Did they offer to do combustion appliance zone (CAZ) testing under worst case conditions to verify that everything is performing properly?

The chimney liner is a safety issue, to prevent carbon monoxide from the combustion exhaust from penetrating through the chimney into living spaces.

"Slumlord property" means residential rental property that has deteriorated or is in a state of disrepair and that manifests one or more of the following conditions that are a danger to the health or safety of the public:Structurally unsound exterior surfaces, roof, walls, doors, floors, stairwells, porches or railings.Lack of potable water, adequate sanitation facilities, adequate water or waste pipe connections.Hazardous electrical systems or gas connections.Lack of safe, rapid egress.Accumulation of human or animal waste, medical or biological waste, gaseous or combustible materials, dangerous or corrosive liquids, flammable or explosive materials or drug paraphernalia."

Basically furnaces require air to feed the combustion.

As California moves to outlaw new internal combustion engine vehicles from being sold in the state by 2035.

Our system was oversized compared to our consumption to the maximum allowable size (120% of historical usage) in order to have some extra free electricity to use when I switch to an electric pickup truck (Ford, Chevy, GMC, Tesla, Rivian, Lordstown, Bollinger, Nikola all supposedly coming out with electric pickups soon, and GM just announced plans to phase out combustion vehicles entirely by 2035 but I digress yet agin).

For example, the dot-com bust hit NorCal hard but not so much in SoCal.

In 2002, San Jose the tech capital of the world was seeing double digit home value gains in the midst of the dot com bust.

Thanks @Jonathan Klemm for the mention,@Christopher GrannenYou are allowed to pour a parking pad on your own lot, as long as it is accessed from the alley, Additionally, this typically does not require any form of building permit as long as the property is not located in a landmark district, or have any of the excluding elements as listed on the link below:"Exterior WorkNon-combustible sidewalks, patios, walkways, parking surfaces, and driveways that are not located in or on the public way, not more than 30 inches above adjacent grade, and not over any basement or story below."

It was the hottest August on record in California, and trees and brush were already abnormally dry and combustible after California saw exceptionally dry conditions last winter.