Lawrence, KS Building Safety: Building Permits (2026)

Lawrence City Code § 5-220 requires anyone who intends to construct, enlarge, alter, repair, move, demolish or change the occupancy of a building or structure, or to erect, install, alter, repair, remove, convert or replace a regulated electrical, gas, mechanical or plumbing system, to first apply to the building official and obtain a permit before the work begins; moved structures also have to meet chapter 16, article VII, and demolitions follow the procedure in chapter 5, article XIV. The application under § 5-227 must identify the work, describe and locate the property, state the intended use, include construction documents, state the estimated valuation, and pay the fee set in § 5-254 before the building official examines it under § 5-228 and either issues it or rejects it in writing with reasons.

50 for work valued up to $500 up to a flat schedule of $800 to $7,500 for new detached one- and two-dwelling construction depending on square footage, plus a 20 percent plan-review surcharge on commercial and multifamily projects. A permit is deemed abandoned after 180 days if the applicant has not pursued it in good faith or been issued a permit, under § 5-229, and once issued it becomes invalid unless work starts within 180 days or is not suspended for 180 days, under § 5-231; the building official can grant extensions on written, good-cause requests.

Work on a landmark or in a historic district cannot get a building permit under § 5-234 until the historic resources commission issues a certificate of appropriateness or economic hardship. Starting work before the permit issues adds a fee equal to the base permit charge under § 5-256.