# Mills Act electrical system work: how a rewire fits a Los Angeles application > Mills Act electrical system work in Los Angeles: how the application cycle has run, where it stands and how a rewire fits the plan. Get a costed scope ready. URL: https://laknobandtube.com/blog/mills-act-applications-electrical-work/ City Planning names electrical system replacement as work that goes beyond routine maintenance. Here is how the program's cycle has run and where a rewire fits. Last Updated: October 24, 2026 [LA Knob and Tube](https://laknobandtube.com/) rewires historic houses in Los Angeles, Pasadena, Glendale and South Pasadena, and for owners of designated LA properties, Mills Act electrical system work is a recurring question. The short version: City Planning lists electrical system replacement among the kinds of work that go beyond routine maintenance, which is what the program is meant to support. The program has run on a yearly application cycle, and it is currently paused for new applications while the city revises it. ## What the Mills Act is in Los Angeles The Mills Act Historical Property Contract Program is a revolving 10-year contract between the City of Los Angeles and the owner of a qualified historic property. In exchange for rehabilitating and maintaining the property, the owner may receive a property tax reduction, because a Mills Act property is assessed by an income approach rather than its market value. Contracts renew automatically each year, so the term always runs 10 years ahead, and they pass to new owners when the property is sold. Qualified properties are Historic-Cultural Monuments and contributing properties in one of the city’s Historic Preservation Overlay Zones, such as those in [Hancock Park and Windsor Square](https://laknobandtube.com/service-areas/hancock-park-windsor-square/) or [West Adams and Jefferson Park](https://laknobandtube.com/service-areas/west-adams-jefferson-park/). The program sets property valuation limits by building type, and a property above its limit needs an exemption and a Historic Structure Report. The [historic homes guide](https://laknobandtube.com/guide/rewiring-historic-homes-los-angeles/) covers which HPOZs exist and how interior rewiring is treated in them. ## How the application cycle has worked The program has been run as a yearly cycle rather than open enrollment. In past cycles, City Planning’s Office of Historic Resources opened applications with a workshop early in the year, followed by a first-part application and fee due within a few weeks. Eligible applicants then submitted the contract packet in spring, the property got a pre-approval inspection over the summer, owners reviewed the inspection findings in the fall, and contracts were recorded near the end of the year. The window to apply has been short each year, so an owner who wanted in had to have a plan ready before the cycle opened. ## Where the program stands City Planning’s Mills Act page currently says new applications are temporarily on hold. The department paused intake to conduct a comprehensive assessment aimed at long-term funding, staffing and a more equitable spread of the program’s benefits, and it is preparing amendments to the city’s Mills Act ordinance for the City Council. A 2022 assessment report was followed by draft policy updates presented to the Cultural Heritage Commission and in an online workshop in April 2025. City Planning has also said it is updating the program’s fee structure as part of a wider fee study. When intake restarts, the timing and the rules may differ from past cycles. City Planning’s Mills Act page and its email updates are the place to watch; describing the next window here would only be a guess. ## Where electrical work fits the application City Planning evaluates applications on priority criteria. One of them asks whether the scope includes tasks above and beyond routine maintenance, and it gives three examples: seismic retrofit, electrical system replacement, and window or roof rehabilitation. The application also asks whether a substantial scope of rehabilitation is necessary and why, and whether the work preserves the property’s character-defining features. Properties that need only routine maintenance may not get priority. That puts a full knob and tube replacement squarely in the kind of work the program describes. A [whole-house rewire](https://laknobandtube.com/whole-house-rewiring/) of an original system is a systems upgrade, not maintenance. A partial job, a new panel alone or replacing a few devices is harder to describe that way. ## The 10-year rehabilitation plan A Mills Act contract includes a Rehabilitation, Restoration and Maintenance Plan. In City Planning’s workshop materials, each task on the plan is marked as rehabilitation or restoration, or as recurring maintenance, and as completed or proposed, with a short description and an estimated cost. Work is expected to follow the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards, and the city inspects contract properties periodically, roughly every five years in the program’s past materials, to check progress on the plan. For electrical work, that suggests a few practical steps: - **Describe the scope plainly.