Los Angeles Non-Ductile Concrete Ordinance Requirements

Why Is the Ordinance Necessary?

• Los Angeles faces elevated seismic risk due to a combination of geologic conditions and social factors and has developed the ordinance to promote the public welfare and safety by reducing the risk of death or injury that may result from the effects of earthquakes on existing older buildings.
• Older concrete buildings, particularly those constructed before 1976, are vulnerable to significant damage or collapse during an earthquake as evidenced by observations from previous earthquakes in Los Angeles and elsewhere. In addition to older concrete buildings, Los Angeles also has mandatory seismic retrofit ordinances that apply to wood-framed soft-story open-front buildings, rigid-wall flexible diaphragm (RWFD) buildings, and unreinforced masonry buildings.

Which Buildings Are Subject to the Ordinance?

• The ordinance applies to any existing concrete building constructed with a permit application submitted to the Building Department prior to 13 January 1977 and any building where no permit can be located.
  • Exemptions: The ordinance does not apply to single-family dwellings or detached duplexes.
  • Concrete buildings are defined as those buildings having concrete floors and/or roofs, either with or without beams, supported by concrete walls and/or concrete columns, and/or concrete frames with or without masonry infills, or any combination thereof.

Mandatory Seismic Retrofit Program

• The city has issued Order to Comply letters notifying building owners that their building may be subject to the ordinance.
• Following the notification, the building owner must engage a structural engineer, civil engineer, or architect licensed in the State of California to evaluate the building in a phased process with time limits for compliance as follows:
  • Within three years of the Order to Comply, complete the NDC Checklist form provided by the Building Department and submit it to the Building Department for review and approval.
    • This checklist will confirm if the building is subject to the ordinance or not. If the Building Department confirms the building is not subject to the ordinance, no further action is necessary. If the building is subject to the ordinance, proceed to the next step.
  • Within ten years of the Order to Comply, complete and submit one of the following to the Building Department:
    • Proof that the building was previously retrofitted in conformity with the previous voluntary ordinance’s provisions.
    • Proof that the building was retrofitted in conformity with the current ordinance’s provisions.
    • Structural analysis report that shows the building meets the engineering requirements of the ordinance.
    • Structural analysis and corresponding structural drawings for the seismic retrofit of the building to comply with the engineering requirements of the ordinance.
    • Plans to demolish the building.
  • Within twenty-five years of the Order to Comply, complete all necessary seismic retrofit work on the building or demolition work.

Additional Resources

FAQs: Los Angeles Retrofit Ordinance for Soft Story and Non-Ductile Concrete Buildings