La Habra, CA Building Safety: Fire Sprinkler Requirements (2026)

La Habra amended its Building and Construction title by re-adopting the California Residential Code (CRC), 2025 Edition, through Ordinance CC 2025-12 on November 3, 2025, which repealed the prior adoption ordinance, Ord. 1848, and is codified at La Habra Municipal Code § 15.05.010. The CRC governs the erection, construction, enlargement, alteration, repair, moving, removal, demolition, conversion, equipment, use, height, area and maintenance of all residential structures in the city, including the CRC's own fire sprinkler provisions for new one- and two-family dwellings.

Rather than layering a second, local sprinkler mandate on top of that for accessory units, La Habra's ADU/JADU chapter, § 18.12.150, writes the exemption directly into the general standards. Subsection I.3 states that fire sprinklers shall not be required for an ADU if they are not required for the primary dwelling, and that building an ADU shall not trigger a requirement for sprinklers to be installed in the existing primary unit. The same carve-out appears for junior ADUs at subsection M.6: a JADU must meet applicable building standards but is exempt from fire sprinklers if the single-unit residence itself was never required to have them.

The Community and Economic Development Department's Building Official administers Title 15 and reviews ADU/JADU plans against the CRC and § 18.12.150 before issuing a building permit; subsection I.2 further shields existing ADUs from being reclassified into a stricter occupancy group, which can itself trigger retrofit sprinklers, unless the Building Official makes a written finding, based on substantial evidence, that the ADU poses a specific adverse impact on public health and safety.