--- title: "Roof Repair and Roofing in Santa Monica, CA" description: "Roof repair in Santa Monica, CA: leak repair, tile and flat roofs near the coast, plus roof replacement, by a licensed Los Angeles roofer (CSLB #1147688)." url: "https://aacaliforniaroofing.com/areas-we-serve/santa-monica/" updated: "2026-10-03" --- # Roof Repair and Roofing in Santa Monica, CA AA California Roofing provides roof repair in Santa Monica, CA: leak repair on the flat roofs of apartment and mixed-use buildings, tile and shingle repair on older homes, and full roof replacement when a repair no longer makes sense. We are a licensed roofing contractor (CSLB #1147688), we pull the City permit, and we have repaired roofs for Santa Monica homeowners. Book a free estimate or a leak check through our [contact page](https://aacaliforniaroofing.com/contact-us/). ## Roof repairs we handle in Santa Monica - **Flat and low-slope roof leaks.** Ponding water, split seams, failed flashing at parapet walls, clogged drains and scuppers, and leaks around rooftop equipment on apartment, condo and mixed-use buildings. Our [flat roof services](https://aacaliforniaroofing.com/flat-roof-services/) include torch-down systems. - **Tile roof leaks.** Often the tile itself is fine and the underlayment beneath it has failed. The fix is to lift the tiles, lay new underlayment and reset them, a job Santa Monica gives its own Express Permit on historic single-family homes (see the permit table below). - **Shingle repairs** after wind or age: lifted or missing shingles, and worn flashing at chimneys, skylights and vents. - **Emergency repairs** after a storm: stop the water first, then make the permanent repair. How we find and fix leaks is covered in more depth on our [roof repair](https://aacaliforniaroofing.com/roof-repairs/) page. ## Santa Monica's housing: mostly apartments and condos Santa Monica is a city of renters and multi-unit buildings. Census estimates (American Community Survey, 2020 to 2024) show that 72.1% of occupied homes are rented, only 19.3% of the city's 53,274 housing units are detached houses, and 45.3% sit in buildings of ten or more units. More than a third of all units (36.7%) were built between 1960 and 1979, and 13.5% date from before 1940. So the person calling about a leak is often a building owner, a condo board or a property manager, and the roof is often one large low-slope surface over many units. Two things follow: - **Leaks travel.** Water that gets in at a parapet or a drain can surface several units away, so the repair starts with finding the entry point, not patching the ceiling stain. - **The building type sets the rules.** Apartments and condos follow different permit and energy rules from houses (both below), so a repair estimate should say which path the job takes. ## Santa Monica roof permits: Express Permit or Same-Day Review Santa Monica's Building and Safety Division evaluates all plan reviews and permit submittals under the 2025 California code, effective January 1, 2026. The process is fully paperless: documents are uploaded to the City's Electronic Plan Review system before any visit to the public counter. Two quick paths cover most roof work: | Building | Permit path for a re-roof | What the City specifies | | --- | --- | --- | | Single-family house | Express Permit: no plan review, applied for online | Class A or B roof covering weighing less than 6 lb per sq ft, over existing or new solid sheathing; a cool roof product certified by the Cool Roof Rating Council when more than 50% of the roof is replaced | | Single-family landmark, or a house on the Historic Resources Inventory | Express Permit for set scopes | Remove the roof tiles, apply new underlayment and reset the tiles (cool-roof compliance not required); or apply an approved coating to the existing roof | | Apartment, condominium or commercial building | Not eligible for an Express Permit; reroofs can go through Same-Day Review at the public counter | Reviewed and approved in a single visit once the documents are uploaded; mechanical, electrical or plumbing work over the City's thresholds goes to formal plan review | A few more rules from the City. The roof covering of every building must be fire-retardant under the state building codes and Santa Monica Municipal Code 8.12.070 (Information Bulletin IB-2024-09). A building permit is issued to a licensed contractor authorized to do the work. Projects with 1,000 square feet or more of area, or above a set valuation, need an approved Construction and Demolition Waste Management Plan from the City's Zero Waste team before the counter visit. ### Cool roof and energy rules in Santa Monica Santa Monica's ZIP codes 90401 through 90405 are all in state Climate Zone 6. The 2025 Energy Code sets no reflectance minimum for a steep-slope house re-roof in Zone 6, but the City's Express Permit terms still call for a certified cool roof product when more than half of a house's roof is replaced. Flat roofs carry a state rule for houses and apartment buildings alike: an aged solar reflectance of at least 0.63 (or an SRI of 75), or R-10 continuous insulation at the deck in its place. Apartment buildings hit that rule sooner on big roofs: it starts when the altered area passes half the roof or 2,000 square feet, whichever comes first (2025 Energy Code, Sections 150.2 and 180.2). ## Repair or replace a Santa Monica roof? - **Repair** when the leak is local (a flashing, a drain, a few tiles) and the rest of the roof surface is sound. - **Reset the tile with new underlayment** when the tiles are in good shape but the layer under them has failed. On a listed historic house this keeps the original tile and has its own Express Permit scope. - **Replace** when leaks are spread across the roof, the deck is soft, or repairs keep coming back. Once more than half of the roof area is replaced, the cool-roof and energy rules above apply, which narrows the product choice. Here is how a [roof replacement](https://aacaliforniaroofing.com/new-roof-installation/) works with us. ## Historic districts and landmarks in Santa Monica Santa Monica adopted its Landmarks and Historic District Ordinance on March 24, 1976. City staff and the Landmarks Commission review applications for a Certificate of Appropriateness, a Certificate of Administrative Approval or a Certificate of Exemption on designated properties. The City's list, revised in June 2023, names five historic districts: - Third Street Neighborhood Historic District (designated 1990) - Bay Street Craftsman Cluster (2000) - San Vicente Boulevard Courtyard Apartments Historic District (effective 2016) - 11th Street Bungalow Historic District (2019) - 4th Street Corner Historic District (2019) Beyond the districts, the City's Historic Resources Inventory, last adopted in 2018, is a survey of every property in Santa Monica that flags potential historic resources. Listed single-family homes get the Express Permit scopes in the table above. Before choosing a new roof material, check the address on the City's interactive map of landmarks, structures of merit and historic districts, linked from its [Historic Resources Inventory page](https://www.santamonica.gov/topic-explainers/historic-resources-inventory). ## A roof repair we did in Santa Monica From a Google review posted in October 2026: "Amit and his team did a roof repair at my home in Santa Monica and did an excellent job." The homeowner wrote that the crew "showed up on time, explained everything clearly, and left everything clean when they finished." ## Book a roof repair in Santa Monica Email [aacaliforniaroofing@gmail.com](mailto:aacaliforniaroofing@gmail.com) or send a request through our [contact page](https://aacaliforniaroofing.com/contact-us/). Our roofers work across Los Angeles County, including the Westside, and in nearby Ventura County cities; our office is at 21243 Ventura Blvd #259, Woodland Hills, CA 91364. The full list of cities is on our [areas we serve](https://aacaliforniaroofing.com/areas-we-serve/) page, and our other services start from the [AA California Roofing home page](https://aacaliforniaroofing.com/).