You are an agent and represent buyers purchasing a property in the city of Los Angeles, what should you know about code compliance and retrofit requirements?
- The seller is responsible for the mandatory governmental retrofit and compliance items when selling. Who ultimately pays for them is up for negotiations. See the list below regarding what the seller is responsible for when selling. This list applies to the city of LA but may also apply to other cities or locales in Southern California. If located in a city other than the city of Los Angeles, contact us for a list of code compliance requirements.
- If a owner is selling a property ‘as is’, does it still need retrofit? Yes. City of Los Angeles requires code compliance upon transfer regardless of an ‘as is’ status. City of LA does not have a waiver for code compliance upon transfer.
- Don’t assume listing agent knows what they should about governmental code compliance and retrofit – many times they do not.
- Best practice – Have the property inspected for code compliance and retrofit even if the listing agent does not ‘believe’ it is required – this will cover liability of you, your broker and your buyer. Retrofit services can be paid by buyer in escrow.
- Call us with any questions you may have on this issue at 310.800.4418 or use the comment section below to ask questions.