Guide · updated October 2026
What Does a Palisades Fire Rebuild Cost?
The public figures on a Palisades Fire rebuild, each with its publisher and date: what insurers have paid out, as reported by the California Department of Insurance, what the City waives under Ordinance 188985 and what it does not, and what moves the number on a Palisades lot.
What does a Palisades fire rebuild cost?
The California Department of Insurance reports about $15.56 billion paid on 15,890 Palisades residential claims as of July 6, 2026. UCLA Anderson Forecast estimated in March 2025 that rebuilding reaches up to $1,000 per square foot in some areas. Owners at the fire date pay no City permit fees up to 110% of the original floor area under Ordinance 188985. Kasimov Construction (CSLB #1148319) publishes no prices; you get a fixed price in writing after the lot visit and plans.
- Insurance paid
- About $15.56 billion on 15,890 Palisades Fire residential claims, 15,525 with a payment, as of July 6, 2026 (CDI claims sheet)
- Fee waiver, with caveats
- City permit and plan-check fees waived for the owner at the time of the fire, up to 110% of the original floor area; repaid if sold before the certificate of occupancy; LAUSD fees on additions over 500 sq ft, the Strong Motion fee and the state building-standards surcharge still apply; $90 million cap over three years (LADBS fee waiver guide, Council File 25-0006-S57)
- Deposit cap
- $1,000 or 10% of the contract price, whichever is less (B&P 7159.5)
- Contract type
- Fixed price in writing; time-and-materials and cost-plus contracts are not allowed after a declared disaster (CSLB)
- Our price
- Not published. One fixed price in writing after the lot visit and the plans, with allowances listed line by line
Published figures
The figures that exist, and what each one covers.
Three published numbers come up in every Palisades cost conversation. None of them is a construction bid.
| Figure | Who published it | Date | What it covers |
|---|---|---|---|
| $15,560,406,994 paid on 15,890 residential claims (15,525 with a payment) | California Department of Insurance, Palisades and Eaton claims sheet | As of July 6, 2026 | Palisades Fire residential property claims only: homeowners, condominium unit owners, mobile home, renters, dwelling fire and commercial residential policies. Insurance payments reported by insurers, not construction costs. |
| $25.2 billion paid on 41,727 claims (40,482 partially paid) | California Department of Insurance, Wildfire Claims Tracker | Updated July 6, 2026 | All January 2025 Los Angeles fire claims, Palisades and Eaton together: home, business, living expenses, auto and other disaster-related claims. CDI says payments will grow as rebuilding progresses. |
| Up to $1,000 per square foot in some areas | UCLA Anderson Forecast, Zhiyun Li and William Yu | Updated March 3, 2025 | An estimate of rebuilding cost the Forecast used to calculate total capital loss in its economic-impact assessment two months after the fire. A regional estimate, not a bid for any lot. |
Kasimov Construction does not publish prices, and none of the figures above is one of ours: you get a fixed price in writing after the lot visit and the plans. We also do not divide the insurance totals by the claim count, because residential claims include renters and condo policies.
Cost drivers
What moves the number on a Palisades lot.
No prices here, only the items that change from one lot to the next, each linked to the rule behind it. Sources: LADBS P/BC 2026-157, the City of LA rebuilding guide, LADWP, the WUI code summary and the City Planning rebuild FAQ.
- Geology and soils reports. Lots in the orange and yellow LADBS geohazard zones need combined geology and soils reports approved by the Grading Division. Outside them a soils report is needed only for excavations deeper than 5 ft or where lateral support is removed, and compaction after the old foundation comes out can be certified by the consulting engineer (LADBS P/BC 2026-157).
- A new foundation. Fire-damaged footings and slabs are not typically permitted to be reused without a licensed engineer's evaluation and LADBS approval (City of LA rebuilding guide), so most budgets carry a new foundation from the first draft.
- The LADWP panel and conduit. A combination overhead/underground service panel rated up to 400 A and one 3-inch conduit from the panel to the front property line, with an early meter-spot request (LADWP undergrounding requirements, Rev. 01/2026).
- Wildfire-code assemblies. Class A roof, ember-resistant vents, ignition-resistant walls, multi-pane glazing with a tempered pane, rated doors and decks under the California Wildland-Urban Interface Code (formerly Chapter 7A) (code summary).
- Hydrant distance. LAFD checks for a hydrant within 300 ft under LAMC 57.507. Where there is none, a fire-sprinkler upgrade or a higher construction type is the usual alternative (City of LA rebuilding guide).
- Bluff analysis. Where ZIMAS flags bluff potential, a California-licensed engineer or geologist prepares a bluff analysis on Form CP-3641 before the plans are final (City Planning rebuild FAQ, EO 8 guidelines, section III.A).
- Corner survey. A surveyor marks the property corners before the foundation is laid out, so the setbacks are measured from a recorded line rather than a fence or a memory of where the old house stood.
- An ADU built first. Under Executive Order 1 or 8 an ADU may go up with, before or after the house without counting against its floor area, and under the Governor's order N-9-25 it can receive its certificate of occupancy before the house (City Planning rebuild FAQ, EO 8 guidelines, section I.C, N-9-25). It is a second structure with its own foundation, utility connections and wildfire-code assemblies, so it is priced as its own line; the units we build are on our Pacific Palisades ADU page.
