Photo above: Texas Street sign and storefronts in downtown Fairfield, California, April 2023. Missvain, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Check the address, not just the house. Before you write an offer in Fairfield, look up the flood, fire and earthquake fault maps, read the seller’s disclosures and the hazard report, pull the property tax bill for special assessments, check the permit history, and get your own inspections.

Most of it is free and takes an evening. Here is the list, with the official tools.

Is the house in a flood zone?

Probably not, but check. The City of Fairfield says most of Fairfield is outside FEMA’s Special Flood Hazard Area. It also lists 12 creeks with a FEMA 100-year floodplain, including Green Valley, Dan Wilson, Ledgewood, Laurel, Union and McCoy creeks, and it names past flood years including 1982, 1983, 1986, 1996, 1998 and 2005 (City of Fairfield, Floodplain Management page, checked September 24, 2026).

How to check one address:

  1. Type the address into FEMA’s Flood Map Service Center at msc.fema.gov.
  2. For an official answer, ask the city for a flood zone letter. The city’s Floodplain Management page lists it at $20, and Public Works answers flood zone questions at (707) 428-7485.
  3. Ask your insurance agent for a flood quote even outside the mapped zone. The city says Fairfield has been in the National Flood Insurance Program since 1984 and takes part in the Community Rating System, which gives flood policies a 15% discount inside the mapped flood zone and 5% outside it (City of Fairfield, Floodplain Management page, checked September 24, 2026).

Is the house in a fire hazard zone?

Some Fairfield addresses are. State law now requires CAL FIRE’s maps for local areas to show moderate and high zones, not just very high. The city posts its Local Responsibility Area fire hazard map and says it cannot lower a zone or remove areas the state mapped (City of Fairfield Fire, LRA Fire Severity Zone Map page, checked September 24, 2026). The city code refers to that map as dated February 24, 2025.

How to check one address:

  1. Open the city’s LRA map on the Fairfield Fire Department’s page.
  2. Search the address in the State Fire Marshal’s Fire Hazard Severity Zone viewer, linked from osfm.fire.ca.gov.
  3. If the home is in a zone, ask your insurance agent about coverage before you remove contingencies.

We don’t characterize the insurance market. The California Department of Insurance runs a Home Insurance Finder and a consumer hotline at 800-927-4357. The California FAIR Plan calls itself an insurer of last resort, and you apply through a broker (California Department of Insurance and cfpnet.com, checked September 24, 2026).

Is the house near an earthquake fault?

Some parts of the area are. The California Geological Survey’s official fault data shows the Green Valley Fault and the Cordelia Fault inside regulatory earthquake fault zones on the Cordelia and Mount George quadrangle maps (California Department of Conservation, Alquist-Priolo fault data, checked September 24, 2026). We could not confirm which Fairfield streets fall inside those zones, so look up the address yourself in the state’s EQ Zapp map at maps.conservation.ca.gov.

What about dam failure flooding?

Check it with the state. The California Department of Water Resources posts dam breach inundation maps at fmds.water.ca.gov/maps/damim. Search near the address and see whether any mapped area reaches it.

What disclosures will the seller give me?

In California, most home sellers give you two key documents. Read both, line by line.

  • Transfer Disclosure Statement. California Civil Code 1102 applies it to transfers of single-family residential property. It is the seller’s own list of what they know about the home.
  • Natural Hazard Disclosure statement. Civil Code 1103.2 covers six hazards: a FEMA special flood hazard area, potential flooding from dam failure, a high or very high fire hazard severity zone, a wildland area with substantial forest fire risk, an earthquake fault zone, and a seismic hazard zone (California Legislative Information, Civil Code 1102 and 1103.2, checked September 24, 2026).

Fairfield has one more you may see. Solano County’s Travis AFB Land Use Compatibility Plan says the base’s airport influence area covers the entire county, and it calls for disclosure notices to new home buyers inside that area (Solano County Airport Land Use Commission, Travis AFB plan with amendments dated August 8, 2024, checked September 24, 2026). Civil Code 1103.4 has the hazard report include a “Notice of Airport in Vicinity” when a property is inside an airport influence area, a term state law defines in Business and Professions Code 11010. Expect aircraft noise to be part of the picture, and visit the street at different hours.

These are legal documents. If something in them worries you, talk to a real estate attorney before you sign the purchase contract or remove contingencies.

Does the house have Mello-Roos or an LLMD charge?

Look at the property tax bill. Some Fairfield subdivisions are in a Community Facilities District (Mello-Roos), and the city posts its CFD reports on its Finance page. Many streets are in a Landscaping and Lighting Maintenance District (LLMD), and the city’s LLMD page has a map where you can search an address.

There is also a live LLMD refund. After a court ruling, the city is refunding part of the LLMD assessments paid for tax years 2022-23 through 2025-26 in LLMD Nos. 1, 3, 6, 7, 8, 11, 12 and 13, excluding the Hidden Meadows, Village Oak and Jayo subdivisions. Automatic checks go to the owners on the county tax rolls, and a former owner has to file a claim (City of Fairfield, LLMD Assessment Refunds page, checked September 24, 2026).

