In June 2015, in Berkeley, California, three men and three women were killed when the balcony they were standing on collapsed. Seven others were injured and, ultimately, a multi-million-dollar lawsuit ensued.

As a result, we now have **California State Senate Bill 721 **(details below). Though regardless of whether your properties are in California or not, let’s work together to ensure this never happens again.

Balcony issues can stem from many root sources.

We are all too familiar with the shortcomings of construction, especially as it relates to balconies and the tragic liabilities they can pose. For example, problems can include bad drainage, deteriorated surface coatings, structural rot, damaged guardrails and other distress. Water intrusion—one of the triggers for deterioration—is not uncommon. And it’s important to understand that water can find its way into a balcony assembly in many ways.

In the course of our property condition assessment work at Marx|Okubo, we often find multifamily residential and commercial buildings with balconies that have serious condition issues requiring repair.

CALIFORNIA STATE SENATE BILL 721.

The purpose of the inspection is to determine that exterior elevated elements and their associated waterproofing elements are in a generally safe condition adequate working order, and free from any hazardous conditions caused by fungus, deterioration, decay, or improper alteration to the extent that the life, limb, health, property, safety, or welfare of the public or the occupants is not endangered.