Costa Mesa, CA Building Safety: Building Inspections (2026)

Chapter VIII of Title 5 sets up a disclosure inspection tied to the sale of multifamily residential property. Section 5-120 requires the owner of any residential building, defined in Section 5-119 as a structure with four or more dwelling units, to apply for a report of residential building records within three days of entering an agreement of sale. Section 5-121 gives the city 30 days to issue the report after a completed application and fee, and the owner must indicate on the application whether they consent to an inspection; consenting adds an inspection fee set by council resolution.

Section 5-122 then requires that, if the owner consents, the city physically inspect the building and record in the report any building permit, housing, or zoning code violations observed, whether those violations were corrected on reinspection, and any refusal by the owner to allow reinspection. If the owner does not consent, Section 5-123 requires the report to state that inspection was refused, and the completed report must be delivered to the other party to the sale before the transaction closes, with the acknowledgment of receipt filed with the city within 30 days after closing.

Section 5-124 exempts several transaction types, including a building's first sale after it was never occupied, court-ordered transfers, foreclosure transfers, and transfers between co-owners or spouses in a dissolution.