Fire Rebuild Bigger Than Before? The 110% Rule Meets the 2025 Code Change in January 2026
- G FRANK
- Oct 9, 2025
- 5 min read
Quick Context — What’s the 110% Rule?
When California calls a project “like-for-like + 10 %,” it means your rebuilt home can grow a little without waking every new code in the book. Step past that 110 percent footprint, though, and you enter the 2025 California Building Code world beginning January 1 2026. Translation: more reviews, tougher materials, and details that keep embers where they belong—outside.
That extra guest room or wider deck may look small on paper, but the code reads it like a full-scale expansion.
Fire Rebuild Bigger Than Before?
If your rebuild plans stretch beyond that like-for-like + 10 percent envelope, than your fire rebuild bigger than before, you’ll meet the next generation of wildfire standards. The state has moved WUI rules out of CBC Chapter 7A and into their own address—the new California Wildland-Urban Interface Code (Part 7). This shift focuses on ember resistance, exterior details, and updated energy performance under the 2025 Title 24 package taking effect in 2026.
Chapter 7A didn’t disappear—it just grew up and bought its own toolbox. Owners hoping to stay under 2022 standards need to file before year-end 2025 and qualify under the Governor’s emergency order. Once you expand past the 110 percent line, those exemptions pack up and leave with last year’s plans.
What Changes in the 2026 CBC/WUI—and Why It Matters
Chapter 7A repeal & relocation: California retired Chapter 7A and moved wildfire-exposure provisions into the new WUI Code (Part 7). Expect closer attention to ember-resistant vents, siding continuity, and exterior finishes.
Effective date: The 2025 Title 24 codes apply to all permits filed on or after January 1 2026.
Local rebuild programs: Malibu and LA County allow “like-for-like + 10 percent” rebuilds to keep streamlined paths and some fee relief. Go beyond 110 percent and you graduate to full 2025 code review.
Myth vs. Reality: The 110 percent rule doesn’t grant a pass—it simply marks the border between quick recovery and full-code compliance.
The Cost Impact for Over-110 % Wildfire Rebuilds
Cross the 110 percent line and your budget feels it first. Fire-hardening and code-triggered upgrades usually add about $25–$50 per square foot to a 2022-code baseline on a custom single-family rebuild in a WUI zone. That delta covers ember-resistant vents, non-combustible cladding, rated glazing, and those quiet but costly details—roof edges, stair intersections, and egress features.
Ember-resistant vents are cheaper than ember repairs; gravity always sends the invoice later.
Example math shows how even a modest bump in square footage can shift totals by tens of thousands. Add 18–28 percent for design, engineering, permits, and inspections—the unseen crew behind the visible build.
Pro Tip: Price key assemblies during schematic design. Waiting for bid day to learn a vent spec costs more than tile is like learning the menu after the meal.
Budget ranges vary by slope, materials, and how much of the existing footprint survives. Treat these as planning figures until your contractor runs a full line-item estimate.
Design Details Most Likely to Trigger Costs in 2026
Design choices drive the code conversation. Expect close review of rated exterior-wall intersections and any stairway crossing a low roof. Under new CBC 1023.7.2, that stair’s exterior wall needs a one-hour rating for ten feet above the roof—or the roof itself must earn that hour with limited openings.
Tight sites may gain relief through the new egress-court exception, reducing some wall-rating burdens. Coordinate early so you don’t overspec expensive assemblies.
Energy rules join the party: the 2025 Energy Code brings higher-efficiency envelopes and more electric-ready systems—heat-pump baselines, PV and storage coordination, and a few paperwork upgrades for designers.
Stairs and roofs are like siblings—close, competitive, and better with clear boundaries.
Pro Tip: Review these items in a single code-strategy meeting with your architect, MEP, and WUI consultant. It’s cheaper than redesigning a stair in month nine.
