ask the department which document it issues before listing, because the presale certificate from Code Compliance does not cover vegetation.
Which state rules apply in both cities?
Four items ride along with every sale in Pasadena and Glendale alike, and none of them involves city hall.
| Item | What the seller does | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Smoke alarms | Delivers a written statement that the home complies, before title transfers | Health and Safety Code 13113.8 |
| Water heater bracing | Certifies in writing, on the TDS or in the contract, that the heater is strapped | Health and Safety Code 19211 |
| Carbon monoxide devices | Has devices installed in any home with a fuel-burning appliance, fireplace or attached garage; a failure does not invalidate the transfer | Health and Safety Code 17926 |
| Water-conserving fixtures | Discloses in writing whether any noncompliant fixtures remain, and the 2017 replacement duty | Civil Code 1101.4 |
Add the Natural Hazard Disclosure, covered in the NHD report explainer, and the Transfer Disclosure Statement, and the state list is complete.
How do Pasadena and Glendale compare with Los Angeles and Burbank?
| City | Point-of-sale requirement | Fee | City inspection |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pasadena | Presale Certificate of Completion or Certificate of Inspection, PMC Chapter 14.17 | $29 or $174, plus processing | Only if the property is not eligible for self-certification |
| Glendale | None from the city; AB 38 documentation in fire zones | $115 for the AB 38 inspection | AB 38 only |
| Los Angeles | Report of Residential Property Records, the 9A, under LAMC 96.300, plus water fixture and gas shut-off retrofits | Set by LADBS | None for the 9A |
| Burbank | Retrofit Upon Resale Certificate of Compliance, Ordinance No. 3786 | None | None; seller and buyer sign |
The Los Angeles list is walked through in retrofits required before selling in Los Angeles. Burbank's certificate form shows the ordinance was adopted July 20, 2010 and amended December 13, 2022, requires toilets at 1.28 gallons per flush and showerheads at 1.8 gallons per minute, and obliges the agents on both sides to give the seller and buyer written notice of the rule before closing.
One detail to check on any list you are handed: both title-company compilations above still describe Pasadena as an "Occupancy Inspection Program" with a mandatory inspection and a fee of $142 to $150. That program ended on April 1, 2019.
When should a Pasadena or Glendale seller start?
In Pasadena, the certificate is a condition of closing, so the application belongs at the start of the listing rather than at the end of escrow. A property that fails eligibility needs an inspection date, a possible correction period and a re-inspection, and each of those steps takes calendar days that a 30-day escrow does not have to spare. Where those days go is laid out in how long escrow takes in California.
In Glendale, the first step is the fire zone viewer. Outside a zone, the seller's city-level list is empty and the work is the state disclosures. Inside a zone, the AB 38 inspection request goes in early enough for the fire department to visit, and for any vegetation work it orders to be finished, before the buyer's contingency period ends.
Q: Does a Pasadena condominium need the presale certificate?
Yes. The city's program page lists single-family houses, condominiums, townhouses and duplexes.
Q: Can a Pasadena seller pass the repairs to the buyer?
Yes, through a Transfer of Responsibility executed after the inspection report, which moves the duty to correct the listed deficiencies to the buyer.
Q: Does Glendale charge anything at the point of sale?
Only the $115 AB 38 inspection fee, and only for homes in a high or very high fire hazard severity zone.
This article is general information about municipal and state rules at the point of sale, not legal advice. Fees and ordinances change; confirm each item with the city for the specific parcel and closing date before you rely on it. Call Alla at (818) 699-5367 or use the enquiry form.
More on both cities in the Pasadena area guide and the Glendale area guide, and on what a sale involves on the selling page.