A Proven Way to Ease L.A.’s Housing Crisis

The Los Angeles metro area began 2025 with one of the worst housing shortages in the country: more than half a million units, by some estimates. The deficit has multiplied over many years thanks in part to the obscene amount of time it takes to get permission to build. According to state data, securing permits to construct a single-family home in the city requires an average of 15 months. Countywide, receiving planning approvals and permits for a typical apartment takes nearly a year and a half.

And that was before the fires. Last month, more than 16,000 homes and other structures burned down, and fire damage may have rendered many thousands more uninhabitable. The devastation magnified L.A.’s already desperate need to speed up permitting, but local policy makers responded by fast-tracking only identical rebuilds. Families who want to build in less fire-prone areas or add space to shelter displaced neighbors are out of luck. So are the developers who submitted applications before the fire; now they’re at the back of the line. Some have already received notices that their housing applications are indefinitely paused. Delays once measured in months could soon be measured in years.