Rebuilding in Malibu with Steel Framing: A Practical Guide

Can I rebuild in Malibu with steel framing?

Yes. Light-gauge steel is a recognized construction method under the California Residential Code, and the City's like-for-like limits measure location, height, bulk and floor area, not framing material. The City's Rebuild Policies also let the design change: a craftsman house can come back as a modern one within the same limits.

What steel changes is the paperwork and the details. Expect structural drawings and calculations stamped by a California-licensed engineer, a foundation designed around the steel frame's hold-downs and anchors, an energy design that accounts for heat flow through steel studs, and a coating suited to salt air. Start by checking your address for jurisdiction, fire hazard zone and climate zone.

Is your lot inside the City of Malibu?

The City warns that a Malibu ZIP code does not guarantee City jurisdiction, so confirm your lot on the City's GIS map before you start. Lots outside City limits, such as the unincorporated communities of the Santa Monica Mountains, go through LA County instead:

• LA County handles the permits.
• For the Palisades Fire area, the County's like-for-like rule allows modifications of up to 10% in floor area, size, height or building footprint.
• The County's Calabasas One-Stop Permit Center, at 27001 Agoura Road, Suite 250, Calabasas, serves Palisades Fire parcels.

Our Altadena guide covers the County's other programs, and our Pacific Palisades guide covers the City of Los Angeles side of the Palisades Fire area.

City of Malibu rebuild rules

Like-for-like plus 10%

In March 2025 the City adopted Ordinance No. 524, its Disaster Rebuild Ordinance, which gives relief to owners who lost structures in the 2025 Palisades Fire, the 2024 Franklin Fire and the 2024 Broad Fire. The Coastal Commission certified it on April 10, 2025. On October 15, 2025, the City Council adopted Rebuild Policies that explain how the rules are applied:

• Like-for-like means a replacement sited in substantially the same location and within 110% of the previous structure's height, bulk or square footage.
• Bulk is the limit. Bulk is the interior volume. The extra 10% can go to more height or to more floor area, but volume used on one is not available for the other.
• Same location means within 50% of the previous footprint and envelope. Moving farther takes a de minimis waiver or a coastal development permit.
• Basements count. New basements and subterranean garages are included in the 110% square footage.
• The design can change, as long as the home stays within the same limits.
• Some increases need a site plan review. On non-beachfront lots, added height or bulk above 18 feet needs one, and so does a 10% increase into a required setback.
• A survey is required at the Planning Verification stage, and it can be reused in building plan check.

Paths at a glance

Deadlines for non-conforming homes

If your home had features that don't meet today's zoning, such as setbacks, height or square footage, timing matters. Under Malibu Municipal Code Section 17.60.020(C), you have six years from the fire to submit a planning application and eight years to get a building permit if you want to rebuild those non-conforming features. After that, the City says rebuilding may still be allowed, but the home may not be able to return to its original form.

Palisades Fire lots: the Governor's orders

Executive Order N-4-25 (January 12, 2025) suspended CEQA and the Coastal Act's permit requirement for rebuilding after the January 2025 fires. Executive Order N-20-25 (February 13, 2025) set the limits:

• A primary structure qualifies when it is in substantially the same location and no more than 110% of the footprint and height of the structure that stood immediately before the fire.
• A replacement can't reach farther seaward on the beach than the structure it replaces.
• The City decides eligibility, and that decision can't be appealed to the Coastal Commission.
• Building permits for these rebuilds in LA County are valid for three years from issuance.

The City's Rebuild Policies add a few rules for Palisades Fire lots only. For example, a project that was approved or deemed complete before the fire can be built along with the replacement, and code-required interior access that higher FEMA flood elevations make necessary on beachfront lots doesn't count toward the extra 10%.

Franklin and Broad fire lots

The Governor's orders cover the fires of January 2025. They don't reach the Franklin Fire, which CAL FIRE says started on December 9, 2024 near Malibu Canyon Road and destroyed 20 structures, or the Broad Fire of November 2024. For those lots, the City's Local Coastal Program does the work: under its Local Implementation Plan Section 13.4.6, a replacement for a structure destroyed by a disaster is exempt from a coastal development permit if it is for the same use, is no more than 10% larger in floor area, height or bulk, and sits in substantially the same location.

Fees

The City's Fee Waiver Program waives City planning and building permit fees for eligible rebuilds after the Broad, Franklin and Palisades fires:

• The home was the owner's primary residence on the date of the fire: November 6, 2024 (Broad), December 9, 2024 (Franklin) or January 7, 2025 (Palisades).
• Single-family homes and duplexes with both units owner-occupied qualify; commercial rebuilds do not.
• The rebuild is like-for-like or like-for-like plus 10%.
• Only City fees are covered. Other agencies' fees are not.
• Applications are due by June 30, 2028, planning applications must be deemed complete by the same date, and building permits must be obtained by December 30, 2030.
• If the property is sold before a certificate of occupancy, the waived fees must be repaid.

Property tax relief that applies to any rebuild

None of these programs favors steel over wood; they apply whatever the framing material. Under Revenue and Taxation Code section 70.5, an owner who rebuilds a substantially equivalent home on the same site generally keeps the old Prop 13 base-year value. For the 2025 Palisades Fire and the 2024 Franklin Fire, SB 663 extends the time to rebuild from 5 to 8 years, according to the State Board of Equalization. Larger or more valuable homes are reassessed on the excess. This is not tax advice; confirm with the LA County Assessor.

