Photo: Reimar (Shutterstock)
Private property is a fascinating concept. On the one hand, ownership is really just a collective agreement. On the other, protecting private property rights is key to a stable society. Still, there are actually a lot of limitations on what you can do with your property, though most of the time, you can do just about anything if you get a permit first.
The process of getting a permit can be frustrating. While the best way to ascertain if your next home-improvement or repair project requires a permit is to call your local building or construction code office to ask, anyone who has actually done that knows it’s often a challenge. Construction offices tend to cater to contractors and local businesses while treating homeowners with varying levels of exasperation and disdain. The good news is that in most cases, you can probably guess whether you need a permit or not to do the work you’re planning.
Why would you need a permit?
Before we get into the projects that typically need permits, let’s consider why this matters. Your local community requires permits not because they’re power-mad tyrants, but to ensure that people don’t infringe on each other’s property rights, violate zoning laws, or engage in unsafe construction practices. A permit not only gives you permission to do the work, but also triggers an inspection of that work to make sure it’s safe and done to code.
Even if you get away with that janky amateur wiring job you figured out from a five-minute YouTube video without burning down your entire neighborhood, there’s a good chance it will be discovered and you’ll be forced to tear it all out and do it again—while paying double or triple the fee to get the permit you should have gotten in the first place. Further, doing work without a required permit can bite you in the ass if you ever try to sell your house. Any potential buyer could discover the unpermitted work, which can scuttle the sale or otherwise complicate your life.
To permit or not to permit?
That being said, not all work requires a permit. If you’re planning to do some quick DIY work on your house, pulling a permit can turn a weekend project into a weeks-long odyssey into the dank recesses of local bureaucracy, so if you can avoid it, you should. Permit rules vary from locality to locality, so you’re going to have to research your area’s specific requirements, but there are some generally applicable assumptions you can make.
Generally, the following kinds of work will require you to pull a permit:
Removing a load-bearing wall Anything that alters your roofline Additions (including garages or carports) New wiring New plumbing or moving existing pipes and drains, as well as most exterior plumbing (e.g., new hose bibs) New fencing (typically over a certain height, usually about 6 feet) Any demolition that requires an on-street dumpster Above-grade decks Sewer line work New windows or doors cut into existing structures New fireplaces or chimneys New HVAC equipment Water heaters Swimming pools Major landscaping: Anything involving cutting down trees or building retaining walls Siding or stucco work on the exterior of the houseUsually, you can do the following work without bothering with a permit:
Superficial remodeling: If you’re not moving plumbing or electrical and you’re not removing walls, you can usually proceed without a permit (some local construction offices require a permit for any wall demo, even non-load bearing walls, so double check). That means you can basically replace everything in your bathroom or kitchen without a permit as long as you’re not messing with the plumbing or electrical. Replacing existing doors or windows Replacing existing roof Replacing insulation Replacing flooring Painting (interior or exterior) Plumbing and electrical that doesn’t run new lines, move drains, or add sinks and fixtures, including simply replacing a circuit breaker in your panel (though you shouldn’t do that unless you know what you’re doing) Ground-level decks or replacing decking material (but not structural material) on existing decksYou might notice a basic trend here: Any time you’re adding something new to your property, you probably need a permit. Any time you’re just replacing what’s already there, you probably don’t. That’s not a hard and fast rule, but it’s a decent rule of thumb you can follow.
One final note: When you hire a contractor, they’ll usually pull permits for you. If your contractor tells you a permit isn’t necessary, check them. It will be your problem if they’re wrong.
Permits are a necessary evil. Without them, your neighbors will definitely attempt to build a tower on their property that will fall over and crush several houses. Still, if you can legally proceed without one, why wouldn’t you?
