Soft-Story Buildings: What Every Los Angeles Property Owner Needs to Know
A practical guide to understanding soft-story buildings, LA’s mandatory retrofit law, key deadlines, and how property owners can stay compliant and protect their investments.
What Are Soft-Story Buildings?
Soft-story buildings are typically low-rise multifamily structures built over open ground-floor spaces, such as carports or garages, with housing on the upper levels. This design creates a weak ground floor with few walls or bracing elements. During an earthquake, that soft ground level can’t adequately resist lateral shaking, making the entire building prone to partial or total collapse if not strengthened. Without proper reinforcement, these vulnerable buildings may suffer catastrophic structural failure in a strong quake. Most soft-story apartments in LA were built in the post-WWII era up to the 1970s, before modern building codes prohibited such weak first-floor designs.
LA’s Mandatory Retrofit Program (Ordinance 183893 of 2015)
In response to the well-known risks, Los Angeles enacted Ordinance 183893 in late 2015 – one of the nation’s strictest seismic retrofit laws for existing buildings. This ordinance requires owners of older soft-story buildings to seismically reinforce them to better withstand earthquakes. The program is administered by the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety (LADBS), which began issuing official “Order to Comply” notices to affected property owners starting in 2016. If you own a soft-story building in LA, compliance with this law isn’t optional – it’s mandatory. The goal is straightforward: retrofit these structures so they won’t collapse in the next big quake, thereby reducing the risk of injury, loss of life, and property destruction.
What Does The Ordinance Require?
In simple terms, it means hiring an engineer, adding structural reinforcements (like steel frames or shear walls) to the weak first story of your building, and obtaining city approval that your building can now resist earthquakes. The city set phased deadlines (detailed below) for owners to submit plans, get permits, and finish the construction. Failing to meet these requirements can lead to code violations, fines, or even orders to vacate the building, so it’s critical to understand your obligations if you own an older apartment building in Los Angeles.
Which Buildings Must Comply?
Not every building in LA falls under the soft-story retrofit mandate – it targets a specific set of structures. In general, the law applies to multi-unit residential buildings with a “soft” first story, built before 1978. Key points to know:
Age and construction: Buildings constructed under building codes predating January 1, 1978 are included. (The late-1970s code updates were when LA stopped allowing weak first-floor designs)
Soft-story design: The building’s ground floor features parking, carports, or other large openings (like open storefronts or lobby spaces) with dwelling units above. It’s this open-front or weak-walled ground level that defines a “soft-story” condition.
Size (number of units): Generally, any residential property with 4 or more dwelling units is subject to the retrofit ordinance. This typically covers two-story or three-story apartment buildings, condominiums, and similar multifamily structures.
Key exemptions: Buildings with three or fewer residential units are exempt from this particular mandate. For example, single-family homes, duplexes, and triplexes do not have to comply with the soft-story retrofit ordinance (though single-family homes may be addressed by other programs or voluntary retrofits). Also, buildings that are not wood-frame construction – such as those made of concrete or steel – are not covered by Ordinance 183893’s scope for soft-story retrofits. (Note: LA has a separate program for older non-ductile concrete buildings under a different ordinance, but those are beyond our focus here.)
If you’re unsure whether your property is on the soft-story list, you can check the records or contact LADBS. The city identified approximately 12,000 buildings that meet the criteria and sent out courtesy notices to those owners in 2016. If your building received an order or matches the description above, you should assume you need to comply.
Compliance Timeline and Deadlines
One of the most important things for owners to know is the timetable for compliance. The ordinance doesn’t expect an overnight fix – instead, it provides a phased schedule to plan and complete the retrofit. The clock starts when you receive the official Order to Comply from LADBS for your building. From the date on that order, owners have a total of 7 years to finish the retrofit, with two key milestones along the way.
Within 2 years: Submit proof of a previous retrofit (if your building was already strengthened) or submit plans and a structural analysis for the proposed seismic retrofit (or, in rare cases, plans to demolish the building). Essentially, you must engage an engineer and file retrofit plans with the city (or evidence that your building doesn’t need one) within two years of being ordered to comply.
Within 3.5 years: Obtain all necessary permits and begin construction. By the 3½-year mark, you should have city-approved plans and pulled permits to start the retrofit work. This means you should be well into the process – designs complete, contractors lined up, and ready to reinforce the building.
Within 7 years: Complete the construction and finish the retrofit project. Your building should be fully retrofitted and inspected within seven years of the order. This is the final deadline to achieve full compliance and secure your building’s future in earthquakes.
These time limits were designed to be firm but realistic, recognizing the scale of work involved. Keep in mind: failing to meet a deadline can put you in violation of the ordinance. As of now, many buildings in LA have already been retrofitted or are in progress, but if you have a soft-story building that hasn’t, the later compliance windows are closing fast. It’s crucial not to procrastinate.
Why Retrofit? Earthquake Risks
Earthquake history has shown us exactly why these retrofits are vital. In the 1994 Northridge earthquake (magnitude 6.7), soft-story buildings suffered devastating failures. The most tragic example was the Northridge Meadows apartments – a classic soft-story complex with tuck-under parking – which collapsed completely when the weak ground floor gave way. Sixteen people lost their lives in that one building alone during Northridge. Citywide, the destruction was staggering: approximately 49,000 housing units were destroyed or seriously damaged in the Northridge quake, and two-thirds of those units were in soft-story buildings. The lessons from Northridge (and other California quakes) are clear: unreinforced soft-story buildings pose a grave risk to life and property when the ground starts shaking. This is why Los Angeles implemented the retrofit mandate – to prevent such a disaster from happening again in the next big earthquake. By reinforcing the soft first story, these buildings can absorb and resist seismic forces much better, greatly reducing the chance of a catastrophic collapse.
Retrofitting requires thoughtful planning, technical expertise, and coordination with city departments, but you don’t have to go it alone. Partnering with a trusted expert can streamline the entire process, from engineering and permitting to construction and final approval.
At Quake Strong, we specialize in professional earthquake retrofitting and structural contracting. Our experienced team has helped hundreds of Los Angeles property owners bring their buildings into compliance: efficiently, affordably, and with total peace of mind.
Let us take the weight off your shoulders and ensure your retrofit is done right, on time, and in full accordance with LADBS standards.
Call Quake Strong today at 833-782-5378 or visit www.quakestrong.com to schedule your free property assessment.