San Francisco's new fire-code law requires automatic sprinklers in 126 pre-1975 high-rise condo buildings by 2035. Retrofitting will cost hundreds of thousands per owner, forcing HOA fees up by thousands monthly and further depressing an already weak condo market.
San Francisco just delivered soul-crushing news to thousands of homeowners across the city. 126 high-rise buildings constructed before 1975 will need to spend millions of dollars to comply with the fire code regulation requiring installation of automatic fire sprinklers in every single room of every single unit. Estimates suggest each condo owner in applicable buildings may have to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to rip out their walls and install new plumbing and sprinkler systems to comply. The deadline to get permits for the installation is January of 2027, and the deadline to complete the work is 2035. They're giving people that much time because of how insanely expensive the project is going to be. To pay for the work, HOAs in buildings without adequate reserves, which will be most if not all of them given the magnitude of expense here, will be increased, potentially several thousand dollars a month, and that can render the cost of living untenable for numerous residents across the city who have been living in their condos for years. This is understandably causing panic among current homeowners and causing buyers looking in these types of buildings to pull back. Pricing is already somewhat depressed because of changes in the condo market following the onset of the pandemic, and in these buildings it's about get even worse. Let me know what you think of the new rule in the comments and follow me for more San Francisco real estate.
