We prove local limit theorems for mod-φ convergent sequences of random variables, φ being a stable distribution. In particular, we give two new proofs of a local limit theorem in the framework of mod-phi convergence: one proof based on the notion of zone of control, and one proof based on the notion of mod-φ convergence in L1(iR). These new approaches allow us to identify the infinitesimal scales at which the stable approximation is valid. We complete our analysis with a large variety of examples to which our results apply, and which stem from random matrix theory, number theory, combinatorics or statistical mechanics.