Trump’s LA Permit Takeover: What It Actually Means for You

Spoiler Alert: It Won’t Fix the Real Problem.

By now you’ve seen the headlines. Your WhatsApp is blowing up. Yes, President Trump signed an executive order today called “Addressing State and Local Failures to Rebuild Los Angeles After Wildfire Disasters.” The full text is now live on whitehouse.gov.

Yes, it authorizes the federal government to bypass city permits.

But here’s the thing. I’ve spent the last hour reading the actual order, and there’s a lot the headlines aren’t telling you.

Let me break it down.

What the Order Actually Does

The mechanism is “Federal Self-Certification.” Here’s the key language directly from Section 3 of the executive order:

“[R]eplace preempted State or local permitting regimes… with a requirement that builders self-certify to a Federal designee from each agency that they have complied with all applicable substantive State and local health and safety standards.”

Translation: Instead of submitting your plans to LADBS and waiting months for someone to open your PDF, you would:

1. Hire a licensed professional (your architect or structural engineer)
2. They certify that your plans meet code
3. You submit that certification to a “Federal Designee” (TBD who this is)
4. You get federal approval
5. You start building

The critical nuance: the Order waives procedural requirements (the waiting, the hearings, the plan checks). It does NOT waive substantive requirements. You still have to build to California Title 24 energy standards, fire codes, and seismic safety. You just don’t have to wait for the City to confirm that you did.

Who Does This Apply To?

This is the question I’m getting most. Based on the order’s language about “Federal emergency-relief funds”:

Likely eligible:

• Homeowners using FEMA Individual Assistance
• Homeowners with SBA disaster loans
• Anyone receiving federal disaster relief funds

Unclear:

• Rebuilding entirely with insurance money and no federal funds?
• Already have a permit in the pipeline at LADBS?
• Already started construction?

I’m reaching out to FEMA for clarification and will update this post.

The Administration’s Numbers vs. What We’re Tracking

The order claims “less than 15%” of destroyed homes have received approvals. The NY Post article says only 2,600 permits have been issued for 16,000 destroyed structures.

Here’s what we’re actually tracking at PaliBuilds for the 90272 ZIP code (Pacific Palisades):

• 102 new building permits issued in December 2025 alone
• Average permit approval time: 68 days (weighted average since the fire)
• Permits are issuing. The question is whether people can afford to use them.

The city’s numbers include all permit types (electrical, grading, demo, pools). We track only “new building” permits because that’s what actually tells you if homes are getting rebuilt. The Mayor’s office has cited numbers that are 265% higher than our new-home count because they include every permit type.

The Newsom Waiver vs. The Trump Waiver

Many of you are asking: “Didn’t Governor Newsom already waive the Coastal Act?”

Yes. But here’s the difference:

Newsom’s Orders (N-4-25, N-29-25): Waived environmental reviews (CEQA) and Coastal Commission permits if you’re rebuilding the same square footage (+10%). But they did NOT touch the City of LA’s zoning corrections, grading plan checks, or staffing shortages.

Trump’s Order: Attacks the City’s administrative process itself. It says: if the State/City can’t process the permit in a reasonable time, the Federal Government will accept the builder’s word that it’s safe.

Newsom cleared state-level red tape. Trump is going after city-level delays.

The Timeline: What the Order Actually Says

Per Section 3(b) of the order: FEMA and SBA must publish proposed regulations within 30 days and final regulations within 90 days.

That means we won’t know the real details (forms, Federal Designee contact info, exact eligibility requirements) until late February at the earliest for proposed rules, and late April for final rules.

I’ll publish that information the second it goes live.

The Money Audit (Watch Your Grants)

Section 6 of the Order triggers a full audit of the nearly $3 billion in Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) funds granted to California.

The order directs FEMA to determine within 30 days if any of this funding “was awarded arbitrarily, capriciously, or contrary to law” and complete a full audit within 60 days examining whether projects were completed on time and whether they actually reduced wildfire risk.

What this means for you: If you have a pending application for state grants (debris removal reimbursement, fire hardening grants), this money might be frozen while the Feds audit whether California was “hoarding” it.

Action item: If you have an approved grant that hasn’t funded yet, contact your caseworker TODAY to understand if this Order affects your timeline.

Three Questions We’re Investigating

The Order sounds like a miracle. But there are critical unknowns we need to answer before anyone should rely on this:

1. Will Insurance Carriers Accept Federal Self-Certification?

If you build using “Federal Self-Certification” and bypass the City’s Certificate of Occupancy, will your insurance carrier cover the rebuilt home?

Insurance companies typically require a valid municipal C of O. If the City refuses to recognize the federal process, you might end up with a house you can’t insure or can’t get a mortgage on.

We’re reaching out to major brokers today. I’ll update this post when we have answers.

