Home maintenance for Orange homeowners
Orange's Old Towne, the square mile around the Plaza, is described as the largest National Register district in California, and three 1960s Eichler tracts are local historic districts of their own. The rest of the city is mostly 1960s and 1970s suburb, with a median build year of 1973. In the historic districts exterior work starts with design review; everywhere else it starts with an ordinary permit.
OakTend serves all of Orange County, California.
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Home maintenance help in Orange
Half the homes in Orange are more than 50 years old, so much of the work here is catching worn pipes, wiring and roofing before they fail. OakTend gives Orange homeowners free home maintenance help during our preview: add your house once and get a reminder when each check is due.
Homes in Orange, at a glance
- Population
- About 137,957 peopleACS 2024 one-year estimate, table B01003; the 2020 Census counted 139,911. Source: U.S. Census Bureau
- Median year built
- 1973Source: Census Reporter, ACS 2020-2024 five-year table B25035
Orange is inland, so it gets hotter summer afternoons and more Santa Ana wind than the coastal cities, and less salt air than the beach towns, though salt can still carry several miles inland.
When homes were built
- Homes counted
- About 46,952
- Built before 1950
- 6.8%
- Built in the 1950s
- 12.9%
- Built in the 1960s
- 25.3%
- Built in the 1970s
- 19.3%
- Built in the 1980s
- 13.7%
- Built in the 1990s
- 9.3%
- Built 2000 or later
- 12.7%
Close to two thirds of homes went up before 1980.
Source: Census Reporter, ACS 2020-2024 five-year tables B25034 and B25035
Old Towne historic district
The Old Towne Orange Historic District joined the National Register of Historic Places on July 11, 1997. It is roughly bounded by Walnut Avenue, Waverly Street, Hart Park, La Veta Avenue, Clark Street and the railroad, around the Plaza.
Source: National Park Service, National Register record 97000617
Eichler tracts
The three Eichler tracts, Fairhaven, Fairmeadow and Fairhills, were built between 1960 and 1964 and total nearly 350 properties. In late 2018 the City Council made all three local historic districts with their own design standards. Post and beam framing, low-slope roofs and radiant slab heat make them their own maintenance category, and roofing and window choices are a design standards question.
Fire service
Fire service comes from the city's own Orange City Fire Department, which lists eight stations, numbered 1 through 8. Station 1 and the main office share 1176 E. Chapman Avenue, open Monday through Thursday, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Real neighborhoods in Orange
- Old Towne
- The Plaza
- Fairhaven
- Fairmeadow
- Fairhills
- Serrano Heights
Old Towne runs roughly between Walnut and La Veta avenues and Batavia and Cambridge streets, with more than 1,300 vintage buildings according to Preserve Orange County. Fairhaven, Fairmeadow and Fairhills are the Eichler tracts, and Serrano Heights is named in the city's community facilities district records.
Source: Preserve Orange County, Orange Plaza historic district
Water, permits, and local rules in Orange
Water
The city runs its own water system. Its 2025 Consumer Confidence Report lists three sources: mainly groundwater from city wells drilled about 1,000 feet into the Santa Ana River aquifer, then Metropolitan Water District imports from the Colorado River and Northern California, and a small amount from the Serrano Water District. System hardness averages 300 ppm, about 18 grains per gallon, with a range of 130 to 380 ppm, or 8 to 22 grains. The report does not split hardness by source, so where your address falls in that range takes a tap test.
City of Orange Water Division · Source: Water quality report
Permits
The Building Division accepts permit applications only through its Civic Portal, where you set up an account and a signature before the Building Division tab opens. The office is at 300 E. Chapman Avenue, 714-744-7200, with counter hours of 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., closed alternating Fridays. Plan on a permit for water heater, HVAC, reroof and panel work, and ask the Building Division which review track applies.
City of Orange Building and Safety Services permit portal · Source: City building division
Wildfire zones
Orange has state-mapped fire hazard zones. On May 13, 2025 the City Council introduced Ordinance No. 07-25, adopting the State Fire Marshal's recommended Fire Hazard Severity Zone map for the city's local responsibility area, 5 to 0. To see which zone, if any, covers your address, search it on the state's zone viewer at osfm.fire.ca.gov/fhsz.
Source: City of Orange, City Council minutes of May 13, 2025
Historic design rules
The Old Towne Preservation Association lists the historic design standards violations it sees most: vinyl windows, vinyl fences, solar panels and synthetic turf visible from the street, and replacing historic exterior fabric with inappropriate materials.
Mills Act tax relief
The Mills Act lets the city grant property tax relief to owners of qualified historic properties who contract to maintain them to preservation standards for at least 10 years. Orange caps it at 20 new contracts per tax year, and the Planning Department keeps a waiting list.
Mello-Roos tax
A City Council resolution records Community Facilities District No. 91-2, Serrano Heights Public Improvements, a Mello-Roos district with two improvement areas and a special tax lien. Whether a parcel still pays shows in the special assessments section of its tax bill.
What OakTend does
A maintenance plan built around your home
OakTend turns your home's age, systems, and history into a plan of what to check and when, not a generic checklist.
Ask OakTend anything about your house
Get answers about your systems, their ages, and what's likely to need attention next, any time.
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Our pro network isn't open yet. Post your job and our team may look for a local pro by hand. We can't promise to find one. Any pro is an independent business we have not vetted, so check their license at cslb.ca.gov before you hire.
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Guides for Orange homeowners
Electrical panel upgrade cost
The 1960s are Orange's biggest decade of homes, and many still run their original panels.
Roof replacement cost
Useful before design review, since Eichler and Old Towne roofing is held to district standards.
Hard water in Orange County
City water averages about 18 grains per gallon and ranges up to 22.
Orange County home maintenance checklist
The yearly routine for an inland 1970s house, on water hard enough to scale a tank.
Maintenance that matters in Orange
Repiping a house in Orange County
The median Orange home was built in 1973. If a house that age has had more than one leak, read when a whole-house repipe makes sense.
Slab leak repair in Orange County
Found a slab leak sign in your Orange home? See how the leak is found and fixed, and what insurance may cover.
How to change your furnace and AC air filter
In Orange, check the AC filter every month.
Does your Orange County city have hard water?
Orange's water comes from the City of Orange Water Division. See how hard it is, from the provider's own report.
Nearby cities
Questions from Orange homeowners
Is El Modena or Orange Park Acres part of the City of Orange?
No, even though the mailing address says Orange. El Modena, North El Modena, Orange Park Acres and Olive are unincorporated county areas surrounded by the city, so permits and code enforcement there are the county's, not the city's.
Do I need approval to replace windows on an Old Towne Orange house?
Yes. Exterior changes in Old Towne and the Eichler districts go through design review against the city's standards before the building permit, as a separate step, so talk to the city's planning staff before you order.
Local facts on this page last checked .