Fairfield, CT Building Safety: Building Permits (2026)

Fairfield's own building code, Chapter 56, does not set out a general permit-application procedure; instead § 56-2 adopts the State of Connecticut Basic Building Code, under authority of Connecticut General Statutes § 19-395 (now C.G.S. § 29-252), as the Building Code of the Town for regulating and controlling construction, incorporating all of that code's regulations, provisions, penalties and terms. What the Town Code adds on top of the state code is a local permit-issuance gate: § 56-1 bars the issuance of any building permit for a building or structure located in an unapproved subdivision, or on a lot abutting a highway or street that has not been accepted by the Town or approved by the Town Plan and Zoning Commission.

That gate carries two narrow exceptions: a lot that was already on record with the Town Clerk on September 17, 1951, and abutted an accepted, approved, or actually-used highway or street; and the construction of farm or accessory buildings that do not violate the Town's zoning regulations. Section 56-3 lets the Town amend the state code by its own regulation or ordinance, subject to state and local procedures. Building permits themselves are administered by the Building Inspector, whose office is created under the Town Charter § 9-8, and appeals from Building Inspector decisions go to the Board of Building Appeals under Charter § 10.11.

Because the Zoning Regulations are a separate Town Plan and Zoning Commission document not contained in this code, any zoning-based approval referenced by § 56-1, such as subdivision or street acceptance, is administered by the TPZ rather than the Building Department.