LA Knob and Tube replaces knob and tube wiring in Los Angeles, Pasadena, Glendale and South Pasadena, and a change in California disclosure law now reaches every older house that goes on the market. Since January 1, 2026, Civil Code section 1102.6i has required the seller of covered residential property, or the seller’s agent, to give the buyer a written electrical advisory. This post covers what the California home sale electrical inspection advisory says, what it leaves out, and what it means for houses with old wiring.
What the advisory says
The statute prescribes the wording. In substance, it tells the buyer three things:
- It may be advisable to have a qualified professional inspect the electrical system of any buildings, including the main service panel, subpanels and wiring.
- Substandard, recalled or faulty wiring may cause a fire risk and may make it difficult to obtain property insurance.
- Limited electrical capacity may make it difficult to support future additions such as solar generation, electric space heating, electric water heating or electric vehicle charging.
The advisory is delivered in addition to the other disclosures California already requires. The one exemption in the section is the sale of a building within three years after its certificate of occupancy was issued, which means newly built houses. Everything older is covered.
What it does not do
The advisory is a warning, not a mandate. It does not require the seller to order an electrical inspection, repair anything or replace any wiring. It does not name knob and tube, aluminum wiring or any particular panel. And it does not change the separate duty under California’s transfer disclosure rules for a seller to disclose known significant defects in the electrical system, which applied before and still does.
What it changes is the conversation. Every buyer of an older house now reads, in writing, that wiring can affect fire risk and insurance. For a house with knob and tube, that sentence tends to turn a line in a general home inspection report into a request for an electrician’s evaluation.
Why insurance is in the advisory
The statute ties wiring to insurance directly, and for LA buyers that is often the pressure point. Some carriers decline or ask questions about homes with active knob and tube, and requirements differ by carrier. California’s insurer of last resort, the FAIR Plan, grew from 236,515 residential policies in September 2021 to 621,234 in September 2025, according to its own data, a sign of a tight market generally rather than of anything specific to wiring. A buyer who cannot get a policy may not be able to close a loan on schedule. The California insurance guide covers what to ask a carrier, and no one can promise a carrier will accept a given house after a given scope of work.
What sellers of older houses can do
The advisory makes the buyer more likely to ask, so the useful step is to have answers ready:
- Know what is live. A general home inspection can usually note that knob and tube is present, but it cannot say how much is still in use without circuit testing. A knob and tube inspection maps live, abandoned and mixed circuits, which is the information a buyer and insurer actually want.
- Gather records. Permits and final inspections for past electrical work, including panel replacements and remodels. In the City of LA, LADBS permit records are public.
- Decide on scope before listing, or price it in. A seller can replace the remaining circuits, do a partial replacement with a written list of what remains, or leave the decision to the buyer with a quote in hand.
The selling guide covers those choices in more detail.
What buyers of older houses can do
For a buyer, the advisory is a prompt to inspect the panel and wiring during the contingency period, not after closing. A general inspection that notes knob and tube is the start, not the answer. The questions worth settling before closing are how many circuits are still live, whether the panel can carry the house as it will be used, and what the buyer’s insurer requires. The buying guide explains how to fit an electrician’s visit into escrow, and the guide to active and abandoned knob and tube explains why “present” and “live” are different findings.
The capacity line
The last sentence of the advisory, about capacity for solar, electric heating, water heating and EV charging, matters for older LA houses too. Houses with knob and tube were wired for a handful of circuits. Research by UCLA and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory found older, smaller California homes more likely to have 100-amp service or less. A buyer planning to electrify may need both a panel upgrade and new branch circuits; the panel upgrade vs rewiring guide explains how they differ.
Where to read the law
The text is in California Civil Code section 1102.6i, available on the Legislature’s code site. Agents and escrow officers handle delivery of the form. If you are selling or buying a house with old wiring and want the circuits mapped before the advisory becomes a negotiation, call or request an estimate.