What changes a remodel in Burbank.
38.4 percent of Burbank homes were built in the 1940s and 1950s
Burbank has 46,243 homes, according to the Census Bureau's five-year survey ending in 2024. Of those, 10,167 were built in the 1940s and 7,589 in the 1950s, and the median year built is 1959. Those houses were wired long before anyone planned for heat pumps, EV chargers or induction ranges. Before adding any of them, have an electrician check whether the existing panel and service can carry the load.
In Burbank's fire zone, the fire department requires 200 feet of clearance
Properties in Burbank's Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone get a letter from the Burbank Fire Department each May, must finish brush clearance by the end of June, and are inspected starting in July. Within 100 feet of a structure, owners must keep weeds under 3 inches, keep vegetation within 10 feet of the house maintained and hold 5 feet of clearance between the roof and overhanging trees. From 100 to 200 feet, native brush has to be cut back by half. The state fire marshal updated the zone map on March 24, 2025, and the department inspects every property in the zone, even one with no brush on it.
Source: Burbank Fire Department, Fire Hazard Reduction Program
Burbank banned wood shake roofs citywide, even under newer shingles
Burbank adopted its wood roof removal ordinance in 1992. Ordinance 3296 ordered exposed wood shake and shingle roofs in the fire zone removed by 2005, and wood roofing everywhere else in the city removed by 2012, including wood hidden under layers of composition shingles. After an extension, the final deadline for those covered roofs was August 14, 2020. If a reroof bid assumes a layover on an older house, ask what is underneath first, because any wood left there has to come off down to the deck.
Source: City of Burbank, Wildfire Resistance and Home Retrofitting
What a remodel costs in Burbank in 2026.
$1,089,100
Burbank does not publish permit valuations, so the local cost picture comes from the houses and the trades. The median owner-occupied home here was valued at $1,089,100 in the Census Bureau's 2020 to 2024 survey, and owners occupy 43.3 percent of homes. With so many roofs dating from the postwar building boom, reroofing is a recurring bill: the 2023 American Housing Survey pegged the median roofing job in Los Angeles and Orange counties at $14,290.
Postwar wiring makes electrical work a common line item here, and local labor rates show it. Metro electricians earned a median of $35.49 an hour in May 2025, compared with $30.38 nationally. Owners of small apartment buildings on the city's soft-story list have another number to watch: the state's Earthquake Multi-Unit Retrofit grant pays up to $49,600 per building for 5 to 10 unit buildings, covering up to 70 percent of eligible costs.
| Figure | Value | What it measures |
|---|---|---|
| Median home value | $1,089,100 | Owner-occupied homes in Burbank, Census ACS 2020-2024 (Census ACS 2020-2024, Median Value, Burbank) |
| Homes built 1940 to 1959 | 17,756 | Share of all homes: 38.4 percent of 46,243 (ACS 2020-2024), with 1959 as the median year built (Census ACS 2020-2024, Year Structure Built, Burbank) |
| Median roofing project, LA metro | $14,290 | Median roofing job reported by homeowners in Los Angeles and Orange counties for the two years ahead of the 2023 survey (Census American Housing Survey 2023, Table 16) |
| Median electrician wage | $35.49 an hour | Electricians in the LA-Long Beach-Anaheim area, May 2025; nationwide median $30.38 (BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025) |
| Soft-story retrofit grant per building | Up to $49,600 | Earthquake Multi-Unit Retrofit grant for 5 to 10 unit Burbank buildings under the soft-story ordinance, up to 70 percent of eligible costs; registration August 19 to September 30, 2026 (City of Burbank, Soft-Story Seismic Retrofit) |
Who issues permits in Burbank.
In Burbank, the city's Building and Safety Division handles permits from the Community Services Building at 150 North Third Street. The city sorts permits into two tiers: Tier 1 covers repair and maintenance work with no plan check, and Tier 2 covers additions, alterations, new homes and ADUs that need plan check or zoning approval.
- City of Burbank Community Development Department, Building and Safety Division
Building, electrical, plumbing, mechanical, reroof, solar, seismic retrofit and ADU permits inside Burbank city limits
- Some Tier 1 permits for single-family homes can be pulled online through the Burbank Online Permits portal, including reroofing, water heaters, HVAC changeouts, electrical panelboards, re-piping, sewer repair, instant residential solar and residential seismic retrofit.
