Permits for Remodels in Los Angeles

[Alejandro Garcia]

Hi I just closed on my first deal, a duplex in South Los Angeles, and excited to get started renovating it but some of the things I have in mind might require permits so I was wondering if anyone had experience with the process and could provide some guidance.

More about the property, the front unit is a 3 bed 2 bath bungalow style house built in 1925 so the layout is outdated. One of the bathrooms is a jack and jill bathroom which I want to change. Close the current doors and open a new one from the living room into the bathroom instead of the entrances coming from the bedrooms. I also want to open up the wall between the kitchen and living room which is a load bearing wall and is my largest concern for permits and time for the job.

The back house is a similiar issue but is a 1 bed 1 bath with an extra room (no closet so not considered a room). Same thing with the jack and jill bathroom and kitchen wall. I want to add a closet to the extra room so I can rent it as a 2 bedroom but it is already small so plan was to take up some of the kitchen space to build a closet and then just add a door in between.

I assume the load bearing wall projects will require permits but I am not sure about the bathroom remodels or the closet. Does anyone have experience with such jobs, specifically getting permits in the Los Angeles area? 

P.S. I plan on doing most if not all myself with the help of my father who is very skilled. He has done such jobs but he never had to do permitting. 

[Anne C.]

I just closed on a duplex in city of LA and plan to do a full remodel but it will mostly be cosmetic. I assumed that the cosmetic work (new cabinets, new flooring, new windows where needed, etc) would not require permits but apparently there's a permit required for nearly EVERYTHING--even installing new kitchen cabinets and changing out some hardware. There's a PDF called "Common Permits" by Los Angeles Housing + Community Investment Department that lists all the permits required. It is so ridiculously excessive. I'm not sure how many people actually follow through with getting all these permits. I plan to pull permits for installing HVAC which I've told is hard to hide because the city will see the condensors outside the house--but permits for just changing out some cabinets and hardware. 

Since I plan to rent out both units, I have to register the rental units with the city of LA, and I'm sure they will inspect from time to time. Does anyone know if the inspectors generally will question if units are completely renovated and cross reference that with prior listings/photos online? What's the likelihood that the city will catch and fine you for cosmetic interior renovation work?