Hoboken, NJ Building Safety: Building Permits (2026)

Chapter 86 of the Hoboken City Code, adopted in 1978, establishes the City's State Uniform Construction Code Enforcing Agency, called the Uniform Construction Code Agency, made up of a Construction Official, Building Subcode Official, Plumbing Subcode Official, Electrical Subcode Official, Fire Protection Subcode Official and their assistants, with additional subcode officials added as the state Commissioner of the Department of Community Affairs adopts new subcodes (§ 86-1A). The Construction Official serves as chief administrator of the agency, and the public has the right to conduct business with the agency at one office location except in emergencies (§ 86-1C).

Section 86-3 sets the construction permit fee schedule by category of work: new construction is charged per cubic foot by use group (for example $0.034 per cubic foot for Use Groups 3 and 6, minimum $75), renovations and repairs are charged $16 per $1,000 of estimated cost with a $50 minimum, additions are charged $0.20 per cubic foot of the added volume, and combined renovation-and-addition work is charged as the sum of both calculations (§ 86-3A). A plan review fee equal to 20% of the construction permit fee is due before plans are reviewed and is credited back against the permit fee once issued (§ 86-3A(4)).

Applicants who disagree with an enforcing-agency decision can appeal to the five-member Construction Board of Appeals, whose members the Mayor appoints with City Council approval to staggered terms of up to four years (§ 86-2). Certain nonprofit affordable-housing developments, accessibility improvements for the disabled, and public and charter school projects qualify for reduced or waived fees under § 86-3G.