Selling a Condo in California After SB 326: Balcony Inspections, HOA Documents, and What Buyers Will Ask

If you are selling a condo in California and a buyer, agent, or lender has asked about the “balcony inspection,” they mean Senate Bill 326. Sellers sometimes search for “SB 329 deck inspection,” but there is no balcony law by that number. The statute for condominium associations is SB 326, now California Civil Code Section 5551. A separate law, SB 721, covers apartment buildings.

This guide explains what SB 326 requires of your HOA, which documents you can get before you list, how an incomplete inspection changes a financed sale versus a cash sale, and what to do next. It builds on our guide to selling a condo in California with an HOA, which covers the disclosure package, estoppel certificates, and transfer fees.

SB 326 vs SB 721: Which Law Applies to Your Building

If you own a condo unit, SB 326 is your law, and the obligation belongs to the association, not to you. You did not skip the inspection. Your HOA did.

What SB 326 Requires

Which buildings and which parts

SB 326 applies to condominium project buildings with three or more multifamily dwelling units. It targets “exterior elevated elements”: balconies, decks, stairways, walkways, and their railings that have a walking surface more than six feet above the ground, are supported substantially by wood or wood-based products, and are the association’s responsibility to maintain or repair. The inspection covers the load-bearing components and their waterproofing. Concrete or steel elements, ground-level patios, and elements a single owner maintains generally fall outside the statute.

Who inspects and how

The association must hire a licensed structural engineer or licensed architect. The inspector performs a visual inspection of a random, statistically significant sample of the elevated elements, large enough to give 95 percent confidence in the results with a margin of error of no more than plus or minus 5 percent.

The deadlines

The first inspection was due by January 1, 2025. After that, the association must repeat it at least once every nine years. Buildings permitted after January 1, 2020 run on a separate clock tied to the certificate of occupancy.

What the report must contain

The inspector issues a written, stamped or signed report that identifies the load-bearing components and waterproofing, describes their current condition, projects their expected future performance and remaining useful life, and recommends any repairs. The board must incorporate the report into the reserve study and keep it in the association’s records for two inspection cycles.

When something is dangerous

If the inspector finds an immediate threat to occupant safety, the report goes to the association immediately and to the local code enforcement agency within 15 days. The association must take preventive measures right away, such as restricting access to the balcony, until repairs are made. The local agency can enforce the statute and recover its costs.

What You Can Get From the HOA Before You List

You cannot force the board to do the inspection, but you can find out where things stand and put the answer in your disclosures. Under Civil Code Section 4525, a seller in a common interest development must deliver a package of association documents to the buyer, and you can request them from the management company. Our condo HOA guide lists everything in that package. For SB 326 purposes, focus on four items.

The reserve study and funding plan. SB 326 requires the inspection report to be incorporated into the reserve study, so a study dated after the inspection should reflect balcony repair costs and remaining useful life. If it does not, ask why.

The inspection report itself. The report is an association record. Ask for a copy or a written summary. Some associations release the full report, some release the owner summary, and some have not commissioned one yet.

Board meeting minutes from the last 12 months. Minutes show whether the board discussed the inspection, awarded a repair contract, or debated a special assessment.

The current and pending assessment statement. Balcony repairs funded through a special assessment should appear here, along with anything approved but not yet billed.

Ask the management company these questions in writing:

1. Has the SB 326 inspection been completed, and on what date?
2. Who performed it, and can owners receive a copy?
3. Did the report identify repairs, and what is the estimated cost?
4. How will repairs be funded: reserves, a special assessment, or a loan?
5. Has any code enforcement agency been notified?

Request the package the week you decide to sell; a buyer who receives it late can cancel.

What Buyers and Lenders Will Ask

A buyer’s agent who knows condos will ask about SB 326 before writing an offer: the inspection date, the findings, who pays, and whether a special assessment is coming. If the answer is “not done yet,” expect a lower offer, a request for a credit, or a contingency tied to the HOA documents.

