Owners of multifamily residential buildings in select California cities who are required to complete seismic soft-story retrofits may be eligible for grant funding through a new state program opening for registration this summer.
The California Residential Mitigation Program, a joint powers authority created by the California Earthquake Authority and the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, will open the registration window for its Earthquake Multi-Unit Retrofit grant program on Aug. 19, with applications accepted through Sept. 30, 2026.
Eligible building owners can receive grants of up to $49,600 to offset the cost of completing a soft-story seismic retrofit, including up to $7,000 toward building permits and engineered plans, and up to $4,260 per unit toward retrofit construction costs. Grants cover up to 70% of eligible expenses.
What is a soft-story building?
A soft-story building is a multi-story, wood-framed structure with a weak or open ground floor, typically one with tuck-under parking or a large garage opening beneath the living units above. These ground-floor configurations lack the bracing needed to resist earthquake forces, making the building vulnerable to collapse during a major seismic event. California has more than 15,000 known faults, and seismologists place the probability of one or more earthquakes of magnitude 6.7 or greater striking the state at more than 99%.
Who qualifies?
To qualify, a building must be multi-story, wood-framed, and built before 1991; contain between five and 10 units; have tuck-under parking on the ground floor; and be in a city with a mandatory soft-story retrofit ordinance.
Eligible cities currently include:
Northern California: Albany, Berkeley, Mill Valley, Oakland, San Francisco and San Jose.
Southern California: Beverly Hills, Burbank, Culver City, Los Angeles, Pasadena, Santa Monica, Torrance and West Hollywood.
Owners in these cities are already subject to mandatory retrofit requirements. The EMR program offers a meaningful opportunity to access grant funds and reduce the out-of-pocket cost of work that is already required by law.
