Updated October 2026
A like-for-like rebuild lets you replace a home lost in the January 2025 fires at about the same size, in about the same place, without meeting today’s zoning code. It is the fastest permit path after the Eaton and Palisades fires, and in unincorporated LA County the window to apply closes about two years after the emergency declaration.
The short version
- City of Los Angeles (Palisades): you can rebuild up to 110% of the old building’s height and footprint, with no CEQA, Coastal Act or Mello Act review.
- Unincorporated LA County (Altadena, Eaton area): you can add up to 10% or 200 sf, whichever is greater. In the County’s Palisades area the limit is 10%.
- County plan review targets 10 business days for a first check and 5 for a recheck.
- County fees are waived for owners who owned and lived in the home before January 7, 2025.
- County like-for-like applications are due within two years of the emergency declaration, so early 2027. Up to three one-year extensions are available.
What counts as like-for-like
The new building must be for the same use, at roughly the same size and in substantially the same location. Within that, you have some room:
- City of LA: the building can shift on the lot. You can add a basement. Old non-conforming setbacks can stay. Driveways, retaining walls and accessory structures count too, and the rule covers residential, commercial and institutional buildings.
- LA County (Eaton area): height can match the old building or the current zoning limit, with no added stories. If you move the house, it must keep at least 50% of its original footprint. No covered parking is required.
You still have to meet today’s Building, Fire and Health and Safety codes. Expect current fire-hardening, sprinkler and energy rules.
When like-for-like is the wrong choice
Like-for-like is built for speed. It is not built for more homes. If you want to add units, split the lot or change the layout a lot, you leave the streamlined path and design to current zoning or a state housing law.
- A standalone ADU can be built first and lived in until January 7, 2030 while you rebuild the main house (County rule).
- On a vacant single-family lot, SB 1123 allows up to 10 lots and 10 homes with 60-day ministerial approval.
Ready to file? Our step-by-step permit guide walks through the order of work.
How we use it
At Mariposa Complex, 385 Mariposa St in Altadena, the rebuild went beyond like-for-like. After the Eaton Fire it used SB 1123 to place three homes along a shared driveway, each with an attached ground-floor ADU, three stories with roof gardens. The project won the 2026 AIA Pasadena & Foothill Rebuild Design Award for The Most Collaborative Process. On any burned lot we compare what like-for-like gets you with what the lot could hold instead.
Sources: LA County Recovery FAQ, LA City Planning, Palisades Rebuild FAQs.
A post-fire rebuild for more than one household, and winner of a 2026 AIA Pasadena & Foothill Rebuild Design Award.
Planning a rebuild?
Send us the address and we’ll tell you what it can hold. Book a free consultation → · Follow @ydsarch on Instagram
