Lafayette Parish, LA Building Safety: Building Permits (2026)

Lafayette City-Parish Consolidated Government requires a building permit before any building or structure is "demolished, erected, altered, repaired, or relocated," issued by the Development and Planning Department (DPD) once all relevant departments sign off. This covers renovation and remodeling work in both the City of Lafayette and the unincorporated parish: the Unified Development Code applies parishwide under Sec. 1-3 unless a specific article says otherwise, and Article 2 sets up the districts through both the city and parish planning commissions. DPD sets the application procedure. Separately, the adopted International Existing Building Code and International Residential Code govern permit-exempt work: a slab foundation on an otherwise exempt structure still triggers a permit requirement. Broussard, Carencro, Duson, Scott, Youngsville, and Milton run their own permitting and are not covered by this code.