Do I need a building permit?

Possibly. But if you'd rather go renegade, here's some advice.

Do your research.

Sadly, there’s no one size fits all answer to the question of Do I need a permit?

The legal necessity of a permit for your project will vary country by country and state by state. In fact, it’ll vary by county and town. Different municipalities will have requirements based on square footage (or square meters), height, whether this is a permanent or livable structure, and whether or not there are already permitted buildings on the property.

You’ll have to read your local building department's rules, or present your plans to them and see what they say. (This is why I offer refunds on my plans.) 

While researching the laws you can also explore how loopholes and gray areas work in your zone. Putting a structure onto a trailer to skirt the law about permanent construction is a common one. (Trailer builds are a popular move in the tiny home community.) And treehouses aren’t always covered in the rule book, or are classified as temporary structures.

After due diligence if you find you don’t need a permit, rad. If you do, read on..

So you need a permit…

The good news is that many localities make the process trivial. A basic sketch and a form might be all you need.

The bad news is that some permitting processes are a bureaucratic hellscape. Perhaps one you’d prefer to avoid…

Going rogue.

For whatever reason you’ve decided to skip the permitting process on your woodshed, or deck, or cabin. I get it.

You’d be in good company. There’s a surprising number of overbearing rules that otherwise law-abiding folks are often on the wrong side of. (And just as many that the law will pick and choose to enforce.) For example, the county where our property is located actually forbids having more than two dogs. Or camping for a night on your own land. Or having any type of storage shed without first building a permitted residence.

There seems to be a lot of inconsistency when it comes to rule following and rule enforcing, so you probably wouldn’t be the first in your neighborhood to erect a deck without the proper paperwork.

That said, we should cover some things to keep in mind before you turn full pirate.

Consider your property’s resale value.

A permitted home with a real address issued by the government is worth significantly more, if only because it’s a “real” home which banks will lend on, meaning you are exposed to exponentially more buyers. Gambling with the expense of a shed might not matter, but when you start getting into costly homes and cabins this should be a big consideration. This isn’t to say you would lose money on your investment of time and materials. Your un-permitted structure, if it’s built well, is likely worth something to the right buyer… probably just not as much as if it were permitted.

Retroactive permitting.

It’s possible to get permitting after the fact, though it will be an uphill battle. You’ll need full documentation of the build, so keep those plans and photos handy. If there are layers sealed up inside walls and siding, make sure you shoot lots of video of it as it is coming together. Document as much as possible if you think you might need to go the route of presenting evidence.

Know the risks.

Unfortunately we’re all at the mercy of bureaucracy and it can be unbending. You might think your humble pavilion isn’t an eyesore, and certainly isn’t a deathtrap. You may well have brought all your neighbors homemade pie and had them over for the first BBQ under its roof. And you might have followed all the local building codes, despite not actually wading through the impossible process of getting a permit. You did everything right, though are technically in the wrong. 

In spite of all those efforts, someone might ultimately command you to tear down your structure. Don’t be mad. This is the risk you should be prepared to accept if you go down the un-permitted road.

Relationships with neighbors matter more than anything else.

Regarding the above homemade pies… remember that most jurisdictions don’t have the funding nor time to drive around looking for code violations. In general, enforcement (unless obscenely public and flagrant) is based on neighbor complaints. This is where relationships are key. Good communication is paramount and a solid assessment of your local culture and permissibility is prudent. Do your homework on what seems generally appropriate and acceptable before charging ahead and running into conflicts with neighbors. 

On the note of neighbors and other avenues, reader Derek chimes in with this:

“Another less common route (if you’re over 20 acres) is filing for an AG exempt permit to build a barn. Where I live you can build up to 3,000 sq ft, 35’ tall and requires a basic site plan. Nobody ever shows up, ever. And if you’re off county roads it’s nearly impossible for code enforcement or the accessor to legally get to you. Sounds a little sketchy, however if you just build small and keep the aesthetic like a barn you can just enjoy. Good neighbors are the golden ticket.”

Last ditch measures.

Let's not end on too dire a note. There are some options if the county does come a callin’.

First, you can fight it. I know someone who bargained with their town and negotiated for only some of their hard work to come down. I know another person in a city who successfully fought for their unpermitted ADU to remain standing by turning the morality screws on the city, insisting that it was essential housing and asking the city if they were willing to make someone homeless.

Now, if bargaining and fighting and retroactive permitting should all fail, don’t rush too quickly into demolition. You might try selling the structure as-is. There are a lot of buyers willing take apart and move a reasonably priced structure to their property, whether they’ve got a permit, or not.