The US Small Business Administration (SBA) has published a regulatory guidance titled “Addressing State and Local Failures to Rebuild Los Angeles After Wildfire Disasters” that will enable allow builders to self-certify compliance with substantive state and local rebuilding requirements in wildfire-impacted sections of Los Angeles County.
According to the SBA, the guidance follows President Trump’s executive order to bypass local and state permitting processes that many residents have found onerous. The SBA noted that in the year since wildfires destroyed over 16,000 homes and businesses in California, fewer than 3,000 rebuild permits have been issued across the City and County of Los Angeles, adding that 75% of Pacific Palisades residents and 67% of Altadena residents are still in temporary housing.
The SBA said residents can immediately begin rebuilding using $3.2 billion in federal disaster relief that has been approved for the region. Borrowers seeking self-certification need to submit a Disaster Loan Modification application and a Builder’s Certification. Once approved by the SBA, these documents formally amend the borrower’s Loan Authorization and Agreement, replacing the language that otherwise required local permits before rebuilding could begin.
“The residents of Los Angeles were faced with massive tragedy in 2025 – and the nightmare has continued for over a year, as state and local permitting backlogs prevented them from rebuilding thousands of homes and businesses with the $3.2 billion in SBA relief that this Administration surged to the community,” said SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler. “Today, with President Trump’s leadership and alongside EPA, the SBA is opening an expedited path to recovery for every borrower who has been held hostage by the bureaucracy of Gavin Newsom and Karen Bass. By having their builders self-certify compliance with state and local regulations, survivors can immediately bypass the red tape, put their SBA funding to work, and begin rebuilding after more than a year of delays, excuses, and inaction.”
