In a high or very high fire zone, a seller owes defensible space papers or a signed buyer agreement.
A house built before 2010 also needs a fire hardening notice (Cal. Civ. Code § 1102.6f). Berkeley and Oakland both widened their zones in 2025.
This is general information, not legal advice. State rules vary.
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Selling a house in a fire hazard severity zone in the Bay Area adds a short stack of paperwork to a California sale. The rules come from state law. The maps and inspections are local, so the details shift from one city to the next.
This guide covers what a seller owes the buyer, who issues the inspection, and what happens when a house does not pass. Insurance questions live in our guide to the California FAIR Plan and selling. This page stays with the documents.
What does a Bay Area seller in a fire hazard severity zone owe the buyer?
A seller whose house sits in a high or very high fire hazard severity zone can owe the buyer up to four items. They are the zone disclosure, defensible space documentation or a signed buyer agreement, a hardening notice for older houses, and any final inspection report the seller holds.
Each item comes from a different statute with its own trigger. The table puts them side by side.
| Document | Statute | Who provides it | When it applies |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zone status on the Natural Hazard Disclosure Statement | Cal. Civ. Code § 1103.2; Gov. Code § 51183.5 | Seller (with the seller's agent or a third-party consultant) | House in a high or very high zone |
| Defensible space compliance documentation, plus the agency that keeps a copy | Cal. Civ. Code § 1102.19(a) | Seller, from the local inspecting agency | High or very high zone, on and after July 1, 2021 |
| Written agreement that the buyer will obtain the documentation | Cal. Civ. Code § 1102.19(b) | Seller and buyer together | The seller has no compliant documentation |
| Fire hardening disclosure notice | Cal. Civ. Code § 1102.6f(a) | Seller | High or very high zone, house built before January 1, 2010 |
| Final inspection report, or where to get a copy | Cal. Civ. Code § 1102.6f(b); Gov. Code § 51182 | Seller | The seller obtained one after building or rebuilding in a very high zone |
The Natural Hazard Disclosure Statement asks whether the house lies in a high or very high zone (Cal. Civ. Code § 1103.2). It also states that the owner is subject to the maintenance rules of Gov. Code § 51182. For a very high zone, Gov. Code § 51183.5 separately requires the seller to tell the buyer about the zone.
Calling a sale as-is does not remove these steps. California treats any waiver of the Civil Code disclosure article as void (Cal. Civ. Code § 1102).
How do you know if your Bay Area house is in a mapped zone?
The State Fire Marshal maps moderate, high, and very high zones, and each city then adopts them by ordinance. A city may add area or raise a zone's level, but it may not lower the state's designation (Gov. Code §§ 51178, 51179).
Under Gov. Code § 51179, a city adopts the zones within 120 days of receiving the state's recommendations. It also posts a notice at the county recorder, assessor, and planning offices saying where the map can be found. The state mapping rule bases zones on fuel loading, slope, fire weather, and wind.
Berkeley added hillside streets
Berkeley adopted the state map and then added more area. Its April 15, 2025 staff report said the city had to adopt the state map no later than June 24, 2025. That night, the council passed Ordinance No. 7,958-N.S. to print with nine ayes and no noes.
The ordinance text adds a very high zone around Panoramic Hill. Its edges include Canyon Road, Stadium Rim Way, Bancroft Way, Piedmont Avenue, and Dwight Way. It also adds a high zone west of the state's very high zone, bounded by streets such as Arlington Avenue, Spruce Street, Gayley Road, and Tunnel Road. Houses addressed on, or fronting, those road segments are inside the zone.
Oakland widened its very high zone
Oakland went further than the state's draft. The city says CAL FIRE's 2024 maps would have made its very high zone smaller. Instead, the council extended that zone across the whole Wildland-Urban Interface Fire Area in Ordinance 13851 on June 17, 2025. Our Oakland cash sale page covers the rest of selling there.
Other Bay Area cities
In San Jose, San Mateo County, Contra Costa County, and other Alameda County cities, the city's own adopted map is the source. The disclosure form has a separate box for a very high zone in a local responsibility area, so the city map is the one that counts on that line.
How does the AB 38 defensible space inspection work in a sale?