Which building code applies?

New projects generally follow the 2025 California Building Standards Code, effective January 1, 2026. For Palisades Fire rebuilds, Executive Order N-29-25 (July 2025) lets a project follow the 2022 code instead, except for fire-safety standards and flood elevation standards, according to the order and LA County's implementation sheet for it. It also exempts rebuilt homes from installing rooftop solar panels and batteries; they must still be solar-ready.

The order covers the January 2025 fires, so ask the City which edition applies to your permit before your engineer finalizes the steel drawings, especially on a Franklin or Broad Fire lot. The edition affects the structural, energy and wildfire requirements.

Do I need G90 galvanized steel near the coast?

Not by code. The minimum coating for structural cold-formed steel framing is G60, and G40 is acceptable for nonstructural framing. We frame with G90, which has 50% more zinc than the G60 minimum, and the project engineer confirms the coating for your site. On beachfront and bluff lots, also ask your engineer how fasteners and connections are specified for salt exposure. See metal stud sizes, mils and gauges for coating details.

Beachfront rebuilds have their own rules. The City's Rebuild Policies set a beachfront replacement's height above sea level by FEMA flood plain regulations, with no added sea-level-rise requirement from the City, and an onsite wastewater system or seawall built with the replacement is designed by your coastal engineer.

Foundations and anchors for a steel frame

A steel frame's engineer sets a hold-down and anchor layout, and the foundation has to match it. In Malibu, reusing a fire-damaged foundation takes a feasibility review based on a report by a California-licensed civil or structural engineer and a soils evaluation by a geotechnical engineer. Any hold-downs, anchor bolts or mudsill anchors you want to keep need pull-out testing. The City says foundations of fire-destroyed structures are typically compromised and are not permitted to be reused, so expect a new foundation designed around the steel frame.

Title 24 energy code for a steel rebuild in Malibu

California's energy code (Title 24, Part 6) sets wall insulation requirements by climate zone, and our address check shows the zone for your lot. Steel studs conduct heat, so cavity insulation alone generally does not meet these requirements in a steel wall. Continuous exterior insulation is usually part of the design, and your energy compliance documents have to be modeled for steel assemblies.

Steel and wildfire

Steel studs are noncombustible: they don't burn or add fuel. Fire ratings come from the full wall assembly, and wildfire survival also depends on the roof, vents, windows, siding and the 5-foot zone. Homes in Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones must meet California's Wildland-Urban Interface Code (Title 24, Part 7). See California's 2026 WUI Code and Steel Framing for Wildfire Rebuilds.

How to rebuild with steel in Malibu, step by step

1. Confirm your jurisdiction and records

Check that your lot is inside City limits, then gather its permit history from the City, the Coastal Commission's data portal and the LA County Assessor.

2. Book a Rebuild Center appointment

Meet City staff in person, by video or as a walk-in to talk through your options.

3. Choose your path

Decide between like-for-like plus 10% and a coastal development permit for a larger or relocated home.

4. Design or convert your plans

Work with your architect and a California-licensed engineer on stamped LGS drawings and calculations. If you already have wood plans, our wood-to-steel plan conversion service coordinates the change. A California-licensed engineer stamps the structural drawings and calculations. APB coordinates the engineering: we're the framing contractor, not an engineering firm.

5. Site verification and planning review

City specialists in fire, geology, coastal engineering, public works, biology and environmental health review the site, and an optional one-time on-site consultation is available before you submit architectural plans. Planning then reviews the plans against the City's codes and Local Coastal Program and issues a planning entitlement. The City says like-for-like rebuilds usually get quick planning approval.

6. Building plan check and permits

Submit to Building Safety through the City's Development Portal. Expect comments on the structural and energy documents; your engineer and designer respond until the permits are issued. Typical permits are building, mechanical, electrical, plumbing and septic.

7. Build and inspect

The foundation goes in with the anchors and hold-downs the steel design calls for, then the steel frame, then inspections at each stage. After a fire-rebuilt home with a septic system receives its certificate of occupancy, its onsite wastewater (OWTS) operating permit is due within 60 days.

Malibu Rebuild Center

The City's Rebuild Center handles rebuild questions and appointments:

23805 Stuart Ranch Road, Suite 240, Malibu Phone: (310) 456-2489, ext. 400 · Email: MalibuRecovers@MalibuCity.org

The City lists hours of Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., with in-person, virtual and walk-in visits. Confirm before you go.

Talk to us about your Malibu rebuild

Send your plans or your address and goals through our contact page. We will tell you whether steel framing fits your project and what the conversion would involve. APB Inc. is a licensed framing contractor, CSLB #951030 · first issued 2010, and you can check the state record. The City reminds owners that contracting without a license in a declared disaster area is a felony, so check any contractor's license before you sign. See a home we framed in Pacific Palisades.

Why homeowners choose steel framing with APB

Malibu owners weigh salt air, hillside lots and fire risk on the same parcel. Steel gives you a frame that termites can't eat and that adds no fuel to a fire, and we frame with G90 galvanized steel. A California-licensed engineer stamps the structural drawings and calculations. APB coordinates the engineering: we're the framing contractor, not an engineering firm. Read why steel framing pays off in California, see how wood-to-steel plan conversion works, or contact us.