- The city's list of work exempt from a building permit includes one-story sheds of 120 square feet or less, fences up to 7 feet, retaining walls up to 4 feet, and painting, tiling, carpeting, cabinets and countertops.
- Burbank adopted the 2025 California Building Code with local amendments, in effect since January 1, 2026. Applications filed from that date are reviewed under the new code.
- A local amendment, BMC 9-1-2-706A.2, requires gable end and dormer vents to sit at least 10 feet from property lines.
- A detached one-bedroom or studio ADU can be 850 square feet; a larger one must have at least two bedrooms and cannot exceed 1,000. New detached ADUs are capped at 17 feet, and side and rear setbacks are 4 feet.
- In the Mountain Fire Zone, an ADU is limited to 800 square feet and a lot can have only one ADU or junior ADU. In the R-1-H horse keeping zone, an ADU can only be made by converting a permitted garage, guest house or space inside the main house.
- Burbank's Preapproved ADU Program aims to cut permit issuance to 30 days using plans the city has already reviewed, and the city also accepts 12 plans from the Los Angeles pre-approved ADU program.
What Burbank homeowners plan most.
Roofing
Reroof permits can be pulled online, but any old wood shakes under the current shingles must come off under Burbank's ordinance. Our roofing guide was written for Los Angeles; in Burbank the permit comes from the city's Building and Safety Division.
Kitchen remodel
In a 1940s or 1950s house, a new kitchen often means a new electrical panel too, and panel work is a Tier 1 permit that can be filed online.
Bathroom remodel
Tile, cabinets and countertops alone need no building permit here, but re-piping and new fixtures do.
Landscaping and brush clearance
In the fire zone, landscaping has to fit the 100 foot and 200 foot clearance rules the fire department inspects each July.
ADU or garage conversion
A detached studio or one-bedroom ADU can be 850 square feet, but only 800 in the Mountain Fire Zone, and horse keeping lots are limited to conversions.
Window replacement
Burbank's home hardening advice for fire areas calls for dual-pane windows with at least one tempered pane.
Before you start.
How much does a remodel cost in Burbank?
Burbank does not publish permit valuations, but regional survey data helps. As a regional benchmark, owners in Los Angeles and Orange counties reported a median roofing job of $14,290 to the 2023 American Housing Survey. Labor runs above national levels: metro electricians earned a median of $35.49 an hour in May 2025, against $30.38 nationally. The median Burbank home is valued at $1,089,100.
Can I put a new roof over wood shakes in Burbank?
No. Burbank's wood roof removal ordinance required all wood shakes and shingles in the city to come off, including those covered by composition shingles, with a final deadline of August 14, 2020. A reroof on an older house should strip any remaining wood roofing to the deck. Reroof permits for single-family homes can be filed through the Burbank Online Permits portal.
What permits can I get online in Burbank?
Many Tier 1 permits for single-family homes, which need no plan check. The city lists reroofing, water heaters, HVAC changeouts, electrical panelboards and outlets, re-piping, sewer repair, re-stucco, instant residential solar and residential seismic retrofit. Tier 2 work, such as additions, alterations and ADUs, needs plan check and zoning approval before a permit is issued.
How big can an ADU be in Burbank?
A detached studio or one-bedroom ADU can be 850 square feet. Anything larger needs at least two bedrooms and cannot exceed 1,000 square feet. New detached ADUs are limited to 17 feet high with 4 foot side and rear setbacks. In the Mountain Fire Zone the cap is 800 square feet, with only one ADU or junior ADU per lot.
What brush clearance does Burbank require in the fire zone?
Properties in the Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone need 200 feet of clearance. Within 100 feet, weeds stay under 3 inches, dead trees go, and roofs need 5 feet of clearance from overhanging branches. From 100 to 200 feet, native brush is cut back by half. Letters go out in May, work is due by June, and inspections start in July.
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Sources
- Census ACS 2020-2024, Year Structure Built, Burbank
- Burbank Fire Department, Fire Hazard Reduction Program
- City of Burbank, Wildfire Resistance and Home Retrofitting
- Census ACS 2020-2024, Median Value, Burbank
- Census American Housing Survey 2023, Table 16
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
- City of Burbank, Soft-Story Seismic Retrofit
- City of Burbank, Building Permits
- City of Burbank, Work Exempt from Building Permit
- City of Burbank, Building and Safety
- City of Burbank, ADU FAQ
- City of Burbank, Preapproved ADU Program
- BLS OEWS May 2025, national electricians