How Long Does A Building Permit Take. Tampa General Contractor Explains The Permitting Process.

Before a construction project can begin, there are a few important steps that need to be taken. Most large construction projects require a large amount of time that’s dedicated to planning and permitting before the construction project begins. 

There are 3 phases to a construction project:

Plans production 

Plan review and permitting preparation

Obtaining a permit

During the plans production phase, the plans for the are project drawn out. This includes having an architect help design the layout. 

Once the design is finalized, you begin preparing for the permit. This is done by gathering product approval numbers, preparing for third-party viewers, reviewing the scope, and making sure you have a survey. 

When all important documents have been reviewed and finalized, a large packet containing all the required information for the build will be sent to the permitting company. This is the beginning of the permitting phase.

During the permitting phase, the contracting company will send the project permit out and wait on the municipality to get the permit back. From permit submission to receiving a final building permit, this process has an 8-16 week lead time. 

However, if there are changes to the building permit, this can increase the lead time significantly. 

Keep in mind that the permit obtaining process is out of the contractor’s control once it’s been sent. So it’s important to get your contractor information about the building project as soon as possible to try and reduce lead time. 

If some projects are time-sensitive, Home Love Construction will use a third-party review process. This means that a third-party reviewer will do your plans review. 

Plans review is normally the lengthiest part of the permitting process, but having it done by a private party will reduce the permit approval timeline to only 3-5 days. Additionally, using a third-party reviewer will reduce the overall permitting timeline by 2 months. 

Using a third-party reviewer is also an additional cost to your project, this can cost anywhere from $2K-$4K. 

The permitting process includes multiple steps, so let’s recap what that involves. 

After signing a contract and deciding to go through with a remodel, you’ll first encounter the plans production phase, then move on to planning and gathering documents. Finally, the permitting approval and obtainment phase begins. All of these steps need to be completed before a construction project can begin.

If you have a remodeling question or inquires about remodeling your space in the Tampa Bay Area, please send an email to homeloveconstruction@gmail.com 

-Brad Bachand

Transcribed/Published by Emily Lavechia