On June 16, 2015, six students were killed in Berkeley, California and seven others were injured when the balcony they were on collapsed. The Berkeley balcony collapse resulted in the passage of California Senate Bill 326 on August 30th, 2019.
- Covered HOAs must complete initial SB-326 inspections no later than Jan. 1, 2025.
- Subsequent inspections must be completed at least once every nine years.
- Inspections must be completed by licensed structural engineers, architects, licensed general contractors, or certified building inspectors.
- All exterior elevated elements (EEEs) “supported in whole or in substantial part by wood or wood-based products” that are 6 or more feet off the ground must undergo inspections.
- The waterproofing systems for each EEE must also be inspected.
- Under SB-326, inspectors are required to visually inspect a “statistically significant sample” (defined as enough units to provide “95 percent confidence that the results from the sample are reflective of the whole, with a margin of error no greater than plus or minus 5 percent”) of a building’s EEEs. The exact number of EEEs inspected will depend on the size of your building.
- After a visual inspection, the inspector determines whether further testing is warranted and is required to report any imminent dangers to life and safety to the city’s building department and the HOA board.
- The inspector must prepare a signed, detailed report and present it to the HOA board with the repair recommendations.
- The HOA board must then budget for the repairs and complete them.
The report must include the following types of information:
- Identification of the specific building elements that were inspected
- The present physical condition of the inspected elements
- Whether the inspected elevated exterior elements pose any dangers to the safety and health of the residents
- The expected service life and future performance of the inspected elements
- Types of needed repairs, including emergency and non-emergency repairs. Any emergency repairs that endanger the health and safety of the public will promptly be referred to the building department’s code enforcement agency. Non-emergency repairs will be reported to the condominium association’s board.
You must include the inspection report in your reserve study and keep copies of your inspection reports for a minimum of two inspection cycles.
If you don’t comply with the new law, the code enforcement arm of your local building department can assess fees, recover enforcement costs, and enforce liens against non-compliant properties.
Additionally, failing to complete the required SB-326 inspections and repairs could expose you to liability.
If the inspections are not completed, condo owners could lose their liability protection extended by their insurance companies for personal injury claims.
This means that if any person is injured while using or occupying any of the association’s exterior elevated elements, the association will likely bear the financial responsibility of any civil judgement and will not have the benefit of coverage under their association’s insurance policies.
SB326 HOA Update SB326 HOA Update SB326 HOA Update