building permit

building permit

Written permission from local government to proceed with construction, substantial repair,demolition,or sign erection on real property.The permit process serves several purposes:

• Revenue generation through permitting fees
• Early identification of potential problems, such as the need for historical district approvals
• Entry of the project into a tracking system to ensure code compliance through periodic inspections
• Estimation of the anticipated cost of the project, in order to assist local government with analysis of building and development trends
• Initiation of steps that will ultimately ensure all subcontractors have business licenses and correctly report their income for the year

(Developers typically include contingencies in their purchase contracts to allow for difficulties in obtaining building permits. Especially with large projects, which require extensive plan review before issuance of a permit,the permitting process can take many months.)