Lewisville, TX Building Safety: Building Permits (2026)

Section 4-176, in the Housing Standards article covering buildings used for human habitation, states the general rule plainly: no building or structure regulated by that article may be erected, constructed, enlarged, altered, repaired, moved, improved, removed, converted, or demolished unless a separate permit for each building or structure is first obtained from the director of building inspections. Fees for that permit are set under section 304 of the building code, and every building or structure within the article's scope, along with all construction or work requiring a permit, is subject to inspection by the director of the building inspection division of the community development department.

Section 4-153 defines that scope broadly: it reaches every building or portion of a building used, designed, or intended for human habitation, treats each portion of a combined apartment-hotel as a separate building, applies fully to roominghouses and lodginghouses, and requires buildings moved into or within the city, plus additions, alterations, or repairs to existing buildings, to meet the building code's requirements for new construction. Enforcement authority under Section 4-171 rests with the city manager or the director of the building inspection division, who is given the powers of a law enforcement officer for that purpose.

Citywide, the 2021 International Building Code is separately adopted as the base construction code under Section 4-26, with local amendments in Section 4-28 covering permit fee schedules referencing Code Section 2-201 and an investigation fee equal to the permit fee for work started before a permit is issued.