Constructing or renovating a commercial building or a home is a matter of not jut hiring the right contractor crews and getting the right equipment and materials, but also having the proper paperwork in place to comply with state and city codes and regulations. Having a construction attorney on hand can help with the paperwork of renovation or construction, and permit attainment does not have to be a hassle. Instead, permit attainment is simply the first step of several so a project can move forward and comply with all relevant laws and codes to keep everything safe and legal. Permit attainment will be needed for any building, big or small, or a renovation job to make sure that the new systems and hardware are up to code.

Construction

The American commercial property sector is split among five key arenas: industrial, retail, office, lodging, and amusement. Any building may fall into one or more of these categories. A Target will be retail, while a condo is lodging and a movie theater is amusement. And construction is a massive business in the United States: in the year 2016 alone, about $76.58 billion worth of commercial buildings were constructed from coast to coast, and in the first six months of 2017, the total value of private office construction reached $6.6 billion. Some office buildings will end up bigger than others; the largest leased office space in the first quarter of 2018 was Fannie Mae in Washington, D.C., which had 850,000 square feet, and the biggest office space sold in that same time frame was Chelsea Market in Manhattan, which was purchased by Google for $2.4 billion. Much smaller buildings than this will still need permits for construction and renovation, however, and the paperwork must go through before a project is undertaken. Site selection, land acquisition, leasing arrangements, and more should also be factored in to such decision making.

Building Construction

According to Home Advisor, a building permit is simply a document that allows sanctioned, legal construction of or renovation of a building. Cities, states, and counties will all have various requirements for permit attainment, and when all building codes are satisfied and all fees are paid, then construction or renovation may begin, and once the work is done, an inspection is carried out to make sure that everything is up to code.

Permits make sure that public health and hazard prevention, not to mention construction quality and property valuation is easier to carry out and are all uniform and standard. Otherwise, unsafe conditions such as fire or electrical or flooding hazards, plus poor maintenance like leaking pipes and drafty windows may be the result of unregulated construction. New construction buildings such as garages, guest houses, and storage buildings all call for permit attainment, not to mention additions to an existing building like a sunroom or patios. Replacing garage doors, putting in a hot tub, rewiring the electric system, and adding and removing walls. Any homeowner and/or contractor carrying out this kind of work can fill out the paperwork and due fees to the local body that is in charge of building permits, based on the property or construction site’s location. For convenience, permit service companies exist to handle all this paperwork on behalf of a homeowner or contracting company, as well as keeping track of fees and inspections. This can prevent any fines or stop-work orders from coming in, which is what might happen if a homeowner were to carry out construction or renovation without the permits and fees in place.