Under AB 38, the seller hands the buyer documentation that the house complies with defensible space rules, plus the name of the agency that keeps a copy (Cal. Civ. Code § 1102.19). The rule has applied to sales since July 1, 2021.
Which document counts depends on local law:
- A city with an ordinance: where a local ordinance requires owners to get compliance documentation, the seller gives the buyer the document that ordinance calls for.
- A city without one: where an agency or qualified nonprofit offers inspections, the seller gives documentation obtained in the six months before entering into the sale.
Berkeley: the fire department's WUI Division
In Berkeley, the fire department's Wildland Urban Interface Division runs the inspections. The city says inspections are required in the Grizzly Peak and Panoramic mitigation areas and for other residents of the very high zone. Reports sit in the Fire Aside portal, visible only to the resident and the department unless access is shared.
A September 2025 city report says Berkeley narrowed its inspection area from over 9,000 parcels to just under 1,400. Berkeley also says high zone residents in the lower hills have no defensible space requirements or annual inspections. A seller there may hold no inspection document at all.
Oakland: the Vegetation Management Unit
Oakland's Vegetation Management Unit inspects around 26,000 parcels in the Wildland-Urban Interface Fire Area each year (City of Oakland, 2026). Results post to the city's Accela Citizen Access site. The city set the 2026 inspection season to begin in June 2026.
| City | 2025 zone change | Who inspects | Where records live |
|---|---|---|---|
| Berkeley | Ordinance No. 7,958-N.S. adds a very high zone at Panoramic Hill and a high zone in the lower hills | Berkeley Fire, Wildland Urban Interface Division | Fire Aside portal |
| Oakland | Ordinance 13851 extends the very high zone across the whole WUI Fire Area | Oakland Fire, Vegetation Management Unit | Accela Citizen Access |
What happens if the house does not pass?
A house without passing documentation can still sell. The seller and buyer sign a written agreement in which the buyer agrees to obtain the documentation instead (Cal. Civ. Code § 1102.19(b)).
"... the seller and the buyer shall enter into a written agreement pursuant to which the buyer agrees to obtain documentation of compliance with Section 4291 of the Public Resources Code or a local vegetation management ordinance ..."
Civ. Code 1102.19(b), the California AB 38 sale rule
What the buyer does next depends on the city. Where an ordinance applies, the buyer complies with it. Where there is no ordinance but an agency offers inspections, the buyer obtains documentation within one year of the close of escrow.
The agreement does not pause local enforcement. The statute says it does not limit an agency's power to enforce defensible space rules (§ 1102.19(c)). In Oakland, an owner whose parcel fails has 45 days to send photo proof of the fixes. After that, a reinspection carries a fee, and a third inspection may follow 14 days later.
What is the fire hardening notice for older houses?
For a house in a high or very high zone built before January 1, 2010, the seller gives the buyer a fire hardening notice (Cal. Civ. Code § 1102.6f). It asks what the seller knows and what was done. The section orders no retrofit work.
The notice has three parts:
- A set statement that the house was built before the wildfire building codes, with a pointer to fire hardening information.
- On or after July 1, 2025, the state's list of low-cost retrofits (Gov. Code § 51189), marked with the ones completed during the seller's ownership.
- Which of six vulnerable features the seller knows exist on the house.
The six features are listed in the statute:
- Vents with openings over one-eighth of an inch, or vents that are not flame and ember resistant
- Untreated wood shingle or shake roofs
- Combustible landscaping or materials within five feet of the house and under an attached deck
- Single pane or nontempered glass windows
- Loose or missing bird stopping or roof flashing
- Rain gutters without metal or noncombustible covers
Zone 0 rules come from a related law. Gov. Code § 51182, amended by AB 1455 effective October 13, 2025, calls for an ember-resistant zone within five feet of a structure in a very high zone. An attached deck counts as part of the structure.
Berkeley already applies a version of this locally. The city says Grizzly Peak and Panoramic residents must remove all vegetation and other combustible materials within the first five feet of their houses.
Which Bay Area sales skip the AB 38 forms?
Some transfers fall outside the Civil Code article that holds §§ 1102.19 and 1102.6f. The exempt list includes court-ordered sales, foreclosure sales, and sales by a fiduciary administering an estate or trust (Cal. Civ. Code § 1102.2).
