Pasadena, CA Rental Inspections: Inspection Programs (2026)

Chapter 14.16, the 'quadrennial inspection ordinance,' applies to owners of multifamily residential projects with three or more units and to boarding or rooming houses of three to five rentable rooms, per the definitions in Section 14.16.020. Section 14.16.030 bars anyone from occupying a multifamily unit or a room in a boarding house without a valid quadrennial certificate of inspection, and requires each unit to be inspected at least once every four years. Before a multifamily complex or boarding house is occupied, the owner must file a business license application for residential rental accommodations along with the required fee, which covers one inspection visit; additional inspection visits carry additional fees under Section 14.16.040.

The housing and neighborhood services administrator schedules the inspection and checks the unit for compliance with the housing code, the zoning plan and code, and other health-and-safety ordinances before issuing the certificate, per Section 14.16.050. The certificate states the issue date, the unit's legal use and occupancy, the property address, the owner's name, and certification of code compliance, and it automatically becomes void either when the unit's use changes to nonresidential or four years after the date on the certificate, under Sections 14.16.060 and 14.16.065.

If an inspection turns up deficiencies, Section 14.16.070 requires written notice to the owner, and no certificate issues until every deficiency is corrected; uncorrected cases go to the code enforcement appeals commission or the city prosecutor depending on severity. Owners are responsible for making units available for inspection under Section 14.16.100, and any person aggrieved by the administrator's determination can appeal to the code enforcement commission the same way as under Section 14.12.120.