SB 326 balcony compliance for your HOA: findings to finished, documented.

SB 326 is California's exterior elevated element inspection law for condominium associations, codified at Civil Code section 5551. It applies to buildings with three or more attached multifamily dwelling units where the association is responsible for maintaining or repairing qualifying exterior elevated elements: balconies, decks, stairways, walkways and their railings, with a walking surface more than six feet above ground level, supported in whole or in substantial part by wood or wood-based products, together with their waterproofing systems. Section 5551 runs to condominium projects, so a planned development or stock cooperative is not automatically covered.

Under SB 326, the inspection must be performed by a licensed structural or civil engineer or architect. We are not the inspector of record; we coordinate with your qualified inspection professional and carry the repair side of the work through construction and closeout.

For existing buildings the first SB 326 inspection cycle was required by January 1, 2025. Buildings whose permit application was submitted on or after January 1, 2020 are on a different clock: within six years of the certificate of occupancy. After the first cycle, inspections are required at least once every nine years, coordinated with the reserve study under Civil Code 5550. Nine years is a floor, and a board or a local ordinance can require it more often.

Beginning January 1, 2026, SB 410 added first-page reporting, member access, and resale disclosure. The report now carries a first-page summary. The reports were already kept for two inspection cycles as association records, and SB 410 opened them to member inspection for that period. Under Civil Code 4525 the owner selling a unit must give a prospective purchaser a copy of the most recent report. SB 410 also narrowed the law to buildings with three or more attached units.

The first page must carry the date of inspection, the total number of units in the condominium project, the number of units with exterior elevated elements, the total number of qualifying elements, the number inspected, the number found to pose an immediate threat to occupant safety and the units impacted, and the inspector's certification that a statistically significant sample was evaluated.

We review the findings, clarify the likely repair scope and probable cost, coordinate permits and any required engineering, and complete the work, then provide the documentation your association needs for its records and disclosures. The goal is to move from findings to practical repair planning without the project stalling.

SB 326 covers condominium associations, with re-inspection at least every nine years and a first cycle that was due January 1, 2025. SB 721 covers multifamily rental apartments of three or more units, with re-inspection every six years and a first-inspection deadline that AB 2579 moved to January 1, 2026. They also sample differently: SB 721 sets a floor of 15 percent of each element type, while SB 326 requires a statistically significant sample, meaning 95 percent confidence with a margin of error no greater than plus or minus 5 percent. Both are exterior elevated element inspection laws, not seismic retrofit requirements.