The 9A Report &Retrofit Requirementsin Los Angeles.

A report issued by LADBS includes the zoning classification and parcel information, sewer permit information, the authorized occupancy and use — including the building description, number of units and the number of permits and certificates of occupancy found — and any pending special assessment liens. LADBS states that a new report is not needed for six months after one is issued, although the buyer must still receive a copy.

Every condominium unit needs its own report. Two kinds of transfer are listed as exempt on the LADBS form: transfers exempt under the state Documentary Transfer Tax Act, and the first sale of a residential building in a subdivision whose final map was recorded no more than two years earlier (condominium conversions do not qualify).

The report itself states that it does not cover illegal additions, improper construction, illegal uses, other liens or existing corrective orders, and that the City does not certify or guarantee that the property complies with the Municipal Code. A result showing no permits found means none were located in the records, not that none were needed.

Where it earns its place is in spotting mismatches. If a house has four bedrooms and a guest unit but the report shows one authorized dwelling and few permits, that difference is worth understanding before the buyer’s inspector finds it. For sellers, that usually means pulling the full permit history early and deciding how to disclose and price what is there.

LADBS takes applications through its online Residential Property Report System, by mail, or in person at the cashier at 201 N. Figueroa Street, 4th Floor, in downtown Los Angeles. The fee is per report, so each condominium unit is a separate fee, and LADBS states it is not refundable once work on the report has started. LADBS does not publish a processing time, so order it as soon as you decide to sell rather than waiting for an accepted offer.

The application includes a declaration, signed under penalty of perjury, about items such as water conservation devices, a seismic gas shut-off valve, smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, window security bars with inside release, and safety glazing on sliding glass doors. If the owner cannot make those certifications, the form provides for the buyer to sign a declaration instead.

Water conservation. LADWP states that residential and non-residential property sold in Los Angeles must comply with the City’s water conservation ordinance before close of escrow — low-flow showerheads and low-consumption toilets among the fixtures covered. A Certificate of Compliance, completed by a licensed plumbing or general contractor, a certified retrofitter or a real estate licensee and signed by the seller and buyer, is filed with LADWP.

Seismic gas shut-off valve. Buildings with fuel gas piping need a seismic gas shut-off valve or an excess flow shut-off valve before the sale agreement or close of escrow. When a single condo unit is sold, the requirement covers the gas piping that serves that unit.

Other items LADBS lists for sellers. Smoke detectors (hard-wired with battery backup in condominiums and buildings of three or more units; battery units are allowed in single-family homes), carbon monoxide detectors, safety glazing on sliding glass doors, security bars that release from the inside, and security lighting and locks for buildings of three or more units.

California law required owners of single-family homes to replace noncompliant plumbing fixtures by January 1, 2017 — a toilet using more than 1.6 gallons per flush, a showerhead flowing more than 2.5 gallons per minute or an interior faucet flowing more than 2.2 gallons per minute — and requires the seller to disclose the requirement and whether the property has noncompliant fixtures. Single-family homes that are sold must have an operable smoke alarm, with a written statement of compliance to the buyer. Dwellings with a fossil-fuel appliance, fireplace or attached garage must have carbon monoxide devices. And the seller of property with a water heater must certify to the buyer that it is braced, anchored or strapped against earthquake motion.

These sit alongside, not in place of, the state’s general seller disclosures — the Transfer Disclosure Statement and the Natural Hazard Disclosure — which are separate documents.

The City’s mandatory soft-story retrofit program covers certain wood-frame buildings of two or more stories, built under codes in effect before 1978, with parking or similar open space on the ground floor. It does not apply to residential buildings of three or fewer units, so it is not a single-family issue, but a condominium building can fall within it. If yours might, ask the HOA for the building’s status under the program before you list; buyers and lenders will ask.