Santa Monica Building Permits Guide for Homeowners and Sellers

Last updated November 13, 2026. Reviewed by the Cash Home Buyers CA team. Information comes from the City of Santa Monica; sources are listed at the end.

Building permits for homes inside the City of Santa Monica come from the Building and Safety Division, with permit issuance and records handled at the city’s Permit Services Center. The city also publishes an Active Building Permits map, which can help you see what permits are open.

Santa Monica building permits at a glance

Who issues building permits in Santa Monica?

Inside Santa Monica city limits, the Building and Safety Division issues permits. Homes in neighboring cities or unincorporated areas are permitted by those agencies, so confirm the jurisdiction first.

How do I get a building permit in Santa Monica?

The city’s Building Permits and Plan Review page explains submittal requirements, and the Building Permit Application Types page helps you pick the right application. Minor single-trade work uses a simpler application than larger projects.

1. Confirm the jurisdiction and zoning of the lot.
2. Choose the application type that matches the project.
3. Schedule inspections as the work proceeds.
4. Make sure the permit is finaled after the last inspection.

How do I check the permit history on a Santa Monica house?

Use the city’s Active Building Permits map to see open permits near an address, and ask the Permit Services Center what Building and Safety records exist. Look for permits opened and never finalized, work you know was done that has no permit, and permits with a completed final inspection. A permit without a final is an open permit, and it is the one buyers and their lenders ask about.

What happens to permit problems when you sell a Santa Monica house?

In California, sellers generally have to disclose known problems on the transfer disclosure statement, including work known to have been done without a permit. On a traditional listing the usual choices are to finish the open permit, apply after the fact, cut the price, or let the buyer take on the problem. If the house has been cited, see our Santa Monica code enforcement guide.

How to sell a house in Santa Monica with unpermitted work or open permits

1. Check the active permits map and ask the Permit Services Center what the city shows.
2. Write down what you know: who did the work, when, and whether you have receipts or plans.
3. Compare your options: fix it, sell with a price credit, or sell as-is to a cash buyer who prices the risk in.
4. Disclose honestly. A cash offer removes the repair and inspection steps that cause delays.

We buy Santa Monica houses as they are. See how we buy houses in Santa Monica, our cash home buyer page, and the Los Angeles County property tax guide.

Not sure what your permit history means for a sale? Call (424) 435-2326 or request a cash offer. There is no cost and no obligation.

Picking the right application

Santa Monica’s Building Permit Application Types page helps owners choose between a full plan-review application and a single-trade application, which the city lists for minor projects such as door and window replacement, fences and walls.

Knowing which application a past project used helps you read the permit record: a single-trade permit is a lighter process and may not show up the way a full remodel does.

The Permit Services Center handles permit issuance and the Building and Safety records for the city, and inspectors can be reached at (310) 458-2201 plus an extension.

Reading the Active Building Permits map

The city’s Active Building Permits interactive map shows permits that are open near an address. Use it to check whether your property or an adjacent one has an open permit, and to see how long permits sit open in your area.

An open permit on your own parcel is something to resolve or disclose before you accept an offer, because the buyer’s agent can look at the same map.

Coastal and historic considerations

For parcels in the Coastal Zone, the city’s ADU materials note that a Coastal Development Permit or waiver may also be required through the California Coastal Commission, and properties identified on the California Register of Historical Resources may have additional standards. If your home is in either category, ask Planning whether a past project needed an approval beyond the building permit.

Finals, certificates and closing

A permit is not finished until the final inspection is signed off. If a past owner remodeled a kitchen, added a bathroom or converted a garage and never finaled the permit, the record will show an open permit.

Ask the Permit Services Center what the next step would be to close it. If closing it is not practical before you sell, the other routes are a price credit or an as-is sale to a cash buyer.

Our California guide to selling as-is with unpermitted work explains how disclosure applies, and the Santa Monica zoning and ADU guide covers the city’s ADU standards.

A pre-listing permit review for Santa Monica sellers

Before you list, spend an hour on the permit record. Search your address on the city’s permit tools and the Active Building Permits map. For each entry, note the type of work, the date, and whether it was finaled.

Then walk the house and list anything that looks newer than the record: a finished attic, a bathroom that has been moved, a patio cover, a converted garage. Each gap is something a buyer’s inspector or lender may ask about.

How to handle gaps

If you find an open permit, call Permit Services and ask what is needed to finish it. If you find work with no permit, ask whether it can be permitted now and what inspection would involve, including whether walls or ceilings would need to be opened.

Get the answer before you decide, because the cost of legalizing is sometimes larger than expected. If you do not want to take on that project, you can disclose and adjust the price, or sell as-is to a cash buyer who will take on the work.

Keep everything you collect in one folder: the permit list, any photos, the names of the staff you spoke with. It helps in a traditional sale and in an as-is sale, and it makes the disclosure conversation simpler.

Santa Monica building permits FAQ

Can I sell a house in Santa Monica with an open permit?

Yes. An open permit does not legally stop a sale, but it can slow a traditional one because buyers and lenders ask for it to be finalized. A cash buyer can purchase the house with the permit still open.

Where can I see active building permits in Santa Monica?

The city publishes an Active Building Permits interactive map on its website.

Do small projects need a full permit application in Santa Monica?

The city offers a single-trade building permit application for minor projects such as door and window replacement, fences and walls.

How do I sell a house in Santa Monica with unpermitted additions?

Disclose the work, then choose between permitting it, discounting the price, or selling as-is to a cash buyer who accounts for the risk in the offer.

What is a single-trade permit in Santa Monica?

The city lists a single-trade application for minor projects such as door and window replacement, fences and walls.

Can I see open permits near my Santa Monica address?

Yes. The city’s Active Building Permits interactive map shows open permits.

Sources

• City of Santa Monica: Building Permits and Plan Review
• City of Santa Monica: Permit Services Center
• City of Santa Monica: Building Permit Application Types
• City of Santa Monica: Active Building Permits
• City of Santa Monica: Building and Safety Inspection Team

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Confirm requirements with the City of Santa Monica.