The buyer’s lender asks the same questions more formally. For a conventional or FHA loan, the lender sends the HOA a condo project questionnaire. Under current lender and agency guidelines, it asks about significant deferred maintenance, unfunded repairs, structural or safety inspections, and special assessments. A project with a missing inspection, an adverse report with no funded repair plan, or a large pending assessment can be declared ineligible. Then the buyer’s loan dies, usually weeks into escrow, after you have turned down other offers.

Your own disclosure duty runs alongside this. The Transfer Disclosure Statement under Civil Code Section 1102 applies to condos, and you must disclose known material facts, including balcony findings you know about and assessments you know are coming. Not knowing is not the problem. Knowing and staying quiet is.

Financed Sale vs Cash Sale When the Inspection Is Incomplete

A financed sale can still work when the inspection is done and the repairs are funded. The risk is a complex that has not completed the inspection, or found problems the board has not paid for, because then you are asking the buyer’s lender to approve a project its own guidelines flag.

A cash sale removes the lender. The buyer reads the same HOA documents you do, decides whether the balcony risk is acceptable, and prices it. At SHH Buys Homes we review the association’s finances and inspection status ourselves, but our decision does not depend on a lender’s condo approval, so incomplete inspections, low reserves, or litigation are not automatic disqualifiers.

Practical Steps for a Condo Seller

1. Request the HOA disclosure package and the SB 326 report now, before you list or take an offer.
2. Read the reserve study for balcony line items, remaining useful life, and whether reserves cover the work.
3. Pull the board minutes and note any repair contracts, assessments, or code enforcement contact.
4. Disclose what you know on the Transfer Disclosure Statement and in the HOA disclosures: the inspection date, the findings you have seen, and any assessment the board has discussed.
5. Get an estoppel certificate so the assessment balance and pending charges are confirmed before closing.
6. Decide who you are selling to. If the inspection is complete and funded, a financed buyer is realistic. If it is missing or adverse, price for a cash buyer or expect financed offers to fall through, and get a cash offer as a benchmark either way.

Read our guide to selling a house as-is in California for how as-is language interacts with disclosure duties, and what happens at a cash home closing for the escrow steps.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it SB 326 or SB 329 that requires condo balcony inspections? SB 326, codified at California Civil Code Section 5551, is the balcony inspection law for condominium associations. SB 721 is the parallel law for apartment buildings. There is no balcony inspection law called SB 329.

Can I sell my condo if the HOA never completed the SB 326 inspection? Yes. The inspection obligation belongs to the association, not to individual owners. You must disclose what you know, and you should expect buyers and lenders to ask. A missing inspection can make the complex ineligible for conventional or FHA financing, which is why cash buyers often become the realistic path.

Who pays for balcony repairs found in an SB 326 inspection? The association pays for repairs to elements it is responsible for maintaining, funded from reserves or from a special assessment charged to all owners. If an assessment is levied before your closing, it is usually your cost as the seller. If it is levied after, it falls on the buyer. Timing and credits get negotiated in the purchase contract.

How do I get a copy of the balcony inspection report? Ask the management company in writing. The report is an association record and must be incorporated into the reserve study, so request both. Board minutes from the last 12 months will also show when the inspection was discussed and what the board decided.

Does SB 326 apply to my townhouse or a two-story building? SB 326 applies to condominium project buildings with three or more multifamily units and to elevated elements more than six feet above the ground that are supported substantially by wood and maintained by the association. Ground-level patios and elements a single owner maintains are generally outside it. Ask your HOA which elements at your complex were counted.

Sell Your Condo Without Waiting on the HOA

If your complex has not finished its SB 326 inspection, or finished it and found problems, SHH Buys Homes can still buy your unit. We buy condos as-is across Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino counties, charge no commissions or fees, and pay standard closing costs. We do not need a lender’s condo approval, so a missing inspection report or a pending special assessment does not kill the deal. We can close in as little as 7 days once the HOA documents are in hand, or on a later date you choose.

Our office is in Upland. Call (626) 414-4859 or request a free cash offer and we will review your HOA documents with you.