Guide 04 · Address matching
Why a building address may differ from a parcel address
A public record can be correct even when the address you enter is not the address printed on the assessor record. Large buildings, multi-tenant sites, corner parcels, and changes in postal addressing often produce more than one valid address for the same underlying parcel.
One parcel can have several addresses
The assessor’s situs is the primary address attached to a tax parcel. It can differ from a building entrance, suite, business mailing address, leasing address, or the address used by a City permit system. That is especially common for office towers, shopping centers, apartment buildings, and parcels with more than one street frontage.
How propOPEN handles a supported Los Angeles match
- It first checks the entered address against the available Assessor index.
- If no record is found, it can look for an exact matching City permit-data address and associated APN.
- If that APN maps to an Assessor parcel, propOPEN presents that parcel and identifies the resolution in the result.
This is deliberately conservative. An approximate street-name match, a nearby parcel, or a guessed unit relationship is not enough. When an exact supported relationship is not available, the search remains unresolved.
How to verify a result yourself
- Compare the returned parcel’s street number, cross streets, legal description, and APN/AIN with official records.
- For a building or suite address, check whether an official permit, tax, or agency map associates it with that APN.
- For a purchase, lease, title, boundary, tax, or permitting decision, obtain confirmation from the responsible agency or qualified professional.
What this does not establish
A successful address-to-parcel match does not establish ownership, title, unit boundaries, tenancy, zoning compliance, occupancy, building condition, or an entitlement to use the property. Those questions require their own authoritative records and, when appropriate, professional advice.