What changes a remodel in Glendale.
One in five Glendale homes was built before 1940
Glendale's housing stock numbers 77,783 units in the latest five-year Census data, covering 2020 to 2024, and 15,472 of them, or 19.9 percent, were built in 1939 or earlier, and half the stock is older than 1966. Houses of that age that sit on a raised wood floor are the usual candidates for seismic bolting and bracing, and Glendale runs an express permit just for that work. The city issued 60 of those express permits in 2025.
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024, Year Structure Built, Glendale
Glendale adopted new state fire hazard zone maps in 2025
On March 24, 2025, the state fire marshal released updated Fire Hazard Severity Zone maps for Glendale, now sorted into Moderate, High and Very High. Because Glendale is a Local Responsibility Area, the city itself reviews and adopts the maps. Properties in a Very High zone must keep 100 feet of defensible space and face annual inspections, and new construction must meet the state's wildland building code. If any corner of a parcel falls in the Very High zone, the whole parcel is treated as Very High.
Source: Glendale Fire Department, Fire Hazard Severity Zones
Nine Glendale historic districts send exterior work to a preservation commission
Glendale has nine designated historic districts: Ard Eevin Highlands, Brockmont Park, Casa Verdugo, Cottage Grove, Niodrara Drive, North Cumberland Heights, Rossmoyne, Royal Boulevard and South Cumberland Heights. When an owner in a district applies to do work on a house, the Historic Preservation Commission reviews it instead of the Design Review Board. Separately, more than 100 properties are on the Glendale Register of Historic Resources, where alterations, repairs and demolitions need city approval and owners can apply for Mills Act tax savings.
What a remodel costs in Glendale in 2026.
$150,000
Glendale posts every permit it issues in monthly reports, and the 2025 reports show what owners declared. Single-family ADU permits had a median of $95,000 across 251: new ADUs came to $150,000 across 83, and conversions of garages and existing space to $70,000 across 145. Additions to houses had a median of $85,000 across 107, and single-family alterations $20,000 across 158. The city issued 1,206 re-roof permits with a median of $10,000. These are declared values on the application, not final prices.
The houses carry a median value of $1,102,300, according to the Census Bureau. For comparison, the 2023 American Housing Survey found that hired-out heating and cooling projects across the Los Angeles metro had a median of $8,000. Plumbing is a good gauge of local labor, since every new ADU needs its own kitchen and bathroom lines: metro plumbers earned a median of $34.19 an hour in May 2025, against $30.67 nationally.
| Figure | Value | What it measures |
|---|---|---|
| Median value declared on a new ADU | $150,000 | Glendale single-family ADU permits issued in 2025 for new construction, n=83, declared at application rather than a contract price; all 251 ADU permits had a median of $95,000 (City of Glendale, Monthly Building Permit Reports, 2025) |
| Median value declared on an ADU conversion | $70,000 | ADU permits in 2025 whose description mentions converting a garage or existing space, n=145 (City of Glendale, Monthly Building Permit Reports, 2025) |
| Median value declared on a re-roof permit | $10,000 | Regular and express re-roof permits issued in Glendale in 2025, n=1,206; window and door changeouts had a median of $6,500 across 218 (City of Glendale, Monthly Building Permit Reports, 2025) |
| Median home value | $1,102,300 | Owner-occupied homes in Glendale, Census ACS 2020-2024 (Census ACS 2020-2024, Median Value, Glendale) |
| Median hired-out HVAC project | $8,000 | Heating and cooling jobs done by contractors in Los Angeles and Orange counties, as reported in the 2023 survey (Census American Housing Survey 2023, Table 16) |
| Median plumber wage | $34.19 an hour | Plumbers, pipefitters and steamfitters in the LA and Orange County labor market, May 2025; U.S. figure $30.67 (BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025) |
Who issues permits in Glendale.
Glendale runs its own Building and Safety Division, and applications, payments and inspection requests go through the city's online Glendale Permits portal. The Permit Services Center answers questions at (818) 548-3200. The city asks owners to consult its Planning staff before drawing an ADU, and it adopted a new citywide fee schedule on June 23, 2026.
- City of Glendale Community Development Department, Building and Safety Division
Building, express, reroof, window, electrical, plumbing, mechanical, solar and ADU permits, plus design and historic review, inside Glendale city limits
- Glendale offers express permits for simple jobs, including a kitchen and bath remodel that replaces fixtures in the same place without moving walls, a re-roof, and single-family seismic bolt and brace work.
