To be clear up front: this money comes from the City of Los Angeles, the State of California, and your insurance carrier, not from ESRL, and most of it is available to any qualifying rebuild. What we do is design and build so you capture every dollar you are eligible for, and our steel framing adds savings of its own on top. Eligibility for the city programs generally requires that you owned the property before January 7, 2025 and are rebuilding like-for-like up to 110 percent of the original size. These programs change; we confirm current status for your specific property during your consultation.
The City has suspended collection of plan check and permit fees for qualifying January 2025 fire rebuilds under Mayor Bass Emergency Executive Order No. 7 (April 2025), with a formal waiver ordinance advanced by the City Council in February 2026 and a final vote pending. These fees typically run roughly 1.5 to 3 percent of construction value, which can mean roughly $30,000 to $60,000 on a $2 million rebuild.
Status: active under the emergency order · final ordinance pending
Under California's Safer from Wildfires regulation, insurers are required to offer premium discounts for verified hardening measures such as a Class A roof, noncombustible lower walls, and ember-resistant vents. Filed discounts typically range from 5 to 20 percent per year depending on your carrier. On fire-zone premiums that commonly run $20,000 to $60,000 per year, that can mean roughly $2,000 to $12,000 back every year, recurring.
The discount attaches to the hardening measures themselves, not to any single framing material. A steel framed, Chapter 7A compliant home naturally incorporates several qualifying measures, and we hand you the documentation your carrier asks for. Your carrier sets the final number.
Status: required by state regulation · amount set by your carrier
California's RISE Homes program opened applications in April 2026 and currently offers roughly $7,000 to $10,000 per qualifying all-electric, energy efficient single-family rebuild, with up to roughly $15,000 possible under equity qualification. Funding is limited. When clients want to capture it, we design and build to the program requirements.
Status: applications open · funding limited
Light gauge steel framing typically takes 4 to 6 fewer weeks than wood framing. On a $2 million construction loan, that can mean roughly $15,000 to $25,000 less interest, depending on your rate and draw schedule, plus saved rent and carrying costs. This one is ours: it comes from how we build, on any project, fire rebuild or not.
Status: not a program · simply how steel builds
Taken together, a qualifying fire-rebuild client can currently capture roughly $50,000 to $100,000 in one-time savings, plus up to roughly $2,000 to $12,000 per year in recurring insurance discounts. Every figure on this page is an approximate range, not a promise. Amounts depend on your property, your carrier, your lender, and the program rules in effect when you apply, and they are set by the program administrators, not by ESRL.
Not a fire rebuild? Items 1 and 3 will likely not apply to you, but the insurance hardening discounts and the steel schedule savings can. Call and we will walk through what your specific project qualifies for, including the programs you will not qualify for.