This page uses three City of LA community plan areas: South Los Angeles, Southeast Los Angeles, and West Adams-Baldwin Hills-Leimert. Together they form the city's South Los Angeles planning area. Our Los Angeles area guide has the rules that apply in every part of the city.
Check who issues your permit
Some South LA ZIP codes mix city and county land. View Park-Windsor Hills, Athens-Westmont, Florence-Firestone and Willowbrook are unincorporated. Roof permits there go through LA County Public Works, not LADBS. The county's EPIC-LA case data has reroof permits at addresses in shared ZIPs such as 90043, 90044 and 90047. Confirm which agency covers your parcel before you look up records or apply.
Housing built before World War II
South LA has the oldest housing of any area in this guide. Census survey data (ACS 2024 5-year):
| ZIP | Median year built | Built 1939 or earlier |
|---|---|---|
| 90062 | 1938 | 60% |
| 90018 | 1943 | 47% |
| 90047 | 1946 | 38% |
| 90043 | 1947 | 39% |
| 90016 | 1949 | 32% |
| 90011 | 1955 | 38% |
| 90008 | 1955 | 19% |
| 90044 | 1957 | 28% |
On homes this old, a roof may have been redone several times, sometimes without permits. LADBS keeps permit records going back many decades. Our guide to looking up roof permit history explains how to search them.
Reroof permits by year
In the city's open permit data, we counted 10,033 permits from 2021 through October 2026 whose work description says "reroof," "re-roof" or "re roof":
- 2021: 1,381
- 2022: 1,687
- 2023: 2,064
- 2024: 1,910
- 2025: 1,471
- 2026 to October 31: 1,520
About 84% were for 1 or 2 family homes. The busiest city ZIPs were 90047 (1,124), 90043 (1,049), 90016 (1,042), 90044 (843), 90018 (829) and 90008 (818). These are city permits only; county permits in the same ZIPs are separate. Unpermitted work does not show up.
Almost no mapped fire zone
Unlike the hills to the north, South LA sits almost entirely outside the 2025 recommended fire hazard zones. When we placed each reroof permit on the map data, about 99% were in non-wildland areas. We found none in a Very High zone. A small number were in High (0.6%) or Moderate (0.3%) areas. This is our own map check. Confirm your parcel with the state viewer.
Climate zone 8 brings the state cool roof rule
About 95% of the permits we counted were in ZIPs the Energy Commission lists as Building Climate Zone 8. That includes 90047, 90043, 90016, 90044, 90018, 90008 and 90062. The 2025 state energy code covers steep-slope reroofs in Zones 4 and 8 through 15, so a pitched-roof reroof here that replaces more than half the roof has to meet cool roof values or use an allowed exception. See cool roofs in California.
Historic districts
City Planning's HPOZ list includes Adams-Normandie, Jefferson Park, West Adams Terrace and University Park. Its FAQ says most exterior changes in an HPOZ need written approval from the Planning Department, and it uses in-kind reroofing as an example. Talk to the HPOZ planner before you apply at LADBS.
Before signing a roofing contract, read our guide to contracts and down payments.
Sources
- City of Los Angeles Open Data: Building and Safety, Building Permits Issued from 2020 to Present (data through 2026-10-31)
- LA County Public Works, EPIC-LA Case History (open data layer)
- 2025 Recommended LRA Fire Hazard Severity Zones, LA County data layer (FHSZLRA25_Phase4_v1)
- Census Reporter, ACS 2024 5-year, Year Structure Built (B25034) by ZIP
- California Energy Commission, Building Climate Zones by ZIP Code
- Cool Roof Rating Council, Chart of 2025 CA Energy Code Cool Roof Requirements (2025-12-04)
- LA City Planning, Office of Historic Resources Info Brief: HPOZ FAQs
- LA City Planning, HPOZ Initial Screening Checklist