- Window and door changeouts on a house have their own permit type. The city issued 219 of them in 2025.
- A single-family lot can add one junior ADU of up to 500 square feet inside the house and one ADU of up to 1,000 square feet. An attached ADU over 800 square feet cannot exceed half of the main house's floor area.
- An ADU of 800 square feet or less needs a 4 foot setback from interior lot lines. Detached ADUs are capped at 16 feet, or 18 feet near a major transit stop, and attached ADUs at 25 feet.
- ADUs under 750 square feet do not pay the city's development impact fee. Rooftop decks on ADUs are not allowed, and ADUs over 850 square feet need a second bedroom.
- On a historic property, exterior changes to create an ADU cannot be visible from the street unless that would prevent the ADU. The city also advises checking with Glendale Water and Power for easements before siting one.
- The Demolition Review Ordinance covers demolitions of properties over 30 years old that are not part of a development project, and lets the city decide whether more review is needed first.
What Glendale homeowners plan most.
Roofing
Of Glendale's 1,206 re-roof permits in 2025, 620 were express permits; the median declared value was $10,000.
Kitchen remodel
A like-for-like kitchen or bath remodel that leaves walls in place can go through Glendale's express kitchen and bath permit.
Window replacement
The city issued 219 window and door changeout permits for houses in 2025, and the 218 that declared a value had a median of $6,500. In a historic district, new windows go to the Historic Preservation Commission.
Seismic bolting and foundation work
Bolting a raised-floor house to its foundation has its own express permit in Glendale, and the city issued 60 of them in 2025.
ADU or garage conversion
Glendale issued 251 single-family ADU permits in 2025, and conversions had a median declared value of $70,000. Our ADU guide was written for Los Angeles; in Glendale the permit comes from the city's own Building and Safety Division.
Bathroom remodel
Kitchen and bath remodel permits that declared a value had a median of $16,000 across 40 in 2025.
Before you start.
How much does it cost to build an ADU in Glendale?
Glendale's 2025 permit reports show a median declared value of $150,000 across 83 new ADU permits on single-family lots, and $70,000 across 145 conversions of garages or existing space. Those are the values on the applications, not final prices. ADUs under 750 square feet skip the city's development impact fee, and metro plumbers earned $34.19 an hour in May 2025.
Is my Glendale house in a historic district?
Glendale has nine designated districts: Ard Eevin Highlands, Brockmont Park, Casa Verdugo, Cottage Grove, Niodrara Drive, North Cumberland Heights, Rossmoyne, Royal Boulevard and South Cumberland Heights, with Cleveland Knoll pending. In a district, the Historic Preservation Commission reviews your project instead of the Design Review Board. The city's Historic Preservation Planner answers questions at (818) 548-2140.
Do I need a permit to replace my roof in Glendale?
Yes. Re-roofing needs a permit in Glendale, and 620 of last year's were express permits filed through the Glendale Permits portal. The city issued 1,206 re-roof permits in 2025 with a median declared value of $10,000. In a Very High fire hazard zone, a new roof also has to meet the state's wildland building code for fire resistance.
How big can an ADU be in Glendale?
Up to 1,000 square feet, with a junior ADU of up to 500 square feet inside the house as well. An attached ADU over 800 square feet cannot exceed half the house's floor area, and units over 850 square feet need a second bedroom. Detached ADUs are capped at 16 feet, or 18 feet near a major transit stop.
Is my Glendale property in a fire hazard zone?
Check the state fire marshal's map. Glendale received updated maps on March 24, 2025, with Moderate, High and Very High zones. A parcel with any corner in the Very High zone is treated as Very High, which means 100 feet of defensible space, annual inspections and fire resistant construction for new work. Sellers must disclose the designation.
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Sources
- Census ACS 2020-2024, Year Structure Built, Glendale
- Glendale Fire Department, Fire Hazard Severity Zones
- City of Glendale, Historic Districts
- City of Glendale, Monthly Building Permit Reports, 2025
- Census ACS 2020-2024, Median Value, Glendale
- Census American Housing Survey 2023, Table 16
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
- City of Glendale, Historic Preservation
- City of Glendale, Getting a Permit
- City of Glendale, Permit Guidance
- City of Glendale, Accessory Dwelling Units
- BLS OEWS May 2025, national plumbers