Ask for the seller’s current tax bill, and look up the parcel in the Solano County Assessor’s property search. For what the numbers mean for your budget, talk to a tax professional or the Solano County Tax Collector.

Were the additions and remodels permitted?

Ask, and check. The city posts monthly lists of issued and finaled building permits on its Building and Safety Records page, and says posting can lag. For one property’s full history, submit a public records request through the city’s portal. The city says it usually decides within ten calendar days and can extend that by 14 days (City of Fairfield, Building Records and Public Records Requests pages, checked September 24, 2026). Start early, because that clock can run into your contingency period.

Which inspections should I get?

At least a general home inspection by a licensed inspector, plus a wood-destroying pest inspection. Then add specialists for anything the first inspector flags, such as the roof, the foundation, drainage or the sewer line. On a hillside lot, ask about drainage and slope.

Inspections are how you find what the disclosures miss. Budget for them before you write the offer.

What else should I check before I make an offer?

Two more things, both address-specific.

Questions people also ask

How do I know if a Fairfield house is in a flood zone?

Type the address into FEMA’s Flood Map Service Center at msc.fema.gov. For an official answer, the City of Fairfield issues a flood zone letter for $20, and Public Works takes flood zone questions at (707) 428-7485, per the city’s Floodplain Management page, checked September 24, 2026. The city says most of Fairfield is outside the mapped flood zone.

Are there fire hazard zones in Fairfield, CA?

Yes. The City of Fairfield posts CAL FIRE’s Local Responsibility Area fire hazard map, which now includes moderate, high and very high zones, and the city says it cannot lower or remove zones the state mapped. Search the address on that map and in the State Fire Marshal’s viewer, then ask your insurance agent about coverage before you remove contingencies.

Do Fairfield home sales include a Travis AFB disclosure?

Often, yes. Solano County’s Travis AFB Land Use Compatibility Plan says the base’s airport influence area covers the whole county and calls for disclosure notices to new home buyers there. California Civil Code 1103.4 has the Natural Hazard Disclosure report include a Notice of Airport in Vicinity for properties inside an airport influence area.

How do I check permits on a Fairfield house?

The City of Fairfield posts monthly lists of issued and finaled permits on its Building and Safety Records page, and posting can lag. For a single property’s permit history, file a public records request through the city’s online portal. The city says it usually responds within ten calendar days and can extend by 14 days.

Your next step

Send us the address before you write an offer. We’ll pull the flood, fire and fault map results, the tax bill details and the permit request for you, so you go in with your eyes open. Talk to a Fairfield agent on our team or call (510) 949-5525.

More on Fairfield: Is Fairfield, CA a good place to live? · Fairfield market update · Search Fairfield homes · What’s my home worth?

By Bill Davis, DRE #01880656, The Davis Team at eXp Realty, Fairfield, CA. Updated September 24, 2026.

Sources

  • City of Fairfield, Floodplain Management page: fairfield.ca.gov/government/city-departments/public-works/floodplain-management (checked September 24, 2026)
  • FEMA Flood Map Service Center: msc.fema.gov (checked September 24, 2026)
  • City of Fairfield Fire, LRA Fire Severity Zone Map page: fairfield.ca.gov/government/city-departments/fire/lra-fire-severity-zone-map (checked September 24, 2026)
  • Fairfield City Code 8B.1.1 (LRA fire hazard map dated February 24, 2025), via ecode360.com (checked September 24, 2026)
  • California Office of the State Fire Marshal, Fire Hazard Severity Zones: osfm.fire.ca.gov (checked September 24, 2026)
  • California Department of Insurance, wildfire resources and Home Insurance Finder: insurance.ca.gov (checked September 24, 2026)
  • California FAIR Plan: cfpnet.com (checked September 24, 2026)
  • California Department of Conservation, California Geological Survey, Alquist-Priolo fault data and EQ Zapp: maps.conservation.ca.gov/cgs/EQZApp (checked September 24, 2026)
  • California Department of Water Resources, dam breach inundation maps: fmds.water.ca.gov/maps/damim (checked September 24, 2026)
  • California Legislative Information, Civil Code 1102, 1103.2 and 1103.4, and Business and Professions Code 11010: leginfo.legislature.ca.gov (checked September 24, 2026)
  • Solano County Airport Land Use Commission, Travis AFB Land Use Compatibility Plan, amendments dated August 8, 2024: solanocounty.gov (checked September 24, 2026)
  • City of Fairfield, LLMD page and LLMD Assessment Refunds page: fairfield.ca.gov/llmd (checked September 24, 2026)
  • City of Fairfield, Finance, Financial Reports (CFD reports): fairfield.ca.gov (checked September 24, 2026)
  • Solano County Assessor/Recorder, property search: solanocounty.gov (checked September 24, 2026)
  • City of Fairfield, Building and Safety Records and Public Records Requests pages: fairfield.ca.gov (checked September 24, 2026)