The law
Under Civil Code section 1102.19 (created by Assembly Bill 38), a seller of a home in a High or Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone must provide the buyer with documentation that the property complies with defensible space requirements, or, if it does not, the buyer and seller must agree on who will bring it into compliance and by when.
The same law requires sellers to disclose the fire hazard zone designation and, for homes built before 2010, to disclose specific home-hardening features such as roof type, vents, and windows.
How it works in the City of San Diego
- Apply and pay. Submit the defensible space inspection application and the $118 fee through the city's customer portal.
- Scheduling. An inspector contacts you within 2 to 4 business days.
- Inspection. Typically 10 to 14 business days after the request, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Someone should be present.
- Result. A compliant property gets documentation for the file. A non-compliant property gets a list of corrections and a reinspection after the work is done.
Plan on three weeks from application to documentation if you pass the first time, longer if you do not. Requesting the inspection the week you list is the safe move.
What inspectors look at
- Zone 0 (0–5 ft): dead plants, leaves, needles, mulch, firewood, trash, and other combustibles against the house, under decks, and in gutters. Since 2026, Zone 0 is an explicit part of the city's standard.
- Zone 1 (5–30 ft): plants under 4 feet, fire resistant, no dead material, ladder fuels removed.
- Zone 2 (30–100 ft): brush thinned 50%, dead wood removed.
- Trees: branches 5 feet from walls, canopy 10 feet from roof.
- Address visibility from the street.
The full list is on the Zone 0 checklist and the defensible space guide.
Outside the city
In unincorporated county and other cities, the inspection is done by CAL FIRE, San Diego County Fire, or the local fire department or district, each with its own request process and fee. The state also allows documentation from a qualified third party in some cases. Ask your agent which agency covers the parcel; near city boundaries it is not always obvious.
Passing the first time
Most failed inspections come down to the same short list: a hedge under the front windows, bark mulch in the beds, a wood fence hitting the wall, and storage under the deck. All of it is fixable in a day or two. If you are listing in the next few months, get a quote now, have the work done before the inspection, and hand the buyer clean documentation instead of a negotiation.
For agents: a pre-listing Zone 0 pass is one of the cheapest ways to remove a contingency from a fire-zone sale. Crews can usually turn a suburban lot in one to two days.