Is gas banned in new homes in California?

Not by the state Energy Code. A new home can use gas through the performance path, with electric-ready provisions. Local rules vary, so check with the building department.

Can a new house have a gas stove?

Under the state Energy Code, yes. Section 150.0(u) requires a 240-volt, 50-amp circuit within 3 feet of a gas cooktop so an electric one can be fitted later.

Do apartment buildings follow the same approach?

Broadly, yes. The CEC's fact sheet says low-rise multifamily buildings with individual water heaters now use heat pump water heater baselines, and Section 160.9 sets electric-ready requirements where gas is installed.

Does the Berkeley ruling stop cities from going beyond the state code?

No. The court called its holding very narrow, and reach codes approved by the Energy Commission remain available. Whether a particular local rule is affected is a legal question for that city.

Do New Homes Have to Be All-Electric in California?

No. The state Energy Code does not ban gas, and the Energy Commission says it does not mandate specific fuel types. But the 2025 prescriptive path assumes heat pumps for space and water heating in every climate zone, so a new home with gas appliances complies through the performance path and must be wired electric-ready. Some cities set rules of their own.

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What the state Energy Code says

The Energy Commission's 2025 fact sheet is direct: "The CEC does not mandate specific fuel types." The code is built to let designers choose among ways to comply. What changed in 2025 is the starting point. For new single-family homes, the prescriptive package now uses heat pumps for both space heating and water heating, in all 16 climate zones.

Space heating: Section 150.1(c)6 says the space conditioning system shall be a heat pump, or shall meet the performance requirements. The prescriptive table lists gas space heating as not applicable in every zone.
Water heating: Section 150.1(c)8 lists a heat pump water heater or solar water heating with electric backup, or the performance path. The CEC's 2025 overview records the gas water heating option as removed from prescriptive and allowed in the performance approach.

So gas is not banned by the state. It is a performance path choice. The background is in what changed in the 2025 Energy Code, and the heat pump detail is in Title 24 heat pump requirements.

How the performance path allows gas

The performance approach models the proposed home against a standard design built from the prescriptive package, which for 2025 means heat pumps. The proposed home complies if its energy use is no greater than the standard design's budget, measured as source energy and as long-term system cost.

A gas furnace or water heater is entered as what it is. Where it models worse than the heat pump in the standard design, the difference has to be made up elsewhere, for example in the envelope or in the efficiency of other equipment. Whether that is practical depends on the house and the climate zone, which is why the fuel decision belongs early in design.

Electric-ready when gas is installed

Installing gas brings mandatory electric-ready measures, which the CEC describes as setting owners up to use electric equipment when they are ready. For single-family homes they are in Section 150.0:

Gas water heater, 150.0(n): a space for a future heat pump water heater, with a circuit, a reserved breaker space and a condensate drain.
Gas furnace, 150.0(t): a 240-volt, 30-amp circuit within 3 feet, marked "240V ready", and a reserved double-pole breaker space.
Gas cooktop, 150.0(u): a 240-volt, 50-amp circuit within 3 feet.
Gas clothes dryer, 150.0(v): a 240-volt, 30-amp circuit within 3 feet.

Multifamily buildings have the same set in Section 160.9, including ready provisions for individual and central heat pump water heaters.

Existing homes and additions

The heat pump baselines above are for new homes. When an existing home's water heater is replaced, the alteration rules in Section 150.2(b) still list a natural gas or propane water heater as a compliant choice, alongside heat pump options. Additions are different: the CEC's 2025 overview records the prescriptive gas water heating option for additions as removed. A replacement space heating system may not use electric resistance as its main heat source, with exceptions where the existing system is already electric resistance.

Local rules and the Berkeley ruling

Cities and counties can adopt energy standards that exceed the state code, through the Energy Commission's approval process for reach codes. Some California cities went further and adopted all-electric requirements for new buildings.

Berkeley's ordinance prohibited natural gas piping in new buildings. The California Restaurant Association challenged it. On 17 April 2023 the federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that the federal Energy Policy and Conservation Act preempts that ordinance. On 2 January 2024 the court amended its opinion and denied rehearing by the full court. The opinion calls its holding "very narrow": the Act prevents Berkeley from barring new-building owners, by a building code, from extending gas piping from the meter.

Local staff reports filed with the Energy Commission show how some cities responded. Brisbane's staff recommended replacing all-electric requirements they described as unenforceable with an energy performance reach code. Corte Madera's staff set aside planned limits on gas infrastructure as no longer feasible under the ruling, and recommended an energy reach code for single-family remodels instead. Rules differ by city, and your local building department has the final say on what applies at your address.