The trust exemption has a limit. It does not cover a trustee of a revocable trust who is a former owner, or who lived in the house within the past year. Heirs in Santa Clara County can read more in our guide to selling an inherited house in San Jose.
Other duties, such as the zone question on the Natural Hazard Disclosure Statement, come from separate sections. An estate's attorney can confirm which ones still apply to a given sale.
How can an as-is cash sale handle fire hazard severity zone paperwork?
An as-is cash sale follows the same steps, and the buyer can take on the documentation through a written § 1102.19(b) agreement. The seller still delivers the disclosures, but the vegetation work does not have to finish before closing.
A typical sequence for a seller looks like this:
- Look up the address on the city's adopted fire hazard map.
- Gather any inspection report from the past six months, or the document the local ordinance requires.
- Complete the Natural Hazard Disclosure Statement and, for a pre-2010 house, the § 1102.6f notice.
- If no passing document exists, sign the written agreement for the buyer to obtain one.
Berkeley sellers who harden a house first may qualify for a city transfer tax rebate. The city requires a sale price under $3,000,000, a Class A roof, and a passed defensible space inspection. Berkeley's typical house value was $1,442,475 (Zillow ZHVI, September 2026). Our Bay Area transfer tax guide covers the tax itself.
For the region's other selling costs and timelines, our Bay Area cash sale page covers the cities outside San Francisco and Oakland.
How can Propcash help a Bay Area seller in a fire zone?
Propcash is a direct cash homebuyer, and we can make you a cash offer on your house as-is.
That means no repairs, no cleaning, and no showings before the sale. Our offers are based on local market data, and we'll show you how we got to our number. You pick the closing date, and escrow can close in as few as 7 days through a California title or escrow company.
A cash offer is one option to compare with listing after hardening work. If a cash sale is not your best move, we will tell you. When you want to see the number, you can request a no-obligation cash offer.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a house in a moderate fire hazard severity zone need AB 38 paperwork?
The AB 38 documentation rule in Cal. Civ. Code § 1102.19 covers houses in high or very high fire hazard severity zones, and the moderate zone is not named. The fire hardening notice in § 1102.6f has the same high or very high trigger. A seller in a moderate zone still completes every other disclosure the sale calls for.
Can the buyer and seller agree to skip the defensible space documentation?
California treats any waiver of these Civil Code disclosure requirements as void (Cal. Civ. Code § 1102). When the seller has no compliant documentation, the alternative the law gives is a written agreement for the buyer to obtain it (§ 1102.19(b)). That agreement moves the task to the buyer rather than removing it.
How recent does a defensible space inspection have to be for a sale?
Where a city has no ordinance but an agency offers inspections, the seller provides documentation obtained in the six months before entering into the sale (Cal. Civ. Code § 1102.19(a)(2)). Where a local ordinance applies, the document has to meet that ordinance's own rules. The local agency that inspects can say whether an older report still counts.
Does the fire hardening notice mean the seller has to make repairs?
The fire hardening notice in Cal. Civ. Code § 1102.6f is a disclosure. It lists vulnerable features and low-cost retrofits, then asks which features the seller knows exist and which retrofits were completed. The section itself orders no retrofit work, so any repairs are a matter for the buyer and seller to settle in the purchase contract.
Where can an Oakland seller look up past wildfire inspection records?
Oakland keeps its vegetation inspection records on the city's Accela Citizen Access site, under the Fire search. The city says no account or login is needed to look up a parcel's scheduled inspection. The Vegetation Management Unit also answers questions at wildfireprevention@oaklandca.gov.
Does a Berkeley house in the lower-hills high zone get an annual inspection?
Berkeley says residents of its high fire hazard severity zone, generally the lower hillside areas, do not have defensible space requirements or annual inspections. The city encourages them to self-inspect and follow its recommendations. A seller there who holds no inspection document may use the written buyer agreement in Cal. Civ. Code § 1102.19(b).
Data Sources: California Civil Code and Government Code (read from the Legislature's official text), City of Berkeley, City of Oakland, Zillow Research. Propcash is a direct cash homebuyer, not a law firm. Sellers can consult a California-licensed real estate attorney for advice on a specific sale.
Reviewed by the Propcash Editorial Team under our editorial standards. Published by Propcash, a direct cash buyer of houses. This guide is general information. Laws, fees, and market figures change, so check the current rules for your state.
