What This Package Does
California's 2025 wildfire legislative package creates four separate new legal obligations for local agencies — all signed in October 2025, most effective January 1, 2026. Two bills create mandatory shot clocks with severe automatic consequences: AB 818 requires 10-business-day approval of emergency temporary housing permits during declared local emergencies, and AB 253 gives applicants the right to hire private plan checkers if your building department exceeds 30 business days — and if the agency fails to respond to a private plan check report within 10 business days, the permit is automatically issued by operation of law.
SB 676 establishes expedited CEQA review procedures for wildfire rebuilding projects (operative January 1, 2027). SB 625 restricts HOAs from blocking disaster rebuilding based on design differences.
Who in City Hall Needs to Read This
| Role | Why This Matters to You |
|---|---|
| City Manager / CAO | Both AB 818 and AB 253 create legal exposure for the agency if shot clocks are missed. During a declared emergency, the AB 818 10-day window opens immediately — your building department must be operationally ready before the next disaster, not after. AB 253 also requires public reporting of permit processing data starting January 1, 2026. |
| Building Official | AB 818: Primary compliance owner during declared emergencies. Must approve or deny modular home, prefab home, and ADU permits within 10 business days. AB 253: Must track the 30-day plan check window on all covered residential permits, provide written estimated completion timeframes, and act within 10 business days of receiving a private plan check report — or the permit is deemed approved by operation of law. |
| City Attorney / County Counsel | AB 818 creates an affirmative legal duty — failure to act within 10 days during a declared emergency may constitute a Permit Streamlining Act violation. AB 253's 'deemed approved' provision creates de facto automatic permit issuance if the building department fails to respond to a private plan check report within 10 business days. Advise department on shot clock triggers and what constitutes a complete application. |
| Planning / Community Development | Must coordinate with building to revise emergency permit intake and protocols. AB 818 requires all agencies to publish an online substandard property checklist and general rebuilding process information — create or update this resource now. |
| Public Works / Utilities Director | AB 818 imposes a separate 30-calendar-day deadline on municipal utilities: once an emergency rebuild permit is approved, the utility must provide written notice of next steps in the connection approval process within 30 days of receiving a connection request. |
AB 818 (Ávila Farías) — 10-Day Emergency Permit Shot Clock
Chapter 534, Statutes of 2025 | Signed: October 10, 2025 | Effective: January 1, 2026 | Amends: Government Code (adds § 65946.1)
AB 818 adds a new mandatory processing deadline to the Permit Streamlining Act applying specifically to building permits for temporary emergency housing during declared local emergencies. When a local emergency is declared (or the Governor declares a state of emergency in the affected county on or after February 1, 2025), local agencies must approve or deny permit applications for state/federally approved modular homes, prefabricated homes, or detached ADUs within 10 business days of a complete application.
What Triggers the Shot Clock
The 10-business-day shot clock applies when ALL of the following are true:
- Emergency declaration: A local emergency under Gov. Code § 8630 OR the Governor has declared a state of emergency in the affected county on or after February 1, 2025 (a gubernatorial declaration alone is sufficient)
- Covered structure: The application is for a state- or federally approved modular home, prefabricated home, or detached ADU
- Temporary use: The structure is intended as temporary housing until the rebuilding of an 'affected property' is complete
- Affected property: The application is for residential real estate destroyed or rendered substandard by the disaster that triggered the emergency declaration
Additional Ongoing Requirements (Not Limited to Emergencies)
- Online publishing: All local agencies must publish (1) an online checklist of conditions making a property 'substandard' and (2) general property rebuilding process information. This obligation exists now — it is not contingent on an active emergency.
- Impact fee waiver: AB 818 waives impact fees for certain temporary structure permits in emergency situations. Finance should establish fee waiver protocols in advance.
- Utility connection: Once the agency approves an AB 818 permit, the relevant utility has 30 calendar days to provide written notice of next steps after receiving a connection request.
AB 253 (Ward) — 30-Day Residential Plan Check Shot Clock
Chapter 679, Statutes of 2025 | Signed: October 10, 2025 | Effective: January 1, 2026 | Sunsets: January 1, 2036 | Creates: Health & Safety Code § 19832 et seq.
AB 253 creates the California Residential Private Permitting Review Act, establishing a 30-business-day shot clock for residential building permit plan checks — at all times, not limited to declared emergencies. If the building department exceeds 30 business days, the applicant may retain a licensed private professional to perform the plan check. If the agency then fails to act within 10 business days of receiving the private plan check report, the permit is automatically deemed approved by operation of law.
