The City of LA 9a report is confusing! Here is a simple guide to help sellers, agents and escrow officers navigate the 9a
If you’re selling a home within the City of Los Angeles, there are two compliance requirements worth knowing about before you get into escrow: the 9A Report (also know as the Residential Property Report, or RPR) issued by LADBS, and a retrofit inspection performed by a licensed retrofitter (that’s us!). Both must be completed before close of escrow — and understanding how they work together will save you time and surprises.
Step #1 – In practice, escrow typically handles the 9A paperwork. The form is a multi-page document — escrow fills out pages 1–2 with property and transaction details online through the LADBS portal, the seller signs page 3, and the buyer signs page 4. The fee is $70.85 per parcel, paid to LADBS and typically charged to the seller through escrow.
The report covers zoning classification, open or un-finaled permits, outstanding code violations, and hillside area designation.
Un-finaled permits — additions or garage conversions that were never signed off — are among the most common issues flagged and often need to be resolved before closing.
City of LA only: The 9A requirement applies exclusively to properties within the incorporated City of Los Angeles. If your property is in Burbank, Glendale, Santa Monica, or another independent city within LA County, you are not subject to this ordinance — those cities have their own local disclosure requirements.
Step #2 – Alongside the 9A, every City of LA home sale is the retrofit inspection by a licensed retrofitter. This is a physical inspection of the property — separate from the 9A report itself — to verify that specific mandatory safety and conservation items are present and in working order at time of sale. Once inspected, the report can help the seller fill out the 9a declaration, mentioned above, more thourghly.
Here is a list of items we look for in a retrofit inspection.
Once the inspection is complete, we, the retrofitter, will issue a Certificate of Compliance (COC) and emails it directly to escrow and the ordering agent. This includes the LADWP COC which is specifically for the water conservation items. Both certificates are required to close escrow.
- What happens if my escrow officer orders the 9a/RPR from the city of Los Angeles and it comes back with issues? Resolved by the seller before closing — permit finaled, violation cleared, or assessment paid. Credited to the buyer at close, with both parties agreeing in writing to the amount and who handles the work post-close. Disclosed and transferred to the buyer with full written acknowledgment in the purchase agreement. Less common, and should always involve your agent and attorney. Don’t skip the disclosure: Failing to provide the 9A Report or concealing known permit or code issues can expose a seller to post-close legal liability. California requires disclosure of material facts — the 9A and retrofit process are the city’s mechanism for surfacing them at time of sale.
- What happens if the retrofitter notes items not in compliance at the time of their inspection? The non-compliant items are noted and typically resolved by us – the retrofitter – or a contractor hired by the seller before the close of escrow.
- This is all ridiculous! Can I just not do all of this? No. This items are considered a governmental (city) requirement and you will not be able to close escrow.
- Does the city of LA have a waiver or something to skip the retrofit / code compliance requirements? No. The city of Los Angeles will only waive code compliance requirement if a home is noted as ‘red tagged’ by the Dept of Building and Safety City of Los Angeles.
- Does a City of LA inspector or employee do a site inspection on my property? No. The only inspector would be from the third party retrofitter and noted on their report.
- Is the seller or buyer responsible for all of this ? The seller is responsible for the 9a/RPR report and the retrofit inspection, as he is the one who owns the asset.
- My house is in Tarzana, do I still need this thing ? Yes, Tarzana, and hundreds of other City of LA ‘areas’ are considered in the city of LA. If you have City of LA trash pick up, LAPD service in your area, and pay utilities to LADWP, you are in the city of Los Angeles. Cities and areas outside of the City of LA do not need to fill out the 9a, but check here for any ‘pre sale’ requirements or other specific city code compliance requirements.
Questions? Ask below in the comment section.