Permits And Codes And Fines, Oh My!

When we were building our home a few years ago, I was fascinated by the amount of red tape that our builder had to wade through in order to move from one phase of building to the next. And while I admit that I did not bother to learn all the details of this process, I was glad for the checks and balances the system provided.

Generally speaking, a building permit is required whenever there is new construction. According to Webster’s Online Dictionary, a building permit is “A document authorizing the holder to construct a building of a particular kind on a particular lot.” These permits allow the person holding them to construct the building, but they must follow codes that are area-specific. Again, the most general definition of a building code is a “Set of standards established and enforced by local government for the structural safety of buildings.”

The key, then, is knowing and understanding the codes, and they can be difficult to navigate, especially by someone not familiar with a particular area. Again, generally speaking, you will need the approval of:

• A local HOA (Homeowners Association) or Architectural Committee
• The city in which you will reside
• Possibly your county
• In some cases, your state
• You may also need the approval of the EPA or other government agencies, depending on specific situations, such as drainage or location in a flood plain or environmental impact.

It would be great if it was up to the city to notify the state and county of your intentions to build and so forth, but for the most part, these agencies do not communicate with each other or your builder. It’s up to your builder to notify them – or be faced with massive fines because there was an agency he missed (like, Water District #10, for instance).

So, the upside of all the red tape is that you are (somewhat) protected. The downside is that construction might be delayed while awaiting an inspection, or worse yet, you might be fined for not having all the right permits. But there does seem to be one obvious conclusion to draw from all of this: do your homework and find a builder with an excellent track record!

Below is an overview of the permitting process. While this process will differ from place to place, this is an idea of how it works:

So what do you think? Are codes and permits just an annoyance or do you think they do their intended job of protecting the investor?