Adobe is not federally illegal. California effectively prohibited new unreinforced adobe for decades after seismic-code revisions in the twentieth century. Dwell reported in 2025 that the prohibition is now relaxing. The trigger was the January 2025 Los Angeles fires, which burned 16,000 structures and drove demand for fire-resistant materials. Where adobe is permitted, modern codes require concrete bond beams, steel rebar in walls, engineered footings, and wall-height limits that older builders never followed. Earthquake-prone states added these rules because unreinforced adobe walls shear and collapse under lateral loads. Outside seismic zones, adobe remains broadly legal subject to local permitting.
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