If you own a small apartment building in Los Angeles, 2026 brings a major new opportunity. The EMR program Los Angeles — short for Earthquake Multi-Unit Retrofit — is a brand-new state grant that helps owners of 5-to-10-unit soft-story buildings pay for a seismic retrofit, with funding of up to $49,600 per building. Registration opens August 19, 2026 and closes September 30, 2026. This is the first time California has offered dedicated grant money for these vulnerable multi-unit buildings, and the window is short — so eligible owners should act quickly.
What Is the EMR Program?
The Earthquake Multi-Unit Retrofit (EMR) program is a seismic retrofit grant administered by the California Residential Mitigation Program (CRMP), the same agency behind the well-known Earthquake Brace + Bolt program. EMR targets multi-family, wood-framed buildings that have a soft, weak, or open front — often called a “SWOF” condition. In plain terms, that usually means a building sitting on top of ground-floor parking or an open storefront, where the ground level lacks the walls needed to resist earthquake shaking.
These “soft-story” buildings are among the most dangerous structures in an earthquake. Many of the deadly collapses in the 1994 Northridge earthquake were soft-story apartment buildings that pancaked onto their parking levels. The EMR program exists to help owners fix that weakness before the next major quake.
When Does EMR Registration Open in 2026?
EMR registration runs for a limited window: August 19 through September 30, 2026. Like other CRMP programs, funding is limited and offered on a first-registered basis, so building owners who wait until the last week may miss out. If you think your property qualifies, you can sign up for CRMP program notifications and review the official rules at CRMP.org/EMR.
How Much Grant Money Does the EMR Program Provide?
EMR offers substantially more than the single-family programs because multi-unit retrofits cost more. Grant funding can reach up to $49,600 per building, broken down as follows:
- Up to $7,000 toward building permits and engineered retrofit plans
- Up to $4,260 per residential unit toward retrofit construction
- Combined maximum of $49,600 per building (for a fully qualifying 10-unit property)
For most owners, that grant covers a meaningful share of the retrofit and, just as importantly, helps pay for the engineered plans and permits that the work legally requires.
Who Qualifies for an EMR Grant in Los Angeles?
To be eligible for an EMR grant, a building generally must meet all of the following:
- Be located in a city with a mandatory multi-unit soft-story retrofit ordinance — which includes the City of Los Angeles
- Be a multi-story, wood-framed building
- Have been built before 1991
- Contain 5 to 10 residential units
- Have a soft, weak, or open front (such as tuck-under parking or an open ground-floor front)
One important detail: EMR requires a full ground-floor retrofit that complies with FEMA P-807, IEBC Chapter A4 (latest edition), or ASCE 41 (latest edition). A partial or “line-only” retrofit does not qualify. Because eligible cities are tied to local ordinances and the list can change, confirm your building’s status against CRMP’s official eligibility page before you apply. Los Angeles property owners can also review the city’s mandatory soft-story retrofit program through LADBS.
How Is the EMR Program Different From EBB and ESS?
CRMP now runs three retrofit grant programs, and each one targets a different type of vulnerable building. Here is how they compare:
Program | Building Type | Grant Amount |
|---|---|---|
EBB Earthquake Brace + Bolt | Single-family, wood-framed, pre-1980, raised foundation with a crawl space | Up to $3,000, plus up to $7,000 supplemental for income-eligible owners (up to $10,000 total) |
ESS Earthquake Soft-Story | Single-family home with living space built over a garage | Up to $13,000 |
EMR Earthquake Multi-Unit Retrofit | Multi-family, wood-framed, pre-1991, 5–10 units, soft-story / tuck-under parking | Up to $49,600 per building |
The short version: EBB and ESS are for houses, and EMR is for small apartment buildings. If you own a single-family home, our 2026 EBB grant guide for Los Angeles homeowners walks through that program in detail.
Is the EBB Program Still Available in 2026?
Yes — the Earthquake Brace + Bolt program is still California’s flagship grant for single-family homes, and it is not going away. In 2025 it ran two separate registration rounds and, for the first time, opened eligibility to rental (non-owner-occupied) homes. As of this writing, CRMP has not yet announced the dates for a 2026 EBB homeowner registration window. EBB registration has historically opened in the fall, so the best move for homeowners is to get on CRMP’s notification list now so you hear the moment a new window opens. The headline program launching this year is EMR — but if you own a house rather than an apartment building, keep watching for the next EBB round.
What Does a Soft-Story Retrofit Actually Involve?
A soft-story retrofit strengthens the weak ground floor so the building can resist side-to-side movement instead of collapsing onto its parking level. Depending on the engineer’s design, the work typically includes installing steel moment frames or cantilever columns around the open parking area, adding plywood shear walls where possible, and tying the new framing into a reinforced foundation. Every EMR retrofit starts with engineered plans and a permit — which is exactly why the grant sets aside up to $7,000 for that stage. To see how this process unfolds step by step, read our guide to the earthquake retrofitting process and our overview of soft-story retrofitting.
How Golden Retrofit Helps Los Angeles Building Owners
Golden Retrofit & Foundation Repair is a licensed foundation and seismic retrofitting contractor serving Los Angeles, Long Beach, and the surrounding LA County cities. We handle the full path a building owner needs for an EMR project: a thorough inspection, engineered retrofit plans, permitting through your local building department, and the retrofit construction itself. Because the EMR window is short and the engineering and permitting take time, the owners who start early are the ones most likely to secure grant funding and finish on schedule. You can verify our contractor license anytime through the CSLB license lookup, and we offer a free inspection to tell you honestly whether your building is a strong EMR candidate.
Own a small apartment building with ground-floor parking in LA? Call Golden Retrofit at (800) 217-2458 for a free soft-story evaluation before the EMR registration window closes on September 30, 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
The EMR (Earthquake Multi-Unit Retrofit) program is a California grant, administered by CRMP, that helps owners of 5-to-10-unit soft-story apartment buildings pay for a seismic retrofit. It provides up to $49,600 per building.
An EMR grant can total up to $49,600 per building — up to $7,000 for permits and engineered plans, plus up to $4,260 per residential unit toward retrofit construction.
EMR registration opens August 19, 2026 and closes September 30, 2026. Funding is limited, so eligible owners should register early rather than waiting until the deadline.
Your building generally qualifies if it is a wood-framed, multi-story structure built before 1991, contains 5 to 10 units, has a soft-story or tuck-under parking condition, and sits in a city with a mandatory soft-story ordinance, such as Los Angeles. A full ground-floor retrofit is required.
Yes. EBB remains California’s main grant for single-family raised-foundation homes. CRMP has not yet announced 2026 EBB homeowner registration dates as of this writing, so homeowners should join CRMP’s notification list to be alerted when the next window opens.
