Bristol, CT Building Safety: Building Permits (2026)

Section 5-21.2 of the Bristol Code of Ordinances, adopted by an ordinance of October 10, 2023, provides that pursuant to Connecticut General Statutes Sections 29-254a and 29-263 and the state building code, any person who fails to obtain a valid building permit for the construction, alteration or repair of any building or structure, or who violates a directive of a City of Bristol building official, shall be punished by a fine of not less than two hundred dollars ($200.00) nor more than one thousand dollars ($1,000.00), by imprisonment not exceeding six (6) months, or by both fine and imprisonment as provided in state statute, with each day a violation continues deemed a separate offense.

That penalty sits alongside Section 5-19's fee schedule, which independently requires that no permit for new construction, alteration, removal, demolition or other building operation be issued until the prescribed fee is paid to the building official, and Section 5-20, which lets the building inspector revoke or suspend a permit for violating the state building code or failing to comply with lawful orders. Section 5-21.1 adds a further condition: a building permit cannot be issued for new construction or expansion on property with an outstanding, unpaid real estate tax lien, unless the work is a renovation under twenty-five hundred dollars ($2,500.00), a mechanical permit, work ordered by a public authority, or emergency work affecting public safety, or unless the owner signs a payment agreement with the tax collector for the lien. Bristol Building Inspection is the department that issues and enforces permits under this framework.