Oakland, California, just made it easier to build and improve housing. As of last month, many building permits are available online — and the process can take less than 20 minutes.
That’s a massive change for a system that, in most cities, takes days or weeks to navigate. In some cases, it can take months or even years for permits to be approved, adding cost, frustration, and uncertainty. These delays discourage small developers, homeowners, and neighborhood-scale investors — the very people most likely to take on the modest, incremental projects that add up to real change.
Oakland’s new online platform covers a range of permit types, including electrical, plumbing, mechanical, and solar installations. While this doesn’t apply to permits for structural building work, it’s still a big improvement. Residents don’t have to tolerate long waits or repeated trips to city offices to make common improvements to their property. For builders, it means less red tape and fewer surprises that can stall a project. Plus, city staff can use their limited resources in more productive ways than reviewing basic permits. Oakland staff hopes to expand these benefits by adding more permit types to the system by the end of the year.
Streamlining permitting is one of the most effective ways cities can address their housing needs, as explained in the Housing-Ready City toolkit. Oakland is one of the first cities to embrace this kind of reform. By simplifying approvals for the most routine projects, local governments create space for more people to participate in shaping their neighborhoods. It lowers barriers for small-scale development, reduces costs, and makes it possible to add housing incrementally, in a way that fits the existing community.
Oakland won’t solve its housing shortage overnight. But by embracing this straightforward step, the city has positioned itself as a leader in showing how local governments can remove unnecessary barriers. Every homeowner who adds a unit, every landlord who brings a building back up to code, and every builder who brings a small project to life contributes to a stronger housing ecosystem.
If you want more homes in your city, you need to make it easier for people to build them. Learn how in these three Local-Motive sessions:
September 25: All About Pre-Approved Housing Plans. Learn how to streamline the approval process for the entire homebuilding process.
October 2: Bringing Home Homeownership, With Data to Back it Up. Learn how local homeownership affects housing affordability and how to keep it accessible.
October 16: How to Change the Culture so More Housing Happens in Your City. Learn how to build a coalition of locals who support reform and will actually use the streamlined processes.
