AB 253
Third Party Permit Review (Housing “Shot Clock”)
This bill will speed up the approval process for new homes by allowing home builders to hire a licensed and certified third-party reviewer for review of housing permit applications if the local government cannot or does not complete their permit review within 30 days.
While numerous recent state laws have streamlined the process to make more homes legal to build (a.k.a. “entitlements”), many jurisdictions in California continue to have slow, unpredictable “post-entitlement” permitting and inspection processes. These permitting and inspection delays slow down housing production and can even kill smaller housing projects by driving costs beyond what’s feasible for small, local builders.
This bill will allow home builders to hire a licensed and certified third-party reviewer for certain projects, if the local government cannot or does not complete the permit review process within 30 days – a sort of “shot clock” for housing construction permits. AB 253 will sunset in 10 years (2035).
Updates
| Jan 15, 2025 | Introduced |
| March 12, 2025 | Passed Assembly Housing Committee and Assembly Local Government Committee |
| Apr 1, 2025 | Passed Assembly Floor 72-0 |
| July 2, 2025 | Passed Senate Local Government Committee |
| July 15, 2025 | Passed Senate Housing Committee |
| Aug 29, 2025 | Passed Senate Appropriations Committee |
| Sept 11, 2025 | Passed Senate Floor |
| Sept 12, 2025 | Passed Assembly Floor in a concurrence vote |
| Oct 10, 2025 | Signed Into Law by Gov. Newsom |
Authors
- Chris Ward (D, AD 78)
Sponsors
- California YIMBY
Resources
AB 253 Fact Sheet
A closer look at the bill’s details.