2. Will LADWP Connect Utilities to Federally-Permitted Homes?

You can have a federal permit, but the water and power lines are owned by LADWP (a City agency) and SoCalGas.

Will LADWP hook up a meter to a house that the City Building Department considers “not permitted”? The Order attempts to preempt this, but expect a messy fight. Your federal permit is only useful if you can turn on the lights.

3. Will Banks Accept Federal Permits for Future Sales?

Five years from now, when you sell your home, will the buyer’s bank accept a “FEMA Self-Cert” in lieu of a standard City permit? Or will you have a permanent cloud on your title that affects resale value?

Banks are conservative. If this creates two classes of permits (“city-approved” vs. “federally-approved”), the market may treat them differently.

These are open questions, not confirmed problems. But they’re worth asking your architect, lender, and insurance agent about right now.

The $800-Billion Gorilla: Insurance, Not Permits

I know this firsthand because I lived it.

When the Palisades Fire destroyed my home, I found myself facing a crisis I never expected: navigating insurance estimates that didn’t come close to what it would actually cost to rebuild.

Last week, Spectrum News reported on data from Claim Architect showing that insurance payouts are roughly $600 per square foot short of realistic rebuild costs in the Palisades.

Homeowner Sue Pascoe told Spectrum News her insurance company (State Farm) estimated her rebuild at $400/sqft when actual costs are $800-$1,000/sqft. She has her permit. She can’t afford to use it.

This isn’t one carrier. Kambiz Kamdar, one of our co-founders, told Spectrum News: “We’re having this issue for all of them – Mercury, Travelers, AAA, State Farm. This issue about the insurance gap is the biggest issue that homeowners are having in the Palisades.”

A faster permit doesn’t help if you can’t afford to build.

That’s why we built Claim Architect. It reconstructs your home in digital, CAD-level detail and produces a realistic Scope of Loss report based on actual local construction costs, not legacy software. It’s the leverage you need to have informed conversations with your adjuster.

If you play it straight down the middle thinking the insurance carrier will take care of you, you lose. The system is designed that way.

Your 30-Day Action Plan

The federal regulations won’t be published for at least a month. Here’s what to do while we wait:

1. Do NOT Stop Your City Permit

Keep pushing LADBS. If the federal path gets tied up in court (which it might), you don’t want to lose your place in line.

2. Ask Your Architect: “Are You Willing to Self-Certify?”

This is critical. Many professionals may be terrified of the liability. If your architect refuses to sign the affidavit, this Order does you no good. Have this conversation now so you’re not surprised later.

3. Use This as Leverage with LADBS

If you’re close to permit issuance, the City might actually speed up to avoid losing jurisdiction. Call your expeditor: “Can we get this approved before the Feds step in?” The threat of federal preemption might be more valuable than the actual federal process.

4. Watch Your Grants

If you have pending HMGP or other state grant applications, contact your caseworker to understand if the audit affects your timeline.

5. Fight Your Insurance Estimate

If you’re stuck on a lowball estimate, don’t wait. Get a realistic rebuild cost report. We built Claim Architect for exactly this.

6. Don’t Make Any Decisions Based on Headlines

Wait for the actual regulations. The devil is in the details, and we don’t have them yet.

What We’re Watching

I’ll update this post as we learn more:

• Full regulatory guidance from FEMA/SBA (proposed rules expected late February, final rules late April)
• “Federal Designee” contact information
• Insurance carrier responses – will they accept federal self-cert?
• LADWP/utility position on federal permits
• Legal challenges (expect them)
• How this affects permits already in progress

The Bottom Line

This Executive Order might help the subset of rebuilds genuinely stuck in city permit review. That’s real, and it matters.

But for most people I talk to, the bottleneck isn’t the city. It’s the insurance company.

And this Order doesn’t touch that.

We want everyone home. We’ll keep tracking the real numbers, cutting through the noise, and telling you what actually matters for your rebuild.

That’s what neighbors do.

Mike Furnari
President, PaliBuilds
Palisadian looking to bring my community back

Sources

• White House: Executive Order – Addressing State and Local Failures to Rebuild Los Angeles (Full Text)
• NY Post: Trump signs executive order for feds to take over LA’s ‘nightmare’ wildfire rebuild
• Spectrum News: New report shows insurance payouts for rebuilds in the Palisades are falling woefully short
• Holland & Knight: Orders Addressing Rebuilding After Southern California Fires
• PaliBuilds: Building Permit Tracker
• Circling The News: The Real Permit Numbers for Palisades Rebuild from PaliBuilds
• PaliBuilds: The Real Reason Palisades Rebuilding is Stalled
• Claim Architect: AI-Powered Rebuild Cost Estimates
• Westsidecurrent: Two Palisadians Turn Code and Construction into a Real-Data Lifeline

Last updated: January 27, 2026, 2:00 PM PT
Bookmark this page. I’ll update as the regulations are published.