Local 110 % Policies in Malibu and LA County
Malibu: Ordinance 524 formalizes the like-for-like + 10 percent rebuild path within its Coastal Program. Stay within that envelope for streamlined reviews and, occasionally, fee waivers. Step beyond and you’ll meet full 2025 code plus Coastal permitting.
LA County / City: County guidance confirms expedited plan check for like-for-like projects—sometimes with neighborhood-specific 10 percent limits such as Palisades or Eaton areas. Larger expansions lose the fast track and must satisfy current building, fire, and health codes. LA City mirrors the approach under the Mayor’s emergency actions.
Executive Order caveat: The Governor’s 2025 order allowed qualifying disaster rebuilds to use 2022 codes, but expansions beyond the damaged envelope usually don’t qualify.
Malibu gives you a 10 percent grace note; anything past that becomes a full-code symphony.
Timeline & Filing Strategy for a 2026 Rebuild
From first sketch to final inspection, a custom WUI rebuild runs through familiar but shifting stages:Pre-design (3–6 weeks) → Schematic (6–10) → Construction Docs (8–14) → Agency Review (6–14) → Bid & Award (3–6) → Build (10–16 months). Schedule spreads with scope—especially once you cross the 110 percent threshold.
The key date: permit applications filed on or after January 1 2026 must follow the 2025 Title 24 package. Earlier submittals may still qualify under 2022 codes only if they meet the Executive Order criteria.
Myth vs. Reality: AB 130’s code freeze after October 1 2025 doesn’t delay the 2025 Title 24 rollout—it just pauses new residential updates through 2031. The 2025 code still lands on schedule.
Permits love punctuality; optimism doesn’t move the queue.
Key Takeaways
Rebuilding more than 110 percent of your original footprint means adopting the 2025 CBC/WUI package starting January 1 2026.
Budget roughly $25–$50 per square foot for the fire-resilience and code-triggered deltas.
Executive-order relief for 2022 codes doesn’t apply once you expand past the damaged envelope—file before year-end 2025 if you want the older standard.
Design details—stairs over roofs, narrow egress courts, roof-wall intersections—can change costs fast.
Early code strategy equals fewer surprises and friendlier inspectors.
If your design grows, your code homework grows right along with it.
Quick Checklist
Confirm your parcel sits in a WUI/high-hazard zone.
Decide early: stay within “like-for-like + 10 %” or design straight for 2026 compliance.
Hold a code-strategy meeting before schematic design.
Price exterior cladding, ember-resistant vents, glazing, stair/roof interfaces early.
Schedule a pre-submittal to clarify which code set will apply.
Carry a 10–15 % contingency for code comments + 3–5 % for special inspections.
In Malibu/Coastal zones, verify LCP allowances and fee waivers.
Pro Tip: Treat this list like a pre-flight check. Skip one switch, and the tower—the plan checker—will notice.
FAQ
What exactly is the 110 % rule?
It’s a disaster-rebuild path allowing “like-for-like plus 10 %” without triggering full new-code requirements in some jurisdictions. Exceed that and you’re in full 2025-code territory.
Does the Governor’s order let me skip the 2025 WUI rules?
No. The order applies only to qualifying rebuilds within the damaged envelope. Anything larger must meet the 2025 codes.
What’s actually new about wildfire construction rules?
California moved Chapter 7A into its own WUI Code (Part 7) and tightened several fire-resistance and egress provisions.
Does AB 130 delay future code changes?
It pauses new residential building-standards updates after Oct 1 2025, but the 2025 Title 24 package still takes effect Jan 1 2026.
Is “like-for-like” still expedited in LA County/City?
Yes. Both County and City keep streamlined processes for qualifying rebuilds; larger designs lose that fast lane.
We don’t just plan; we rebuild.
From design to inspection, Creation G brings your post-fire home back stronger, safer, and code-ready for 2026 and beyond.
Creation G – for Creation Groundwork that keeps you ahead of January 2026
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