The Mapping Does Not Follow the Neighbourhoods
Earthquake fault zones follow fault traces and seismic hazard zones follow soils and slope. Neither pays any attention to where one neighbourhood ends and the next begins, so parcels on the same street can sit differently.
Both appear on the natural hazard disclosure statement given when a property is sold, which means a great many owners already hold the answer in their purchase file without realising it. The rules themselves are on our page covering the debris and the ground.
The Air District Covers All of It
Unusually for this series, one of the two rules does not vary by jurisdiction at all. The Air District regulates demolition across nine counties, so the notification requirement and the survey obligation are identical in San Jose, in Sunnyvale, in Los Gatos and in unincorporated county.
What varies is the age of the housing, and therefore how likely a survey is to find something.
What Actually Differs
| Area | Typical stock | What decides the file |
|---|---|---|
| Downtown and central | Oldest in the city | Age raises survey findings |
| Willow Glen and Rose Garden | Pre-war and interwar | Values support repair |
| East San Jose | Post-war tracts | Era and lot size |
| North San Jose and Alviso | Mixed, bay margin | Ground conditions |
| South San Jose and Almaden | Later, foothill edges | Fault and slope mapping |
| Surrounding cities | Varies widely | A different permit office |
Areas We Cover
- San JoseThe debris, the ground and what the property is worth
- Downtown and Central San JoseThe oldest housing in the city
- Willow Glen and the Rose GardenPre-war stock where values support repair
- East San JosePost-war tracts and larger lots
- North San Jose, Berryessa and AlvisoThe bay margin and what lies under it
- South San Jose and the Almaden FoothillsWhere the fault and slope mapping bites
- The Santa Clara County CitiesSanta Clara, Sunnyvale, Milpitas, Campbell and beyond
If Your Area Is Not Listed
We buy across San Jose and Santa Clara County, including in places without a page here. Because hazard mapping follows geology rather than neighbourhood lines, the specific parcel matters far more than the general direction.
Send the address and we will check both.