Pending State Housing Laws: Expedited Approval of Post-Entitlement Permits

Various state housing bills are currently making their way through the California State Legislature that are expected to benefit mixed-income multifamily housing developers. The following summaries reflect the status of the pending legislation as of June 6, 2025. Future amendments are expected. Important upcoming dates in the legislative process include:

• September 12, 2025 – final date for the Legislature to pass bills.
• October 12, 2025 – final date for the Governor to sign or veto passed bills.
• January 1, 2026 – default effective date for approved bills (unless otherwise specified).

BACKGROUND

As explained in our prior legal alert, existing law (AB 2234) requires local agencies to process post-entitlement phase permits (defined below) for housing development projects (as defined) within specified timeframes. A local agency must determine whether an application for a post-entitlement phase permit application is complete within 15 days of receiving the application. The local agency must complete its review within 30 to 60 business days after the application is deemed complete (depending on the size of the project) and either: (i) provide a full set of comments with a comprehensive request for revisions; or (ii) approve the permit application within that timeframe (subject to specified exceptions). AB 2234 provides that any failure to do so is a violation of the Housing Accountability Act (Gov. Code § 65589.5) (“HAA”).

AB 1114 (Haney) and AB 281 (Grayson) amended AB 2234, effective January 1, 2024. AB 1114 extended these required review timeframes to all post-entitlement building permits, whether discretionary or nondiscretionary. This clarification is important because certain local agencies, such as the City and County of San Francisco, consider all building permits to be discretionary. AB 281 extended the required review timeframe to post-entitlement phase permits related to service from a special district, as defined in Gov. Code § 56036, such as a water district.

Under existing law, “post-entitlement phase permit” means a permit issued by a local agency (defined to mean a city, county or city and county) after the entitlements process has been completed to begin construction of a project that is at least two-thirds residential and includes, but is not limited to: (i) building permits; (ii) permits for minor or standard off-site improvements; (iii) demolition permits; and (iv) permits for minor or standard excavation and grading.

ASSEMBLY BILL 660: DEADLINES FOR LOCAL AGENCIES

AB 660 (Wilson, Ransom, Blanca Rubio, Wicks, and Haney) would amend the post-entitlement phase permit review and approval process for qualifying housing development projects (as defined) under Gov. Code §§ 65913.3 and 65913.3.1.

As currently proposed, AB 660 would:

• Provide that if a local agency fails to determine whether a post-entitlement phase permit application complies with applicable permit standards within 30 to 60 business days after the application is deemed complete (depending on the size of the project), the applicant may retain a licensed professional engineer or architect to check the plans and specifications for compliance with applicable permit standards (at the applicant’s own expense).
• Provide that a post-entitlement phase permit includes plan checking and building inspection for the issuance of a building permit (in addition to all required interdepartmental review) and prohibit local agencies from requiring or requesting more than two plan check and specification reviews in connection with a building permit application.
• Remove the tolling provision related to review by outside entities.
• Prohibit local agencies from requesting or requiring “any action or inaction as a result of a building inspection undertaken to assess compliance with applicable building permit standards that would represent a deviation from a previously approved building plan or similar approval for the building permit” (unless specified findings are made based on substantial evidence in the record related to, e.g., a specific adverse impact on the public health and safety).
• Require a final written determination on an administrative appeal of a local agency’s decision on a post-entitlement phase permit (where applicable) to be made within 15 to 30 business days after receipt of the applicant’s written appeal (depending on the size of the project) versus 60 to 90 business days under existing law. All administrative appeals would be heard by the local agency’s governing body (versus the planning commission, or both, at the applicant’s option, under existing law).
• Provide that if a decision on appeal is not made within that timeframe, if the appeal is denied, or an appeals process is not provided as required, the applicant may seek a writ of mandate to compel approval of the post-entitlement phase permit. That writ “shall be granted if there is substantial evidence in the record that a reasonable person could find that the application is complete and compliant with applicable standards.”

AB 660 was passed by the Assembly on June 4, 2025, and has been ordered to the Senate.

ASSEMBLY BILL 1026: DEADLINES FOR ELECTRICAL CORPORATIONS

AB 1026 (Wilson, Haney, and Wicks) would newly impose deadlines on the review and approval of post-entitlement phase permits for housing development projects (as defined) by electrical corporations (as defined in Public Utilities Code § 218).

As currently proposed, AB 1026 would:

• Revise the definition of local agency to include electrical corporations, thereby requiring such entities to comply with requirements relating to post-entitlement phase permits.
• Revise the definition of post-entitlement phase permit to include permits required by utilities that are not owned and operated by a local agency.

AB 1026 was passed by the Assembly on May 29, 2025, and has been ordered to the Senate. 

ASSEMBLY BILL 1308: DEADLINES FOR BUILDING DEPARTMENTS

AB 1308 (Hoover and Wicks) would apply to building permits for new residential construction, a residential addition, or a residential remodel where the project: (i) includes between one to ten dwelling units; and (ii) contains no floors used for human occupancy located more than 40 feet above ground level.

As currently proposed, AB 1308 would:

• Require building departments to provide an estimated timeframe for completion of inspection of the permitted work under a qualifying residential building permit. If that timeframe exceeds 30 days from receipt of a notice of completion — or the building department has not conducted the inspection within 30 days – the applicant may retain a private professional provider (as defined) to inspect the permitted work (at the applicant’s own expense).
• Incentivize building departments to conduct an inspection of permitted work within 60 days of receipt of a notice of completion. If that deadline is not met, the permittee would be entitled to reimbursement of any permit fees paid (unless the inspection was performed by a private professional provider).
• Require building departments to respond to the inspection report (as specified) from the private professional provider within 14 days. If the permitted work is compliant (as specified), the building department must issue a certificate of occupancy (or equivalent final approval) within that timeframe.

AB 1308 was passed by the Assembly on May 23, 2025, and has been ordered to the Senate. 

SENATE BILL 328: DEADLINES FOR DEPARTMENT OF TOXIC SUBSTANCES CONTROL

SB 328 (Grayson) would impose deadlines on the Department of Toxic Substances Control (Department) for the review and approval of post-entitlement phase permits for housing development projects (as defined) that a local agency has deemed complete pursuant to AB 2234 (Gov. Code § 65913.3(b)) and that requires a response from the Department. If SB 328 is passed by the Legislature and approved by the Governor, the deadlines below would go into effect on July 1, 2028.

As currently proposed, SB 328 would:

• Require the Department to provide written notice to a request regarding subsequent actions in the Department’s post-entitlement phase permit review process, including whether any additional information is required to review the request, within a specified time period.
• Upon receipt of a request, the Department shall respond within: (i) 60 business days of receipt of the request for a housing development project with 25 units or less; or (ii) 120 business days for a housing development project with 26 or more units.
• Require the Department to comply with the applicable 60 or 120-day time period in all responses to requests for additional information from the requestor.

SB 328 was passed by the Senate on May 29, 2025, and has been routed to the Assembly.