What it is
The 9A is a report issued by the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety summarizing what the city's records say about your property: zoning, permitted use, occupancy, and any outstanding orders or code enforcement.
It is a records report, not an inspection. Nobody walks the house. It tells a buyer what the city believes the property is.
Where it applies
City of Los Angeles only. Homes in Burbank, Glendale, Calabasas, Santa Clarita, Hidden Hills, and unincorporated LA County are not subject to the 9A — though several of those cities have their own report or inspection requirement, so never assume.
Much of the San Fernando Valley is inside city limits, including Van Nuys, Reseda, Encino, Northridge, Sylmar, Pacoima, and Sherman Oaks.
What it costs and how long it takes
The fee typically runs in the range of roughly $70 to $90, and reports are commonly available within a couple of weeks. Escrow usually orders it, but confirm early — waiting on a 9A at the end of a 30-day escrow is a preventable delay.
The part that catches people
The 9A frequently reveals a discrepancy between what's built and what's permitted: a converted garage, an enclosed patio, a bedroom that the city records as something else, or an older ADU with no final sign-off.
That doesn't kill your sale. It means you disclose it, keep it out of your permitted square footage, and price it honestly. What kills sales is a buyer discovering it on their own after you marketed the space as permitted.
Related city obligations
Depending on the building, you may also face seismic retrofit requirements — soft-story ordinance for certain multi-family buildings — and the state's low-flow water fixture retrofit. Both are cheaper to resolve before listing than during a repair negotiation.
Questions about your own sale?
Twenty years selling across the San Fernando Valley. Happy to walk through your situation, no pressure.