Malibu Rebuild Permits Double

88 fire rebuilds are now cleared for construction, up from 45 in April.

Holly Bieler · July 29, 2026

Malibu has approved nearly 43 home rebuild permits for Palisades Fire victims since the spring, a sharp increase after months of complaints about the city’s slow processing.

The new number is nearly double the total number of approvals last [reported three months.](http://youtube.com/watch?v=1FH4Rz0RIuM&t=3s&utm_source=www.stringermalibu.com&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=malibu-stringer-4-17-26&_bhlid=dd1be88686898a4e117cd7b4afe2af13fa79b170) At that time, more than a year after the fire, Malibu had only approved 45 rebuild permits.

Numbers from last week’s Planning Commission meeting show 270 rebuild applications have been received thus far, of which 84% have already been approved by the planning division. 63% are now in building plan check.

The beachfront remains the exception. Ten homes on Carbon Beach are in building plan check, but none have been issued a permit yet.

That said, one commissioner noted, at least a couple appear to be under active construction.

The new numbers come after the city faced early criticism for its low number of rebuild approvals, as neighborhoods like [Altadena](https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/with-fewer-than-16-homes-rebuilt-in-a-year-whats-blocking-las-fire-recovery/?utm_source=www.stringermalibu.com&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=malibu-stringer-4-17-26&_bhlid=86b2f4180f6550e1f0bb9b86c343109d5b0097ef) and [Pacific Palisades](https://palibuilds.com/new-builds/?utm_source=www.stringermalibu.com&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=malibu-stringer-4-17-26&_bhlid=0b29add9875a1e43df3873ac77ccfbf82a9a4ccb) started approving permits swiftly.

The turnaround earned rare public praise at a Malibu City Council Meeting last month.

Darren Graves of the Rebuild Task Force, the same group that blasted the city's "lack of inertia" months ago, thanked Community Development Director Yolanda Bundy's department for "great strides in efficiency."