Real Estate Agents Call to Loosen Regulations in California

Los Angeles’ top agents are urging Gov. Gavin Newsom and L.A. Mayor Karen Bass to do more as the industry heaves under the weight of wildfire recovery efforts.

A letter signed by more than 45 of the market’s top names, spearheaded by Ben Belack and Jason Oppenheim, called on Newsom, Bass and regulatory agencies to address restrictive laws, regulations and building codes that could hamstring rebuilding efforts.

The call to action comes as agents grapple with the wave of housing needs from clients and within their own brokerages as available supply buckles under the weight of demand. With the fire still active as of Monday in the Pacific Palisades and Altadena area, a full view of the impact and needs have yet to be assessed.

“As we take on the responsibility of helping entire communities find housing to replace the homes we helped them secure, we are deeply immersed and understand the new landscape of this crisis,” the group said in its letter. “From the front lines, we have a unique perspective of the challenges that lie ahead in navigating the aftermath of this disaster.”

Agents and brokers signed off on the call to action, which is expected to be sent to Newsom, Bass, city councilmembers and the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety. The signatories touch on firms across the industry, including The Oppenheim Group, The Agency, Christie’s International Real Estate Southern California, Compass, Coldwell Banker Realty, Westside Estate Agency, The Beverly Hills Estates, Carolwood Estates, Nourmand & Associates, Pardee Properties, Douglas Elliman and Plus Real Estate Group.

“We started forecasting and we also started sharing with one another what we were hearing in the trenches,” Belack said of the initial conversations had between himself and Oppenheim.

He went on to suggest many in the Palisades, who have lived there for decades, are likely going to move elsewhere rather than wait out the time it would take to rebuild a home.

“I think that for those that have the ability to stay or want to stay, they have to be able to have total control of what is rebuilt,” Belack said. “If you’re living in your home for 30 years and it’s your nest egg — which isn’t easy to do in California because our taxes are so high — you should not under any circumstance have your property be limited by what you can build.”

Calls to action

The group made five recommendations in their letter, including boosting coverage under California Fair Plan Insurance policies from $3 million to $6 million, cut fees and take other measures to fast track the Coastal Commission and city of Los Angeles plan-check process and halt property taxes on impacted properties.

It also tackles some of the more contentious industry regulations and calls on the city to make sales of land in affected areas exempt from the city’s Measure ULA transfer tax for sellers impacted by the fires. The transfer tax went into effect in April 2023 and applies a four percent tax on commercial and residential properties starting at $5.15 million. A 5.5 percent tax is applied to those $10.3 million or more.

The industry letter also asks buyers and developers who may then resell those properties also be excluded from ULA for a period of five years after purchase.

When it comes to building codes, the letter requests property owners be allowed to rebuild without being subject to building restrictions, most notably the proposed Wildlife Ordinance. The ordinance, backed by councilmember Katy Yaroslavsky, impacts about 23,000 acres in the Santa Monica Mountains and proposes limits on grading and building heights and lowers the requirements that would trigger a site plan review.

“We really have to look at those things right now because it’s going to take years, years to rebuild,” Belack said of the aggregate of policies that could prove hurdles to such efforts. “We feel like we owe the families as well as the people who are going to rebuild zoning and laws that accommodate a rebuilding environment.”

The agents pledged not to work with landlords engaging in price gouging, a trend that emerged almost immediately after the fires broke out last week. They also said they’re working to ensure access to available properties by listing them on public sources such as the MLS, urging clients with second homes to put those up for lease and, for some agents, offering services for free to those impacted by the fires.

Christie’s International Real Estate Southern California CEO Aaron Kirman, who signed Monday’s letter, didn’t mince words with his suggestion.

“They need to take their bad policies and fix them now,” Kirman said. “They never should have been there in the first place. It’s just so sad the devastation that comes from this.”

Kirman said his main hope is that the city takes the letter and listens to the calls to action.

“It’s time to listen to the constituents of the city because they have not been listening to us,” Kirman said. “They need to make the necessary changes so that we can get rebuilt and people that have lost their homes can get housed. We can’t build bigger and better with bad policy. We can’t build bigger and better not being protected.”

“Too little too late”

The letter comes after Gov. Newsom issued an executive order Sunday that aims to cut the red tape around the California Coastal Act and California Environmental Quality Act permit processes. Newsom’s also asked for a review of building codes or other permit processes that could be suspended or made more efficient as property owners turn to rebuilding.

The order also addresses price gouging by keeping protections against price bumps for building materials, storage and construction among other services in place through Jan. 7, 2026. It’s unclear how pricing and any increases would be regulated.

“To those who look at this natural disaster and see dollar signs, know that we see you and your misdeeds will not be tolerated,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a statement Sunday. “Be it scams, price gouging or looting, those who seek to hurt people and businesses who are already suffering will be held accountable.”

For Kirman, who was in an evacuation area, the order is “too little too late.”

The CEO and star agent also took aim at what’s now become a common statement from politicians about mobilizing in response to the crisis.
“You should have been mobilizing,” Kirman said. “The fact that they weren’t mobilizing in this situation in my opinion is just a total failure on the policies and politics of California and the people that are running it right now. Let’s start with that. …It’s great that Gavin [Newsom] did that executive order, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg.”