- Size and finish level. Square footage, the number of bathrooms, cabinetry, counters, tile and fixtures move the number most, on a rebuild as on a remodel. For what those finishes cost on the Los Angeles market, see our kitchen remodel cost guide and bathroom remodel cost guide.
Fees
Fees: what the City waives and what it does not.
Ordinance 188985, effective July 16, 2026, waives LADBS permit and plan-check fees, LAFD fees, Planning clearances and most other City fees for the owner who held the property at the time of the fire, up to 110% of the original floor area (LADBS fee waiver guide). The program is capped at $90 million over three years (Council File 25-0006-S57). If that owner sells before the certificate of occupancy, the waived fees are repaid to the City.
What stays in the budget even for a qualifying owner: LAUSD developer fees on additions over 500 sq ft, the Strong Motion Instrumentation fee, the California Building Standards Commission surcharge and City fees for any area above 110% (LADBS fee waiver guide). The waiver is tied to ownership on the date of the fire, so a lot bought after January 7, 2025 does not qualify (City of LA rebuild FAQ).
Two different 110% rules apply in the Palisades, and they are easy to mix up. Executive Order 1 measures the footprint and the height; the fee waiver measures floor area (EO 1 guidelines v4.0, LADBS fee waiver guide). A house that fits one test can fail the other, so we check both against the Assessor's record of the old house before the plans are drawn.
City fees are one line of the budget. The surveyor, the geology and soils reports, the architect and engineers, the LADWP work and the construction itself are separate lines, and the ordinance does not touch them. We list each of them in the fixed price.
Insurance
Insurance timelines that affect the budget.
Most Palisades rebuilds are paid for by a claim, so the claim's timeline is the budget's timeline. Under California's rules for declared disasters, your insurer pays additional living expenses for at least 24 months, with up to 12 more months when permits, materials or contractor availability cause delays, and you have at least 36 months from the first actual-cash-value payment to collect the full replacement cost, with six-month extensions for good cause. You can also rebuild elsewhere or buy an existing home and keep the replacement-cost benefits without a deduction for land value, capped at the cost to rebuild on the original lot (California Department of Insurance, 2026 notice).
The scale so far: CDI's tracker shows 41,727 claims filed, 40,482 partially paid and $25.2 billion paid across all January 2025 Los Angeles fire claims as of July 6, 2026, and the department says payments will grow as rebuilding progresses (CDI Wildfire Claims Tracker). For the Palisades Fire alone, residential property claims stood at 15,890, with $15,560,406,994 paid as of the same date (CDI claims sheet).
We give you a detailed, line-item estimate that your adjuster can compare with the insurer's scope, and we answer the adjuster's construction questions. We do not negotiate claims. That is for you, your attorney or a licensed public adjuster.
Your protections
Rules that protect you on price.
Penal Code 396(c) makes it unlawful for a contractor to charge more than 10% above the price it charged for repair or reconstruction services immediately before the emergency was declared, unless the increase is directly attributable to higher supplier, labor or material costs (California Attorney General). Los Angeles County let its own protections expire on May 28, 2026, while the City of Los Angeles kept its local emergency in force, so price-gouging protections remained in effect within the City as of the City Attorney's report of June 22, 2026 (City Attorney report). Pacific Palisades is inside the City. Confirm the current status before you rely on it.
Two contract rules do more for your budget than any statute on prices. CSLB treats rebuilding after a declared disaster as home improvement work, so the contract must state a fixed price and time-and-materials or cost-plus contracts are not allowed (CSLB Disaster Help Center). The down payment is capped at $1,000 or 10% of the contract price, whichever is less, and every later payment has to match work completed or materials delivered (Business and Professions Code 7159.5, CSLB bulletin).
That is how our contracts are written: one fixed price, allowances listed line by line, a written change order before anything changes, and a deposit under the legal cap. The checklist for comparing bids is in our guide to choosing a Palisades rebuild contractor.
Read next
What should you read next?
Fire rebuild in Pacific Palisades
Executive Orders 1, 6 and 8, the Coastal Zone, fee waiver, soils and LADWP rules for a City of LA rebuild.
Read →
How to choose a Palisades rebuild contractor
The CSLB, Cal OES and LA County checklist with every rule linked: license, fixed price, deposit cap, lien releases.
Read →
All services in Pacific Palisades
Permits, neighborhoods and ZIP codes we serve in Pacific Palisades.
Read →
Fire rebuilds in all four burn areas
Pacific Palisades, Altadena, Malibu and Pasadena: rules, permit centers and the wildfire code.
Read →
How much does a Palisades rebuild cost per square foot?
Are permit fees waived for a Palisades rebuild?
Will insurance cover the rebuild?
What costs extra on a bluff or hillside lot?
Why can't the old foundation usually be reused?
How much is the deposit?
Free estimate
Get one price in writing for your Palisades lot.
Tell us the address and where you are with insurance and permits. We visit the lot, and you get a written scope and a fixed price before anything is signed.
- Free lot visit: we measure and listen
- Written scope and one fixed price
- One project manager from start to finish
- CSLB #1148319, licensed, bonded and insured · verify
- 2-year written warranty on workmanship