Covered Projects
- New construction of 1 to 10 residential units where no floor exceeds 40 feet above ground level
- Additions and remodels to existing residential buildings meeting the same unit count and height thresholds
How the Shot Clock Works — Step by Step
- Completeness determination: Agency determines application completeness per existing Permit Streamlining Act requirements.
- Written estimate required: Upon deeming the application complete, the agency MUST provide the applicant with a written estimated timeframe for completing the plan check review.
- 30-day trigger: The applicant may retain a private professional if EITHER (a) the agency's written estimate exceeds 30 business days, OR (b) 30 business days have elapsed since the deemed-complete date without agency determination.
- Applicant notice: Applicant must notify the agency of intent to retain a private provider within 5 business days of the trigger event.
- Private plan check: The licensed private professional performs the plan check and prepares an affidavit under penalty of perjury attesting to code compliance.
- Agency must act within 10 business days: Upon receiving the private provider's report, the agency has 10 business days to (a) issue the permit, or (b) notify the applicant in writing of specific code non-compliance. If the agency takes no action, the plans are DEEMED COMPLIANT and the permit is automatically issued by operation of law.
If your building department receives a private plan check report and fails to respond within 10 business days, the permit is issued by operation of law — without any agency review, signature, or discretionary action. The agency cannot reclaim that permit or condition its issuance after the deemed-approval event.
SB 676 (Limón) — Expedited CEQA Review for Wildfire Rebuilding
Chapter 550, Statutes of 2025 | Signed: October 10, 2025 | Operative: January 1, 2027
SB 676 establishes expedited administrative and judicial review procedures under CEQA for projects that maintain, repair, restore, demolish, or replace wildfire-damaged property in an area for which the Governor declared a state of emergency on or after January 2023. Qualifying projects receive expedited administrative appeal review and a compressed judicial timeline with mandatory trial preference.
SB 676 does not exempt wildfire rebuilding from CEQA. No procedural changes are required before January 1, 2027 — but agencies in wildfire emergency zones with major rebuilding projects should begin CEQA scoping now to prepare for the compressed timeline.
SB 625 (Wahab) — HOA Restrictions on Disaster Rebuilding
Chapter 687, Statutes of 2025 | Signed: October 13, 2025 | Effective: January 1, 2026
SB 625 prohibits homeowners' associations from delaying or blocking rebuilding of homes destroyed in the 2025 Los Angeles-area wildfires based on design differences from the original structure, where the rebuilt structure otherwise complies with applicable zoning and building codes. Cities with architectural review overlays or design review conditions in disaster-affected areas should review with counsel whether any local process creates the same delay risk SB 625 was designed to eliminate.
Compliance Risk Assessment
| Risk | Requirement | Consequence of Non-Compliance |
|---|---|---|
| HIGH | AB 818 — Missing 10-day emergency shot clock | During a declared local emergency, failure to approve or deny within 10 business days constitutes a statutory Permit Streamlining Act violation. Affected disaster survivors may seek mandamus relief. The combination of documented harm and clear statutory violation makes this a high litigation risk. |
| HIGH | AB 253 — 'Deemed approved' after private plan check | If a private plan check report is received and the building department fails to respond within 10 business days, the permit is automatically deemed issued by operation of law — without any agency review. For structures where life-safety review was not completed, this creates significant liability exposure. |
| HIGH | AB 818 — Failure to publish online rebuilding information | AB 818 requires all local agencies to publish an online substandard property checklist and general rebuilding information — not just during emergencies. Agencies that have not updated their websites are already out of compliance as of January 1, 2026. |
| MEDIUM | AB 253 — No written estimated timeframe on deemed-complete | AB 253 requires agencies to provide a written estimated plan check timeframe when an application is deemed complete. Failure may constitute statutory non-compliance and could accelerate the applicant's right to retain private review. |
| MEDIUM | AB 818 — Utility connection delay after permit approval | Municipal utilities have 30 calendar days after receiving a connection request for an approved emergency rebuild project to provide written notice of next steps. Failure creates agency exposure during a time of intense public scrutiny. |
| LOW | SB 676 — CEQA process not updated before 2027 operative date | SB 676 is not operative until January 1, 2027, but agencies in declared wildfire emergency zones with major rebuilding projects should begin CEQA scoping now. Projects starting CEQA at the last minute may be caught by the compressed judicial schedule without adequate preparation. |
Key Dates and Implementation Timeline
| Date | Event / Obligation |
|---|---|
| Oct 10, 2025 | Governor signs AB 818 (Chapter 534) and AB 253 (Chapter 679) — both effective January 1, 2026 |
| Oct 10, 2025 | Governor signs SB 676 (Chapter 550) — operative January 1, 2027 |
| Oct 13, 2025 | Governor signs SB 625 (Chapter 687) — effective January 1, 2026 |
| Jan 1, 2026 | AB 818 OPERATIVE: 10-business-day shot clock for emergency temporary housing permits applies to all declared local emergencies |
| Jan 1, 2026 | AB 253 OPERATIVE: 30-business-day shot clock and private plan check right apply to all covered residential building permit applications |
| Jan 1, 2026 | AB 818: Online substandard property checklist and rebuilding process information must be published on agency website |
| Jan 1, 2026 | SB 625 OPERATIVE: HOAs may not delay disaster rebuilding based on design differences |
| Jan 1, 2027 | SB 676 OPERATIVE: Expedited CEQA administrative and judicial review procedures take effect for qualifying wildfire rebuilding projects |
| Jan 1, 2036 | AB 253 SUNSETS: Private plan check provisions expire unless extended by legislature |
Action Checklist
Immediate — By March 31, 2026
- Building Department: Audit current average plan check timelines for 1–10 unit residential projects to assess AB 253 private plan check trigger risk.
