Fee Deferrals & Refunds
On June 17, the LA County Board of Supervisors approved a motion to defer and refund fees for qualifying property owners rebuilding single-family homes in unincorporated Los Angeles County following the Eaton and Palisades wildfires.
To apply for a fee deferral, please fill out a Request for Fire Rebuild Fee Deferral or Refund form and email it to recovery@planning.lacounty.gov. Print versions of this form will also be accepted at the One-Stop Permit Centers.
Eligibility Criteria
The Board motion was aimed at making the rebuilding process more affordable and accessible to homeowners looking to rebuild homes that were destroyed in the January wildfires. Certain types of rebuild projects (such as commercial or rental housing) are not eligible for a deferral or refund.
To qualify for a permit fee deferral or refund, an applicant must be able to demonstrate that they both owned and lived on the property prior to January 7, 2025.
A project qualifies for a fee deferral or refund if it is:
- Located in unincorporated Los Angeles County
- A replacement single-family home – which could include accessory structures such as garages, Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs), pools, etc. – that was destroyed by the Eaton or Palisades Fire
- Even if the garage or ADU was the only structure destroyed, the rebuild will still qualify for a fee waiver
- A “standalone” ADU that the property owner will temporarily occupy while they wait for their replacement single-family residence to be built
A project does not qualify for a fee waiver or refund if it:
- Is a commercial property
- Contains multi-family housing units
- Is a rental property (non-owner-occupied)
- Is not a home directly destroyed in the fires
- Is a temporary housing unit or temporary housing community
To apply for a fee deferral, please fill out a Request for Fire Rebuild Fee Deferral or Refund form and email it to recovery@planning.lacounty.gov. Print versions of this form will also be accepted at the One-Stop Permit Centers.
Refunds
Applicants that meet the above criteria and have already paid permit fees for their qualifying rebuild project are eligible for a refund using the Request for Fire Rebuild Fee Deferral or Refund form.
Links & Additional Resources
Frequently Asked Questions
The owner of a property in unincorporated LA County that was destroyed by the Eaton Fire or the Palisades Fire, if they lived in a residence on that property on or before January 7, 2025.
Plan review permit and inspection fees for:
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- A replacement single-family home, which could include accessory structures such as garages, Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs), pools, etc.
- Even if the garage or ADU was the only structure destroyed, the rebuild will still qualify for a fee deferral
- A “standalone” ADU that the property owner will temporarily occupy while they wait for their replacement single-family home to be built.
- A replacement single-family home, which could include accessory structures such as garages, Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs), pools, etc.
Please also refer to the following chart, which breaks down which fees are eligible for a deferral and which fees are not:
| Deferral fees include: | Non-deferral fees include: |
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Yes, accessory structures such as garages, Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs), pools, etc. proposed concurrently as a part of the rebuild project will qualify. Even if the accessory structure was the only structure destroyed, the rebuild will still qualify for a fee deferral.
Please complete a County Disaster Recovery Permit – Rebuild Project Fee Deferral/ Refund Request. You need to attest that you have information to demonstrate that you lived in a residence on your property on or before January 7, 2025, but you do not need to provide that information unless LA County staff asks for it later.
Email the request to recovery@planning.lacounty.gov or submit it in-person at the Altadena and Calabasas One-Stop Permit Centers. The request only needs to be submitted once for all LA County Departments.
Yes. If you qualify and have paid any permit and inspection fees, please complete a County Disaster Recovery Permit – Rebuild Project Fee Deferral / Refund Request and see the additional information in question 4, above.
Refunds are issued to the original payee. LA County will notify the property owner that the fees have been refunded. Most refunds are processed within two to four weeks after the property owner submits the request.
You qualify if you were the trust’s beneficial owner and lived in a residence on the property on or before January 7, 2025.
Only your primary residence is eligible for a fee deferral or refund.
No. The fee deferral is non-transferable.
This does not apply to you. This only applies to property owners in unincorporated LA County. If you do not know whether your property is in unincorporated LA County, please use the “LA County Jurisdiction Lookup” tool on LA County Planning’s website. If you live or have property in one of these other jurisdictions, please check with them to see whether they are considering fee deferrals.
The fees are being deferred from the LA County government’s perspective because they are working on different ways to recover the costs associated with their staff issuing rebuild permits. However, the fees are being waived from the property owner’s perspective because they never have to pay the fees.