Santa Monica Advances Construction Permit Rules

The City Council advanced a building code package and permitting changes that would require landlords to notify tenants before permit applications.

Updated on Nov. 3, 2026 in Remote Work

Isometric editorial illustration of a construction hard hat resting on a stack of lumber beside an orange safety cone on a bare plywood surface. — The Santa Monica City Council voted 6-0 to advance a building code package and a tenant notice ordinance requiring landlords to notify residents before permit applications move forward. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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Should landlords be required to notify tenants before construction begins?

The Santa Monica City Council voted 6-0 to advance a building code package that re-adopts the 2025 California Building Standards Code with local amendments. The package also includes a tenant notice ordinance requiring landlords of occupied residential buildings to give tenants a city form describing the scope of work.

Why it matters

The building code portion is largely a cleanup following state review of local amendments, while staff say nearly every construction-related tenant dispute traces back to poor early communication. The changes aim to tighten how construction work is communicated to residents in Santa Monica.

The council voted 6-0 to advance the package, with Mayor Pro Tem Jesse Zwick absent, and the city handles about 20 after-hours construction requests a year. The ordinances return for second reading at a future meeting before taking effect 30 days later.

The players

Santa Monica City Council

The elected governing body of the city of Santa Monica, which oversees local ordinances, zoning and permitting rules.

Assembly Bill 130

A California state law signed in June 2025 that froze most new state and local building code changes affecting residential units for nearly six years.

The details

The package re-adopts the 2025 California Building Standards Code with revised local amendments, and the tenant notice ordinance would require proof of delivery of the city form before a permit application could move forward. Neighbor notice for after-hours permits would come after a permit is approved rather than before.

Oct. 14, 2025: Santa Monica adopted its local building code amendments, receiving only partial approval of its filing.
June 2025: Assembly Bill 130 was signed, freezing most state and local building code changes affecting residential units for nearly six years.
Dec. 7: The city's new online permitting system, Clariti, is scheduled to go live.

Legal Context

Santa Monica's package operates under Assembly Bill 130, which froze most new state and local building code changes affecting residential units for nearly six years after its June 2025 signing. The city adopted its amendments Oct. 14, 2025 and received only partial approval of its filing.

Tenants in occupied residential buildings would receive a city form describing planned construction work before permits move forward. Nearby residents would be notified of after-hours permits once they are approved.

The takeaway

Tenants planning around nearby construction in Santa Monica should watch for the tenant notice form once the ordinances take effect. Early communication is the main focus of the changes.

What happens next

The ordinances return for a second reading at a future City Council meeting, after which they take effect 30 days later. The Clariti online permitting system is scheduled to go live Dec. 7.