- Building Department: Implement receipt tracking system for private plan check reports with mandatory 10-business-day alert calendar for each report received.
- Building Department / IT: Update agency website to publish (a) online checklist of conditions making a property 'substandard' under AB 818 and (b) general property rebuilding process information.
- Building Department: Revise completeness determination workflow to require issuance of a written estimated plan check timeframe for every covered residential permit.
- City Attorney: Brief Building Official and City Manager on 'deemed approved' risk under AB 253 and when the 10-day clock starts running after private plan check report receipt.
- Finance Department: Establish impact fee waiver protocol for AB 818 emergency temporary housing permits to ensure correct application during the next emergency.
Near-Term — By June 30, 2026
- Emergency Management / Building: Develop emergency permit intake and approval protocol specifically for AB 818 shot clock situations — including surge staffing plan and approval chain of command during declared emergencies.
- Public Utilities (if applicable): Update connection request intake to flag requests associated with approved AB 818 emergency rebuild permits, and implement 30-calendar-day tracking for written next-steps notice.
- Planning Department: Identify capital improvement or infrastructure rebuilding projects in declared wildfire emergency zones subject to SB 676 expedited CEQA after January 1, 2027; begin CEQA scoping now.
- City Attorney: Review any architectural design overlay requirements or local design review processes that might conflict with SB 625 in disaster-affected areas.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does AB 818 apply if the Governor declares a state of emergency but the city has not declared a local emergency?
Yes. AB 818 applies when either a local emergency is declared under Gov. Code § 8630 OR the Governor has declared a state of emergency in the affected county on or after February 1, 2025. A gubernatorial declaration alone is sufficient — the city does not need to separately declare a local emergency. However, the permit application must still be for an 'affected property' — residential real estate destroyed or rendered substandard by the disaster.
Our building department takes 45–60 days on average for residential plan checks. Are we automatically in violation of AB 253?
Not automatically. AB 253 requires the agency to provide a written estimated timeframe, not to guarantee completion within 30 days in every case. However, if that estimate exceeds 30 business days — or if the review is not completed within 30 business days — the applicant immediately has the right to retain a private professional. If your department is consistently over 30 business days, applicants will routinely exercise this right, and every private plan check report not acted upon within 10 business days creates a deemed-approved risk. Plan check capacity is now a legal compliance issue, not just a customer service metric.
If a private plan check concludes the plans are compliant, can our building department still deny the permit?
Yes. Upon receiving the private plan check report, the agency has 10 business days to issue the permit OR notify the applicant in writing of specific code non-compliance. The agency retains full authority to identify code violations. What the agency cannot do is ignore the report for more than 10 business days — that inaction automatically results in deemed approval. Any denial must cite specific code provisions, not vague objections.
Does SB 676 require anything before January 1, 2027?
The statute is not operative until January 1, 2027, so no immediate procedural changes are required. However, agencies in wildfire emergency zones with major rebuilding projects should anticipate that the compressed judicial review timeline will require more thorough upfront CEQA documentation. Courts moving at the expedited pace will not tolerate gaps in the administrative record. Begin identifying qualifying projects and scoping CEQA early.
AB 253's 'deemed approved' provision is unlike anything previously in California building law — it removes the agency from the permitting process entirely if staff miss a deadline. Building departments that are currently over 30-day average plan check times face systematic deemed-approval risk starting January 1, 2026. Legislaide helps agencies assess their exposure and build the workflows needed to stay ahead of the clock.
Published March 20, 2026 by Legal Team at Legislaide.