When Do You Need A Building Permit?

According to the 2009 IRC (International Residential Code) Section R105.1, “Any owner or authorized agent who intends to construct, enlarge, alter, repair, move, demolish, or change the occupancy of a building or structure, or to erect, install, enlarge, alter, repair, remove, convert or replace any electrical, gas, mechanical or plumbing system, the installation of which is regulated by this code, or to cause any such work to be done, shall first make application to the building official and obtain the required permit”. (You should always check with your local building department to verify which building code version is in effect as different jurisdictions may be different.)

So what does this mean in laymen’s terms? Let’s use a kitchen remodel for example. If you are planning to remodel your kitchen, you need a building permit. Even if you ARE NOT planning to relocate any appliances or fixtures, you still need a permit. Typically in a kitchen remodel, you will probably be upgrading electrical items such as adding more plugs, installing hot water dispensers, adding more lighting or installing or upgrading an exhaust vent over the stove.

In this case, for example, the electrical code requires a minimum distance apart for the location of convenience electrical receptacles (plugs at your countertops) and that some or all must be GFCI (Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter) protected for your safety.  All of the work required to install these types of items must be inspected by the local building authority for safety reasons. The same applies for other items such as gas shut off valves (for gas stoves), plumbing air gap installed for dishwashers, proper mechanical venting for exhaust vents over cooktops. Most newer electrical codes also require that certain appliances have dedicated circuits, such as built-in microwaves. Your current kitchen electrical loads may not be adequate for this and therefore electrical upgrades to your main electrical panel or sub-panel may be triggered.  All this work must be inspected, hence the permit requirement.

If you are merely re-facing your cabinets or replacing countertops, a permit is NOT required.

Even if you replace your water heater, a permit is required in order to inspect the gas line connection, TP valve and other issues. As soon as you touch an electrical, plumbing or mechanical item, a permit IS required.

What could/would happen if I don’t get a permit?

Well, here’s where it gets interesting. Several things can and will happen if you do work and do not secure the proper permits.

§  Disclosures: If you do work without a permit, it must be disclosed at the time of listing of the sale of the property. If you do not disclose this information, you can be held civilly liable to the buyers to correct such work or even be requested to obtain permits AFTER THE FACT by the potential buyers. You may even loose the prospective sale of the property if it is significant enough. If you disclose the non-permitted work and the buyer accepts it, then the buyer accepts all responsibility.

§  Insurance: Insurance companies are very picky about this kind of issue. If it is NOT PERMITTED, IT DOESN’T EXIST. If it doesn’t exist, then it is not insured and therefore they will NOT pay out on any losses, PERIOD! Fire, flood or act of God – it doesn’t matter.

§  Red Tag or Stop Work Order: This can be issued directly by the building official. Fines and penalties can be issued by the local building authority against the contractor or building owner for violating the requirement to obtain the necessary permits. There’s nothing worse than getting on the building official’s bad side, especially when he/she has the power to approve or fail your inspections.

A few of my own personal experiences might convince you pursue the proper permits when embarking on your own projects.

A past client of mine remodeled their kitchen a year prior to hiring me to design a family room addition off their newly remodeled kitchen. They hired the proper subcontractors and did all the work correctly to the code at the time. There were no major changes to the layout, just new cabinets, countertops, lighting etc. The owners decided that since they “weren’t making any major changes, we don’t need a permit”. Oh boy, did this decision cost them later. What they didn’t realize was that the codes change every few years and they always get more stringent and not any easier. In this particular case the electrical code had changed and now required the countertop plugs to be spaced closer together and also required a plug in the island.

Since they didn’t get any permits, the work that was done a year prior (as per the code in effect at that time) officially ‘did not exist’ and was not able to be ‘grandfathered in’. Therefore, all the electrical had to be re-done to the current code now in effect in order to get ‘as-built’ permits approved on the new kitchen and the green light to proceed to do the new room addition that I was hired to do. This meant that all the granite slab back splashes had to be ripped off the walls and thrown in the dumpster, electrical re-routed in the walls, cabinets drilled and new back splashes fabricated. The granite back splash was never able to be matched with the countertops at that point. A very sad and costly learning lesson for these owners and less money in the budget that could have been spent on the new family room addition.

On the bright side, there are actually some types of building projects that are EXEMPT from permits (as per 2009 IRC). They include:

§  1-story detached accessory structures not exceeding 200 sq.ft. in area.

§  Fences not over 6 feet in height

§  Retaining walls not over 4 feet in height (unless supporting a surcharge).

§  Water tanks

§  Concrete flatwork (sidewalks, driveways etc.)

§  Painting, papering, tiling, carpeting, cabinets, countertops and similar finish work.

§  Prefabricated swimming pools less than 24 inches deep.

§  Playground equipment accessory to 1 or 2 family dwelling.

§  Window awnings supported by exterior wall that do not project more than 54 inches.

I always suggest that when in doubt, contact a design professional for guidance. They can help you save a lot of money and headaches in the future and provide you with a professionally thought out end result that you can be proud of.