Third Party Inspections

AB 1308 will help bring new homes to market faster by allowing home builders to hire a licensed and certified third-party inspector to complete final inspections if the local government cannot complete inspections of permitted work within 30 days.

In recent years, California has made progress making it legal to build more new homes (a.k.a. “entitlements”). However, many jurisdictions in California continue to have slow, unpredictable “post-entitlement” processes for permitting and inspection of new homes as they are built and completed. Slow inspections of elements like framing, plumbing, and electrical systems cause delays that increase costs – and can even prevent would-be residents from purchasing or renting fully-constructed housing. Developers have reported waiting months for a city or county inspector to come out and sign off on a “certificate of occupancy” for fully-built housing. 

AB 1308 will streamline the home building process by allowing builders to hire third-party inspectors if the local government cannot conduct the inspection within 30 days of the completion of construction. AB 1308 also requires the local government to review the third-party report and provide final approval within 14 days, bringing new homes online faster.

Updates

  • AB 1308 was amended in the Assembly on 3/24/25. It passed the Assembly Local Government Committee on 4/23/25 and now awaits further action in the Assembly.

Author

  • Josh Hoover (AD 7)

Sponsors

  • California YIMBY

Resources