** A [knob and tube inspection](https://laknobandtube.com/knob-and-tube-inspection/) gives the circuit map to describe it from. For example: replace the original knob and tube branch circuits throughout, upgrade the service, and restore plaster at access openings. - **Use a real number.** The estimated cost should come from a quote, not a guess. The [Los Angeles cost guide](https://laknobandtube.com/guide/knob-and-tube-replacement-cost-los-angeles/) explains the ranges and why plaster restoration is priced separately. - **Show how features are protected.** Routing through the attic and crawlspace first, openings at boxes and in plain wall, and trim removed and reinstalled rather than cut, as on the [plaster wall rewiring](https://laknobandtube.com/plaster-wall-rewiring/) page. - **Keep the exterior in mind.** A new mast or meter on a street-facing facade is an exterior change in an HPOZ; placing service equipment at the rear where possible avoids that question; the [panel upgrade vs rewiring guide](https://laknobandtube.com/guide/panel-upgrade-vs-rewiring/) covers the utility side. - **Pair it with related work.** A [seismic retrofit](https://laknobandtube.com/guide/seismic-retrofit-and-rewiring/) is named in the same criterion, and both jobs use the crawlspace. ## Recently completed work The criteria also ask whether recently completed work by the current owner is consistent with the Secretary’s Standards and the property’s historic character, and the plan has a place for completed tasks. An owner who rewires before applying can still show that work. Keep the electrical permit and its final inspection, the quote or invoice describing the scope, and photos of openings before and after patching. The [Los Angeles rewiring permit guide](https://laknobandtube.com/guide/los-angeles-rewiring-permit/) explains where the permit record comes from. ## Pasadena, Glendale and South Pasadena The program described here is the City of Los Angeles program. Pasadena, Glendale and South Pasadena are separate cities with their own historic preservation programs, and whether and how a Mills Act contract is available there, and on what schedule, is confirmed with each city. No one can promise a property will be accepted into the program or what tax savings it will see. What can be done in advance is a clear, costed electrical scope that fits the plan. When you want one for a historic house, call or request an estimate. ## Questions about this post ### Is the Los Angeles Mills Act program accepting new applications? City Planning's Mills Act page says new applications are temporarily on hold while the program is reassessed and the city's Mills Act ordinance is amended. Check that page, or sign up for City Planning's Mills Act email updates, for the restart. ### Can a completed rewire count toward a Mills Act application? City Planning's criteria ask whether recently completed work by the current owner is consistent with the Secretary of the Interior's Standards, and its work plan has a place for completed tasks. Keep the permit, final inspection and a description of the work. ### Does a Mills Act contract require electrical work? No. The contract requires the owner to rehabilitate and maintain the property under an agreed plan. Electrical system replacement is one example City Planning gives of work beyond routine maintenance, not a requirement for every property. ## Keep reading - Learn [How do you rewire a historic home in Los Angeles without losing what makes it historic?](https://laknobandtube.com/guide/rewiring-historic-homes-los-angeles/)Interior rewiring is usually outside preservation review in an HPOZ. The exterior, the finishes and the paperwork are where the care goes. - Cost Guide [How much does knob and tube replacement cost in Los Angeles?](https://laknobandtube.com/guide/knob-and-tube-replacement-cost-los-angeles/)The ranges, what moves a house within them, and the parts of the price that come from public figures. - Learn [Do you need an electrical permit for rewiring in Los Angeles, and how does it work?](https://laknobandtube.com/guide/los-angeles-rewiring-permit/)Who issues it, who is allowed to pull it, what the inspector checks, and how Pasadena, Glendale and South Pasadena differ from LADBS. - Decision Guide [Should you rewire during a seismic retrofit, and which job should go first?](https://laknobandtube.com/guide/seismic-retrofit-and-rewiring/)A cripple-wall retrofit and a knob and tube rewire both happen in the crawlspace. Planned together, one job can make the other easier instead of harder. - Learn [What happens with lead paint and asbestos when an older house is rewired?](https://laknobandtube.com/guide/lead-and-asbestos-during-rewiring/)Rewiring opens painted plaster, and sometimes older materials that can contain asbestos. Federal and regional rules set how that work is done.