Malibu Building Permit Timelines & Delays

Rebuild applications averaged 265 calendar days from application to permit, with 73 of those days in agency review, according to the City’s Permitting Progress Dashboard as published by the State of California (Rebuilding LA, retrieved October 28, 2026; the page gives no as-of date). The City’s stated target is 10 business days per Planning Verification review, and a rebuild development permit decision is due within 15 calendar days of a complete application; the guide states no target for building plan check (City of Malibu, Start-to-Finish Rebuilding Guide, April 2026). The first finished rebuild received its certificate of occupancy on September 14, 2026, about 11 months after its permit (City of Malibu, 2026).

Not for a like-for-like rebuild. The City treats a replacement for the same use, no more than 10% over the prior floor area, height or bulk and in substantially the same location, as exempt; a larger or relocated rebuild needs a coastal development permit, and moving more than 50% outside the prior footprint needs a de minimis waiver or a permit (City of Malibu, Start-to-Finish Rebuilding Guide, 2026; Rebuild Policies, 2025). Executive Order N-20-25, signed February 13, 2025, also suspended Coastal Act permitting for Palisades Fire rebuilds in substantially the same location and within 110% of the prior footprint and height, and makes the local agency’s approval determinative of eligibility (Office of the Governor, 2025). The Coastal Commission’s staff report on Malibu’s 2025 disaster-rebuild amendment says the orders’ exemptions apply where they conflict with the coastal plan provisions in that amendment (California Coastal Commission, 2025).

City fees are waived for eligible owners rebuilding a single-family home or an owner-occupied duplex lost in the Broad, Franklin or Palisades fires that was their primary residence on the fire date, for like-for-like or like-for-like plus 10% rebuilds; commercial rebuilds, other agencies’ fees and post-approval revisions are not covered. The City Council adopted the waiver as Resolution No. 25-29 on July 14, 2025; waiver applications are due by 4 p.m. on June 30, 2028, planning applications must be deemed complete by then, and building permits must be obtained by December 30, 2030. If the property sells before the certificate of occupancy, the waived fees must be repaid within 90 days (City of Malibu, Fee Waiver Program; Start-to-Finish Rebuilding Guide, 2026).

The City of Malibu, through its Rebuild Center and Development Portal. The City adopts by reference the Los Angeles County building code as in effect on January 1, 2026, which is based on the 2025 California Building Code (Malibu Municipal Code §15.04.010, Ord. 531, January 12, 2026). Los Angeles County Fire reviews fire code and fuel modification, Waterworks District 29 sets water requirements, and Caltrans permits work on Pacific Coast Highway (City of Malibu, Start-to-Finish Rebuilding Guide, 2026). Residential rebuilds of homes destroyed or substantially damaged in the January 2025 fires, including the Palisades Fire, may follow the 2022 California building standards instead of the 2025 edition, except the State Fire Marshal’s fire and public safety rules and minimum flood-elevation standards, under Executive Order N-37-25 (in effect since November 24, 2025); the order does not name the Franklin or Broad fires (Office of the Governor, 2025).