Handyman Work in Los Altos Hills: Town Rules for Pros

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Working legally here

A Los Altos Hills license, separate from Los Altos

Los Altos Hills is its own town, not part of the City of Los Altos, and a license from the city below does not cover work up the hill. The Town's municipal code says every person engaged in business in the Town pays a license tax, with the amount set by resolution rather than written into the code, and the Town's website sends business licensing to an online portal. Building permits also start with an account: since July 1, 2024 every building permit is submitted through the Town's eTRAKiT portal, and you create a contractor profile there before the first application.

Los Altos Hills Municipal Code, Title 3 (opens in a new tab)

Permits

Los Altos Hills permits: emailed small jobs, fences, heritage oaks

Smaller permits can go in by email
Full building permits go through eTRAKiT, but the Building Department accepts smaller ones by email: kitchen and bathroom remodels, water heaters, re-roofs, roof-mounted solar, furnaces, HVAC and seismic retrofits, each sent with a building application and the drawings. The permit counter is open Monday to Thursday, 9 a.m. to noon and 1 to 4 p.m. A permit that has not passed final inspection in its allotted time can get up to two six-month extensions, applied for at least 14 days before it lapses.
Town of Los Altos Hills, Building Department (opens in a new tab)
Every fence needs a fence permit
Zoning code Section 10-1.507 says no fence, wall, gate or column may be erected or replaced without a zoning or site development permit, and any building permit waits for that approval. Fences on property lines, or in setbacks away from a road, top out at 6 feet. Bare chain-link is banned unless vinyl-coated in dark green, black or brown, and nothing may stand in a pathway easement. Work within 10 feet of a shared boundary brings a courtesy notice to the neighbors, and a compliant permit is approved after 10 calendar days.
Town of Los Altos Hills, Fence Ordinance packet (opens in a new tab)
Heritage oaks start at 36 inches around
A Heritage Oak is any oak, including valley, California live, black and blue oaks, with a trunk or multiple trunks 36 inches in circumference, roughly 12 inches across, four feet above the root crown. Removing one, or purposely damaging it, needs a Town removal permit. Owners of abutting lots are mailed notice unless the tree is dead, diseased, hazardous or crowded, and an approval can require up to five replacement trees for each one taken out.
Los Altos Hills Municipal Code, Title 12 (opens in a new tab)

The homes

Los Altos Hills housing: big lots, owner-occupied, often rebuilt

The ACS 2019-2023 estimates count 3,430 housing units in Los Altos Hills. Owners occupy 95.0% of occupied homes and 98.3% of units are detached houses, so the person hiring is nearly always the owner of a single house on a large lot. The median house dates from 1976; 21.6% were built in the 1960s and 16.2% in the 1970s. The Town's Housing Element adds that 20 to 25 homes are replaced every year, which is why an original 1960s ranch and a new build can share a road. Utility gas heats 76.9% of occupied homes, but Ordinance 611 now requires zero-NOx equipment in new buildings and in substantial remodels, with exceptions for cooking, fireplaces and pool or spa heaters.

U.S. Census Bureau (opens in a new tab)

Part by part

Los Altos Hills by area: water, sewer and fire zones

The north, on Purissima Hills water
The Purissima Hills Water District supplies the northern two-thirds of town with Hetch Hetchy water, and more than 80% of what it delivers each year goes to landscape irrigation. So irrigation repairs and drip conversions fit these lots, and where a house is sewered, the flow runs to Palo Alto under the Town's contract.
The east side, on Los Altos sewer
An agreement with the City of Los Altos carries sewage from the eastern part of town, where about 925 connections are served under it. Town-wide, about 40% of properties still use septic, and work on a septic system goes to the county: Environmental Health permits building, rebuilding or repairing an on-site system, and only where no sewer is within 200 feet of the building.
Very High fire zone parcels
In June 2025 the Council adopted Cal Fire's hazard severity map without local changes. Where a parcel falls in more than one zone, the highest designation governs, and the Town's public GIS map is the reference permit staff use. The building code's wildfire chapter applies to new buildings in those zones, while additions to and remodels of houses built before July 1, 2008 are excepted.

Getting around

A working day in Los Altos Hills: hours, parking, supplies

Construction runs 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Monday through Saturday, with no heavy equipment on Saturdays and no construction at all on Sundays or the six holidays the Town lists. The Town's construction notice, which belongs on the job site, says constructed pathways are not parking bays: crews park on the property under construction. Noise complaints outside those hours go to the Santa Clara County Sheriff. Arastradero Road runs parallel to Interstate 280 and links the east and west sides of town, and since no commercial uses are allowed in town, plan supply runs to stores in neighboring cities.

How hot leads work

From the first text to the homeowner's door

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After you pay you get the homeowner's name, number and address. Price and timing are between you.

Questions

Working in Los Altos Hills: what pros ask

Does my Los Altos business license cover a job in Los Altos Hills?

No. Los Altos Hills was incorporated as its own town in 1956, and its code requires a license tax from every person engaged in business there. The Town's website routes business licensing to its online portal, and because the amount is set by resolution, check the current figure there before the first visit.

Can I get a Los Altos Hills building inspection on a Friday?

No. The Building Department does not schedule or perform inspections on Fridays, and it books them by phone Monday to Thursday. Ask three to four days ahead with the address, permit number, inspection type, date and an AM or PM preference; next-day slots are not always open, and the department will not add one for the day you call.

Does a kitchen remodel in Los Altos Hills trigger the all-electric rules?

It can. Ordinance 611, passed in February 2024, applies the Town's zero-NOx requirements to new buildings and to existing houses undergoing a substantial remodel as the Town defines it. Indoor cooking is one of the exceptions, but a gas range kept under it needs the circuit, the reserved breaker, labeling and space for a future electric cooking appliance shown on the drawings.

Can my crew work in Los Altos Hills on a Saturday?

Yes, from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., but without heavy equipment. Sundays and the listed holidays, New Year's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas, are off limits. Owners using their own power tools follow separate hours, 8 a.m. to sunset on weekdays and 9 a.m. to sunset on weekends. Violations can bring misdemeanor charges or a stop to the work.

Who permits septic work on a Los Altos Hills property?

Santa Clara County's Department of Environmental Health, not the Town, issues the permit to build, rebuild or repair an on-site sewage system, and only where a sanitary sewer is not available within 200 feet of the building. The application takes four copies of a scaled site plan showing the system, wells, creeks and structures.

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Where these facts come from

Checked against these public sources in October 2026. Rules and fees change: confirm license and permit requirements with the city before work starts.

Taking jobs in Los Altos Hills, the town of one-acre lots

Get job leads in Los Altos Hills from today

You're on the hot list

A Los Altos Hills license, separate from Los Altos

Los Altos Hills permits: emailed small jobs, fences, heritage oaks

Smaller permits can go in by email

Every fence needs a fence permit

Heritage oaks start at 36 inches around

Los Altos Hills housing: big lots, owner-occupied, often rebuilt

Los Altos Hills by area: water, sewer and fire zones

The north, on Purissima Hills water

The east side, on Los Altos sewer

Very High fire zone parcels

A working day in Los Altos Hills: hours, parking, supplies

From the first text to the homeowner's door

Confirm your mobile

A text for each new job

See it before you pay

Pay, then call the homeowner

Working in Los Altos Hills: what pros ask

Nearby cities and more

Join in a nearby city

Where this page belongs

Where these facts come from

Fix it faster. Find work faster.