Los Angeles Soft Story Ordinance 183893 and Ordinance 184081
From past earthquakes, multi-story buildings with weak and/or open front wall lines creating a “soft-story” (i.e. buildings with tuck-under-parking) performed poorly and collapsed. The goal of the mandatory retrofit program, under Ordinance 183893 and Ordinance 184081, is to reduce structural deficiencies by the most economical and feasible method. Without proper strengthening, these vulnerable buildings may be subjected to structural failure during and/or after an earthquake.
Buildings that are most vulnerable have been identified with the following criteria:
- Consist of 2 or more stories wood frame construction
- Built under building code standards enacted before January 1, 1978
- Contains ground floor parking or other similar open floor space
The program does not apply to residential buildings with 3 or less units.
View the Soft-Story Compliance Report
To verify if your building is within the scope,
Please refer to the Permit & Inspection Report (Property Activity Report).
To obtain the inventory list of buildings, please contact
LADBS Custodian of Records
(213) 482-6770
[email protected]
Each property owner of these buildings will be sent an order to comply. These orders will be sent accordingly based on the following priorities:
| Priority | Categories | Start date of Sending Out Orders |
|---|---|---|
| I. Buildings with 16 or more dwelling units | 3-story and above | May 2, 2016 |
| 2-story | July 22, 2016 | |
| II. Buildings with 3 or more stories | with less than 16 units | October 17, 2016 |
| III. Buildings not falling within the definition of Priority I or II | with 9-15 units | July 24, 2017 |
| with 7-8 units | August 21, 2017 | |
| with 4-6 units | September 25, 2017 | |
| Condos/Commercial | November 6, 2017 |
The property owner must comply with the ordinance within the following time limits:
From the receipt of the Order to Comply:
- 2 years: Submit proof of previous retrofit, or plans to retrofit or demolish
- 3.5 years: Obtain permit to start construction or demolition
- 7 years: Complete construction
For more information, please contact:
Soft-Story Retrofit Unit
201 N. Figueroa St, 8th floor, Suite 890
(213) 482-SOFT (7638)
(213) 202-9924
[email protected]
Please note that all plans and structural analysis must be submitted to the above office.
Office Hours:
M, T, Th and F
7:30 AM – 4:30 PM
CLOSED 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM
W
9:00 AM – 4:30 PM
CLOSED 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM
For more information about the tenant habitability plan and cost recovery guide, please contact HCIDLA:
Tenant Habitability Plan Unit
(213) 252-1464
[email protected]
Cost Recovery Applications & RSO Information
(866) 557- RENT (7368)
[email protected]
For more information on the Mayor’s Resilience by Design, please visit http://www.lamayor.org/resilience-design-building-stronger-los-angeles
For information regarding California Capital Access Program (possible financing loan) effective January 1, 2017, please visit the California State Treasurer Website
Examples of damage without soft-story retrofit:
1 / 10
Soft-story retrofit process:
1 / 4
Soft-Story FAQs
What is a soft-story building?What is retrofit?What is Tuck-Under Parking?
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