California Passes Six-Year Freeze on Building Code Modifications
As states across the nation struggle with high housing costs, California is opting for a solution that could potentially serve as a guideline for other states with similar affordability challenges. Governor Gavin Newsom recently approved the state’s new budget, which includes several housing-friendly measures, including a six-year freeze on adopting or modifying residential building codes. According to the National Association of Home Builders, the goal is to ease California’s severe housing affordability crisis by building more homes and provide relief to Los Angeles residents who lost their homes in the January wildfires.
The $321 billion budget for the 2025–26 fiscal year, which began July 1, includes a number of trailer bills. Among them, AB 130 blocks the state from considering, approving, or implementing changes to housing codes until June 1, 2031, except in cases of emergencies or wildfire-related safety needs. It also prohibits cities and counties from altering their own building codes during that period. Additionally, AB 130 restricts changes during the Intervening Cycle, which is the 18-month period after a code is published when amendments are often added.
“This is a huge win for us and for home buyers and renters in the state,” said Chris Ochoa, CBIA’s senior counsel for codes. “We are interested to see if this can serve as a model for other states.”
Ochoa noted that while the code pause will be a massive help in the immediate term, there are other longer-term provisions worthy of attention.
Production home builders and developers got a big boost from a provision allowing builders to use the building codes in force when a model home is approved for up to 10 years when building other homes with the same blueprints. This gives builders and developers a full decade to complete a development without necessitating a building code change between phases.
AB 130 and its companion SB 131 also focus on how proposed housing projects interact with the California Environment Quality Act (CEQA), which requires extensive review before permits are granted. The suite of provisions is aimed at streamlining permitting and minimizing CEQA impact through exemptions.