Residential building permits: inspections: Housing Accountability Act.

Header changed from 'Assembly Bill No. 1308' with legislative passage dates to 'STATE OF CALIFORNIA AUTHENTICATED ELECTRONIC LEGAL MATERIAL' with chapter number (Chapter 509) and Governor approval date (October 10, 2025).

Page headers and footers changed from 'AB 1308' to 'Ch. 509' throughout the document, reflecting standard chaptering format.

Line wrapping and column widths differ between versions due to the different page layout used for enrolled bills versus chaptered statutes, but the statutory text content is identical.

The amendment to Government Code Section 65001 (Planning and Zoning Law definitions) was removed entirely. The bill no longer touches land use planning law.

A new exemption was added to Section 17951(d)(2): the right to reimbursement of permit fees when a local agency fails to inspect within 30 days does not apply to inspections performed by a private professional provider under Section 17970.3. This prevents homeowners from both using a private inspector and claiming a fee refund.

The category 'building official, as defined in Section 18949.27' appears to have been removed from the definition of 'private professional provider' in Section 17970.3(e)(3), narrowing who can serve as a private inspector under this bill.

The fiscal committee designation changed from 'no' to 'yes' and the state-mandated local program designation changed from 'no' to 'yes,' indicating the bill now requires fiscal impact analysis and formally acknowledges it imposes costs on local agencies that may trigger reimbursement obligations.

Assembly Member Wicks was added as a coauthor of the bill.

The bill now amends Section 65589.5 of the Government Code (the Housing Accountability Act), not just the Health and Safety Code. This brings building inspection delays under the HAA's anti-disapproval framework.

The bill's legislative counsel digest now references the Housing Accountability Act, reflecting the expanded scope beyond just building permit fee and inspection procedures in the Health and Safety Code.

Building departments must conduct inspections for new residential constructions (1-10 units, no floors more than 40 feet above ground) and residential additions to existing buildings within 10 business days of receiving a notice of completion. This is much faster than the previous 30-calendar-day standard.

The deadline for permit fee reimbursement if an inspection is not conducted was extended from 30 days to 60 days after receiving notice of completion.

A building department's failure to inspect permitted work within the 10-business-day window is now defined as 'disapproving the housing development project' under the Housing Accountability Act and constitutes a violation of that act. This gives applicants a legal remedy against local agencies that delay inspections.

Added passage dates: Passed the Assembly September 10, 2025, and Passed the Senate September 9, 2025, along with Chief Clerk and Secretary signatures.

Added a Governor's receipt line indicating when the enrolled bill was received by the Governor, with blanks for date and time to be filled in.

Removed amendment history headers (Amended in Senate September 5, July 10; Amended in Assembly April 24, March 24) and the original introduction line with coauthor credit.

Reformatted the bill text by removing line numbers, adjusting page headers and footers, and consolidating the legislative counsel's digest into a cleaner layout consistent with enrolled bill formatting.

Removed the requirement for building departments to prepare and post residential building permit fee schedules on their websites (former Section 17951(a)(2) of the Health and Safety Code).

Removed the entire private professional provider inspection mechanism, which allowed applicants to hire a private inspector if the building department's estimated timeframe exceeded 30 days or no inspection occurred within 30 days. This included the affidavit requirement, report submission process, and the building department's 14-day review obligation.

Replaced the complex inspection framework with a single flat deadline: building departments must conduct an inspection of permitted work for specified new residential constructions and residential additions within 10 business days of receiving notice of completion.

Removed the provision entitling permittees to reimbursement of permit fees if a local enforcement agency failed to conduct an inspection within 60 days of receiving notice of completion (former Section 17951(d)(1)).

Added a provision incorporating additional changes to Section 65589.5 of the Government Code proposed by SB 838, operative only if both bills are enacted and AB 1308 is enacted last.

Added language stating the bill would correct cross-references in the Housing Accountability Act.

New Section 17970.3 of the Health and Safety Code applies only to new residential construction of 1-10 units with no floors more than 40 feet above ground level, and to residential additions or remodels of existing buildings meeting the same size and height limits.

The bill's scope expanded from amending only Government Code Section 65001 (a nonsubstantive correction of 'article chapter' to 'chapter') to also amending Health and Safety Code Section 17951 and adding new Section 17970.3, making it a housing and building permit reform bill rather than a purely technical land use fix.

Building departments must provide an estimated inspection timeframe upon receiving notice of completion of permitted work. If the estimate exceeds 30 days or no inspection occurs within 30 days, the applicant may hire a private professional provider (licensed engineer, architect, construction inspector, plans examiner, or building official) at their own expense to inspect the work.

The deadline for a local enforcement agency to conduct an inspection before the permittee becomes entitled to fee reimbursement was shortened from 60 days to 30 days after receiving notice of completion.

If a county or city prescribes residential building permit fees, the building department must prepare a fee schedule and post it on the county's or city's internet website.

Local enforcement agencies must disclose in clear language on each permit (or an accompanying document) that the permittee may be entitled to reimbursement of permit fees if inspection is not conducted within 30 days.

Private professional providers must prepare an affidavit under penalty of perjury confirming compliance and that they performed the inspection. The applicant must submit a report to the building department, which then has 14 days to issue a certificate of occupancy or notify non-compliance in writing.

If the building department fails to issue approval or notify non-compliance within 14 days of receiving the private inspection report, the permitted work is deemed compliant and the certificate of occupancy is deemed approved.

The bill's fiscal committee designation changed from 'no' to 'yes' and state-mandated local program changed from 'no' to 'yes', reflecting the new duties imposed on local agencies. However, no state reimbursement is required because local agencies can levy fees sufficient to cover the mandated program.