BUILDINGREGULATIONS: A SELF-HELP GUIDE FOR THE OWNER-BUILDER

Article Tools

Image Gallery

Print

E-mail

Comments

RSS

4. Be accompanied by plans and specifications asrequired in Subsection (c) of this Section;

5. State the valuation of the proposed work;

6. Be signed by the permittee, or his authorized agent, who may be required to submit evidence to indicate such authority;

7. Give such other information as reasonably may be required by the Building Official (See also BBC § 113, NBC § 102.3, SBC § 105.2.)

You should be prepared to provide similar information to your building inspector ... who probably will ask for this kind of documentation. Two of the more important requirements for the owner-builder in the above list are the valuation of the proposed work, and the plans and specifications that are sometimes required to accompany the application ... and both subjects will be discussed next.

THE FEE. When a building inspector tells you to state the valuation of the proposed work on an application, he's asking you to help him decide how much to charge you for a building permit fee. Under the UBC, these fees are charged on a sliding formula based on the valuation of the contemplated construction:

(I'm sure the owner-builder will have little need to know th fees for valuations over $ 100,000! The UBC also has a plan checking fee-§ 303 [b]-which is fixed at one-half of th building permit fee for the single-family dwelling. And, if you start construction without getting a permit, the UBC-in § 303[a] -requires double fees!)

It's the building inspector who has the power under the UBC to determine the value (defined in § 423 as "the esti mated cost to replace the building in kind, based on current replacement costs') of the proposed construction. So even though you consider your dwelling priceless (which it will b with all the hard work you put into it), try to make it appear worth less in the eyes of the building inspector.

The BBC—in § 118.3—requires that the building permit fee be based on "the volume of the structure, or as otherwise prescribed in the local ordinances. . . . " (How to compute volume is set forth in § 119.) This code also leaves it to the building inspector to establish a schedule of unit rates to be charged. (There is no plan-checking fee or doubling of fees if you start construction without a permit under this code.)

CODE-READING TECHNIQUE: Not all definitions of words or explanations of concepts are found in the chapter on definitions. Many times you'll find words or concepts explained in other sections of the code (as § 119 is used to clarify § 118.3 in the example above). Generally, if the explanatory material is not immediately preceding or following the section where the ambiguous phrase appears, that section itself should direct you to the explanatory provision.

The NBC doesn't even mention building permit fees in, the main part of its text, but has relegated that requirement to § 10 of the adopting ordinance it proposes in Appendix Q. The standard by which the building inspector is to set the fee under this code is based on "the estimated cost" (defined in § 10.g of Appendix Q as "the reasonable value of all services, labor, materials" excluding excavating, painting, decorating) of the structure. If you're going to use recycled materials you can validly argue that the "cost" of the dwelling is much less than its actual value ... and attempt to get your permit fee reduced. (There's no or doubling of fees for starting construction without a permit under this code.)

RSS | Comments | E-mail | Print