Posted: July 4, 2026. Updated August 25, 2026. Source: San Francisco Chronicle / KQED / San Francisco Examiner coverage of a San Francisco Board of Supervisors Budget and Legislative Analyst Report.
The summary: A new report from the San Francisco Board of Supervisors' Budget and Legislative Analyst found that San Francisco took a median of 280 days to issue housing permits in its most recent study window (January 2024–August 2025) — three times as long as Austin (91 days) and more than double Seattle (133 days). Per KQED's reporting on the same report, that 280-day median itself represents progress: San Francisco's housing permit timeline was cut roughly in half over recent years, from an average of about 605 days down to around 280. Permit applications filed within the 2024–2025 study window moved even faster, averaging 114 days — though that's a narrower subset, not a further citywide reduction from the 280-day figure. The improvement is attributed to a combination of factors, not a single reform effort.
What the report actually found
The Budget and Legislative Analyst report, requested by Supervisor Bilal Mahmood, analyzed housing permit data from January 1, 2024 to August 12, 2025. Key findings:
City comparison benchmarks (recent period):
- San Francisco: median 280 days
- Denver: median 274 days
- Seattle: median 133 days
- Washington D.C.: median 93 days
- Austin: median 91 days
San Francisco was in the slowest tier of major American cities studied. The primary cause: most housing projects went through multiple rounds of review, typically involving several different departments — San Francisco Planning, the Department of Building Inspection, the Fire Department, Public Works, and the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission.
The real "cut in half" story. Per KQED's coverage of the report, San Francisco's housing permit timeline was cut by roughly half over recent years — from an average of about 605 days down to around 280 days. That decline reflects a combination of factors over "the last few years," including 2023 state law changes and general process improvements, not a single initiative.
A faster subset within the study window. Permit applications filed within the January 2024–August 2025 study window averaged 114 days — a genuinely fast figure, but a narrower measurement than the citywide 280-day median, not a further reduction from it. Treat the 114-day figure as "how fast recent applications that cleared quickly actually moved," not as "the new citywide median."
Where PermitSF fits. Mayor Lurie's PermitSF initiative launched in February 2025 — more than a year after the study window began. Supervisor Mahmood has credited the city broadly for addressing "low-hanging fruit" over the last two years, a combination of PermitSF and earlier process fixes. Attributing the entire multi-year improvement to PermitSF alone overstates its role, particularly for outcomes tied to applications submitted before the initiative existed.
What it means for San Francisco homeowners
Important context first: this report focuses on HOUSING permits (new construction, larger multi-unit projects) — NOT small residential renovation permits.
Housing permit data doesn't directly translate to what you'll experience filing a kitchen remodel or ADU. Small residential permits typically flow through simpler review paths and don't hit multi-department review. Your actual timeline for a typical remodel is likely much faster than 280 days.
That said, the reform momentum affects everyone doing any kind of San Francisco permit work in a few ways:
1. Faster reviews across the board, gradually. PermitSF and earlier reforms haven't been limited to new housing — they've touched form standardization, online submission, and inter-department coordination for many permit types. If you filed a kitchen permit in 2022 vs. 2026, the 2026 experience is likely measurably better, even without a single headline metric to prove it for small projects specifically.
2. Department consolidation is being discussed. KQED reports that in January, Lurie announced plans to merge the Planning Department, the Department of Building Inspection, and the Permit Center — an effort he said would mean "better coordination, time and cost savings." Separately, Lurie and Board President Rafael Mandelman also launched a broader plan in December to reform the City Charter, and Supervisor Mahmood has discussed a possible ballot measure of his own, contingent on support from four supervisors or the Mayor's office. These are related but distinct efforts — not a single combined initiative. If a merger of Planning, DBI, and the Permit Center moves forward, the multi-department handoffs that add weeks to permit timelines could shrink.
3. Political will exists for further reform. The report gives Mahmood and Lurie political cover to push harder. Homeowners benefit from continued momentum — even if you don't feel the effect on your specific project, the trajectory is toward faster, more predictable processes.
What this doesn't fix (yet)
The report and related coverage also highlight unresolved problems:
A large number of entitled housing units remain unbuilt. KQED describes "tens of thousands of entitled units without approval to build" — projects that have permits or approvals but aren't moving forward, generally because they're not economically feasible to build under current construction costs and financing conditions. Permitting speed doesn't fix construction cost, financing, or market conditions — this is largely an economic feasibility problem, not a permit-speed problem.
The state housing goal of roughly 80,000+ units by 2031 is a heavy lift. Faster permits alone won't close a gap of this size if it exists.
For homeowners doing renovations rather than new construction: none of this changes your immediate situation. Your kitchen remodel doesn't compete with the pipeline of stalled multi-family projects.
Do you need to do anything different?
If you're filing a permit now: Expect somewhat faster timelines than a few years ago for straightforward projects, but don't assume everything is instant. Small residential permits (kitchen, bath, standard ADU) typically flow through OTC (Over-the-Counter) at DBI for same-day or few-week issuance. Multi-department review is the exception, not the rule, for most homeowner projects.
If you're planning a project for 2027–2028: Watch for progress on the proposed Planning/DBI/Permit Center merger. If it moves forward, the process for larger projects (ADUs requiring both Planning and Building review, whole-home additions) could improve by covering the multi-department handoffs that currently add time.
If you've been putting off a project because of permit friction: The friction has measurably reduced over the past few years, even if the specific "cut in half" statistic applies to a longer-term trend rather than a single recent reform. If your project is straightforward (kitchen, bath, standard remodel), you're likely dealing with a shorter, more predictable process than you might have heard about.
What the reform data misses — the backlog
While the longer-term trend is real, KQED's coverage of the same report surfaces a detail worth knowing: San Francisco still has a backlog of more than 1,300 pending applications that haven't been issued. Some have been in the pipeline since 2017. As of late October 2025, the average wait for a pending permit was 1,489 days — more than four years.
The 280-day and 114-day figures cited above are for permits that were approved. They don't reflect the applications that got stuck. If your project ends up in the "hard to approve" bucket (rezoning issues, environmental review, complex Planning coordination), you may still face multi-year timelines regardless of recent reforms.
For most homeowner remodel and ADU projects, this backlog doesn't apply. It affects primarily large new-construction housing developments. But if your project has unusual characteristics (extensive Planning review, contested zoning, historic district complications), assume you may be in the harder-to-approve group and plan accordingly.
The original sources
This story was covered by three outlets, each with a slightly different framing:
- San Francisco Chronicle: S.F. lagged behind other big cities in getting housing permitted but it's speeding up by J.K. Dineen (March 5, 2026)
- KQED: One of the Slowest US Cities to Build, San Francisco Is Accelerating Housing Permits by Katie DeBenedetti (March 6, 2026)
- San Francisco Examiner: San Francisco is slower than other cities in issuing housing permits
The full Budget and Legislative Analyst report is available through the San Francisco Board of Supervisors' Legislative Analyst office.
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